ROCKETS: WIN AGAINST KINGS IMPROVES RECORD TO 2-0.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Those were not the customary Sacramento cowbells ringing in Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night.
There were some of those, too. Some traditions made their way downtown when the Kings moved to their new palace last season.
The clanging that echoed, however, was from all the 3-pointers the Rockets were crashing off the rims.
That did not stop the Rockets from taking them. Nothing does. So when James Harden checked back in with the Rockets holding a shaky five-point lead, he fired away. Harden had made 1 of 9 3-pointers when he dropped in three straight, taking the lead to 10, just enough of a cushion for the Rockets to hold on to beat the Kings 105-100 to complete the sweep of their seasonopening back-to-back.
The Rockets, however, could not close out the win until they removed the 3-pointers from their repertoire.
They had led by eight after Eric Gordon finished a lefthanded drive with 3:04 left. But the Rockets missed three consecutive 3-pointers and a forced long jumper to beat the shot clock as the Kings closed to within 96-93 with 41.6 seconds remaining.
Finally, the Rockets left the 3-point line with Harden and Clint Capela running a pick-and-roll and Capela slamming home Harden’s lob for a five-point lead with 28.7 seconds left.
Still, the Rockets could barely hang on. George Hill made a pair of free throws with 26.3 seconds left and, with the Rockets up three, the ball was ruled to have gone out of bounds off Gordon. After a video review, the call was changed to a foul on Hill and Gordon made both free throws.
Buddy Hield, who had 19 points, sank a jumper and the Kings immediately put Harden on the line. He made one of two free throws, but moments later Hill made just one of two. When the Kings were forced to send Ryan Anderson to the line, he made both attempts for a four-point lead and just 9.6 seconds left.
Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein finished a dunk with the Rockets protecting the 3-ppoint line. But Rockets forward Trevor Ariza finally iced it with a pair of free throws for his only points and a chance for the Rockets to exhale with a far less inspiring win than the night before over Golden State.
The Rockets won while making just 39.8 percent of their shots, 26.7 percent of the 45 3s they launched. Harden and Gordon, the starting backcourt with Chris Paul out with a sore knee, combined for 52 points. Capela added 22 points and 17 rebounds.
The Rockets struggled with their shooting touch from the start.
As happy as the Rockets were to have defended well down the stretch to steal their 122-121 win over the Warriors, they are still fond of shooting and putting up large numbers.
Leading through most of the first half Wednesday was better than the alternative of the night before, but the dreadful shooting might have been as disconcerting as the leaking first-half defense against Golden State was worrisome.
The Rockets got their shots. They began the game putting up 10 of their first 12 shots from beyond the 3-point line, making just two. Most were too open to turn down. Beyond that, the Rockets struggled to find anything else — save Capela bending the rim — they could make reliably through the first half.
The Rockets made just 16 of 43 shots in the first half, converting just 6 of 24 3s. They led by as much as eight and took a 52-48 lead into the second half.
The Kings did not shoot much better, but got 10 points off the bench from rookie De’Aaron Fox.
Knee too sore so Paul sits out
Rockets guard Chris Paul was held out of his second game with the Rockets because of the ongoing soreness in his bruised left knee.
Paul bumped knees in a preseason game Oct. 11 in Memphis, missing the final preseason game. He played 33 minutes in the Rockets’ season opener Tuesday, a 122-121 victory over Golden State, but was clearly struggling, making 2 of 9 shots.
After consistently expressing confidence he would play against the Warriors, he was unsure after the game if he could play against the Kings.
Despite his difficulties, Paul led the way with 11 assists and eight rebounds against the Warriors.
“He’s a fighter,” guard James Harden said. “He’s going to go out there and give it his all. We have to get him healthy, and we have a lot of depth on this roster. Any guy, at any moment, can come in and make an impact on the game. He has to get healthy, but he still had double-digit assists, rebounds, scrappy. Once he gets back healthy, his offense is going to be more aggressive.”
As with his place in the rotation, sitting midway through the first and third quarters and then returning late in the quarters to play with the second unit, Paul has been impressed with the collaboration on the decisions about his role and even sitting out down the stretch against the Warriors.
We were in a timeout and coach was like “I’m
Rockets 105, Kings 100
going to give you one more minute.’ I was like, “Cool, I’m going to go.’ That’s when I got that steal from K.D. (Kevin Durant),” he said. “We had Eric Gordon on the bench. You can push through it as much as you want to, but you don’t have to.
“It’s been cool because the communication aspect of it is what I love.”