Uneven in loss, Kings try to split back-to-back vs. Rockets

The Sacramento Kings traversed the long road back into contention on Saturday against the Houston Rockets, erasing a 17-point first-half deficit before taking a one-point lead late in the third quarter when Harrison Barnes drilled a corner 3-pointer.

What proved disheartening for the Kings was their inability to stay in the fight after laboring so hard to secure a second-half advantage. Sacramento limited the Rockets to 12 third-quarter points only to surrender 36 in the fourth en route to a 107-89 loss in the first of back-to-back road games at Houston, with the rematch set for Monday.

It marked another uneven performance for the Kings without standout guard De'Aaron Fox (ankle), sidelined for a second consecutive game. The Kings surrendered 30 points in fewer than eight minutes to open the contest only to clamp down in the third quarter and force the Rockets into a stretch of 12 consecutive missed shots that also featured three turnovers.

However, with the game in the balance down the stretch, the Kings allowed Rockets swingman Dillon Brooks to catch fire. Brooks scored 12 of his game-high 26 points in the final period while the Kings missed 12 of 18 shot attempts, including 9 of 11 from behind the 3-point arc.

That inability to fashion efficient offense -- an issue compounded with Fox being unavailable -- bled into the defensive effort, and that combination sank Sacramento.

"We have to do a better job of fighting no matter what's going on on both ends of the floor," Kings coach Mike Brown said. "And if we miss shots, we miss shots.

"I thought our resolve was not good, especially in the fourth quarter. That's something that for sure cannot be habitual because that's what losing teams, in my opinion, do and that's not what we are."

Houston had no such issue. The Rockets were bolstered by a balanced offensive attack co-authored by Brooks, Fred VanVleet (21 points, 12 assists) and Jabari Smith Jr. (21 points, 11 rebounds).

Brooks added nine rebounds while Alperen Sengun also just missed a double-double after posting 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists. That so many had a hand in the victory proved beneficial, especially after the Rockets cooled off drastically from their hot shooting start.

"That's going to have to be our way all year. It's going to be a different guy every night," said VanVleet, guilty of only two turnovers. "The ball's got to move and find the right guys. It's an up-and-down season as we know, so having guys in multiple stretches making the right plays and creating open looks, as we saw late (with Brooks)."

Jalen Green played a critical facilitating role in the fourth quarter. Green needed 10 shots to tally 10 points, but his four fourth-quarter assists were integral to the Rockets reclaiming the offensive rhythm that established the early double-digit cushion. Without Green finding another means to contribute, perhaps things don't go as swimmingly for the Rockets down the stretch.

"Kudos to him for sticking to it and not getting overanxious when he wasn't scoring as much," Rockets coach Ime Udoka said of Green.

--Field Level Media