Murray hits eight 3-pointers as Kings beat Rockets, 140-120
HOUSTON — Keegan Murray had a career-high 30 points and set a franchise rookie record with eight 3-pointers to help the Sacramento Kings snap a twogame skid with a 140-120 win over the Houston Rockets on Monday night.
Murray, the fourth overall pick in last year’s NBA draft, shot 8 for 12 from beyond the arc on a night when the Kings made 21 3-pointers. The previous team mark for 3s by a rookie was set by Ricky Berry with seven in 1989.
Malik Monk added 20 points off the bench and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in the first of consecutive games between the teams.
De’Aaron Fox had 16 points and eight assists for Sacramento after missing two games for personal reasons.
Jalen Green had 27 points for the Rockets, who dropped their third straight.
The Kings led by 12 with about eight minutes remaining before using a 10-2 run to push it to 117-97 midway through the fourth quarter. Monk started that stretch with two free throws and ended it with back-to-back 3s.
Eric Gordon made a basket for Houston after that, but Monk hit another 3 to make it 120-99.
The Kings were up by 12 after a layup by Kevin Huerter with 8 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. Houston then used a 14-7 run to get within 81-76 midway through the period.
Gordon hit two 3-pointers in that span and Jabari Smith Jr. had a 3 and a dunk to help the Rockets close the gap.
But Murray made consecutive 3-pointers to start a 9-4 run, capped by a third 3 from him, to push the lead to 9080 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third.
A layup by Green got Houston within six with less than a minute left in the third but the Kings scored the last five points of the quarter, with a 3 from Monk, to take a 99-88 lead into the fourth.
TIP-INS
Kings: Kevin Huerter had 16 points. Trey Lyles added 14 off the bench. … Sacramento shot 58.4% from the field.
Rockets: Kevin Porter Jr. missed his 13th consecutive game with a left big toe injury. Houston coach Stephen Silas said Porter is struggling with the injury and it’s unclear when he’ll return. … Kenyon Martin Jr. had 18 points and eight rebounds. Gordon scored 16. Alperen Sengun had 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
UP NEXT
The teams meet again Wednesday night in Houston.
BULLS 128, SPURS 104
CHICAGO — Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Andre Drummond set season highs with 21 points and 15 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls handed San Antonio its ninth straight loss, beating the Spurs 128-104 on Monday night.
Zach LaVine scored 20 points and DeMar DeRozan had 19, helping the Bulls match a season high with their third straight win. They also got some payback for a loss at San Antonio in October.
It was tied at 85 late in the third quarter when Chicago went on a 23-3 run that buried the team with the second-worst record in the Western Conference. Two more losses and the Spurs will match their worst skid of the season.
DeRozan started the decisive run with a three-point play and step-back jumper in the final minute of the third, giving the Bulls a five-point lead.
CLIPPERS 124, NETS 116
NEW YORK — Paul George scored 29 points, Kawhi Leonard added 24 and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame a career-high 47 points from Cam Thomas in his first start to beat the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 124-116 on Monday night.
Ivica Zubac added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who won for the eighth time in 10 games and finished 4-2 on their sixgame Eastern Conference road trip.
Thomas, who scored 44 to rally the Nets past Washington on Saturday, was even better on the day the Nets completed the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Dallas. But Los Angeles outscored Brooklyn 25-9 over the final 6:20.
Nic Claxton had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Nets, while Edmond Sumner chipped in 23 points for Brooklyn. Before the game, the deal that sent Irving and forward Markieff Morris to Dallas for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and multiple draft picks was announced.
Neither Dinwiddie nor Finney-Smith were available, nor were stars Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons and guard Seth Curry due to injury.
Nets coach Jacque Vaughn rotated 11 of his 12 dressed players, but Los Angeles’ bench still outscored Brooklyn’s 38-10.
But Thomas almost single-handedly kept Brooklyn within striking distance. Thomas had 22 in the first half, then electrified the crowd with a combination of 3-pointers and mid-range jumpers, helping Brooklyn lead by 107-99 midway through the fourth.
Los Angeles rallied with a 9-0 run and outscored Brooklyn 33-28 in the fourth, keyed by Leonard’s nine points in the frame
The Nets made 8 of 12 first-quarter 3-pointers and built an eight-point advantage.
But the Clippers closed the first with a 10-0 run then George then scored nine in the second, helping the Clippers build an 11-point advantage.
But the Nets closed the half with a 13-4 run, cutting Los Angeles’ lead to 55-53 at halftime.
CAVS 114, WIZARDS 91
WASHINGTON — Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen scored 23 points apiece and Donovan Mitchell added 21 to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 114-91 rout of the Washington Wizards on Monday night.
All five Cleveland starters were in double figures by halftime, and the Cavaliers won for the fourth time in five games. Evan Mobley finished with 16 points and Isaac Okoro contributed 12.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 points for Washington, which has lost three straight.