BOX SCORE
SACRAMENTO — There were scuffles, ejections, free pizza, and — for the first time in a long time, “Light the Beam” chants — as the Kings (10-12) defeated the red-hot Houston Rockets (15-7) by a final score of 120-111 on Tuesday night at Golden 1 Center.
Sacramento has not performed well in front of its home crowd this season, but it improved that record to 5-7 with their first win of NBA Cup play.
And boy, were fans in for a treat at G1C from start to finish.
After a sluggish first quarter from both teams, tensions flared in the second as Dillon Brooks was up to his typical antics. Benched semi-cleared in the quarter, resulting in several technical fouls. But above all else, the skirmish served as fuel for the Kings to end the quarter strong and take that energy into the second half.
Domantas Sabonis finished with a team-leading 27 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field, with seven rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes. De’Aaron Fox had 22 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field and 4 of 6 from deep, with six rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block in 37 minutes.
DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk combined for 33 points.
Rookie big man Isaac Jones had a career night, finishing with 12 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting night.
It took a team effort, but the Kings found a way to take out the fuel of the Rockets, who entered Tuesday’s contest on a three-game win streak and winning five of their last six.
Second-quarter Scuffle
Tensions rose in the second quarter of Tuesday’s game, and none other than self-proclaimed NBA villain Brooks was in the middle of it all.
It began when Brooks stripped a dead ball away from Sabonis far after the whistle was blown, but Sabonis didn’t pay it much attention.
His teammates did.
Monk and Fox shared some words with Brooks and Jabari Smith Jr., and eventually had to be separated after the benches nearly cleared at the 4:19 mark of the second quarter.
After several minutes of deliberation by the officials, which included Brooks being showered with boos as part of a theatrical jumbotron showcase, Monk, Brooks and Smith Jr. all were assessed technical fouls.
And that lit a fire under the Kings …
Stars Shine Under Pressure
When things get out of control as a result of the Dillon Brooks Effect, there are two ways a team can respond.
Most of the time, it works out in favor of Brooks, who knows how to get under opposing players’ skin.
While the Kings certainly didn’t back down from the trash talk, they backed it up with their play.
That started with Fox, who is one of those players you don’t want to piss off.
After those technical fouls were assessed, the Kings closed the quarter on an 11-1 run. Fox had 10 of those points. He finished the game with 22 points.
Sabonis was steady as ever and played his role perfectly, finishing with 27.
And DeRozan was the veteran presence the team needed at the moment, displaying leadership both on and off the floor. DeRozan added 16 on 6-of-15 shooting.
It takes a village to win big games — and the Kings’ Big Three did what it was supposed to Tuesday night.
Shooters Shoot
Sacramento has not been a good 3-point shooting team this season. There’s no other way to say it. Two of its sharpshooters, Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray, have struggled to get a rhythm going from beyond the arc this season.
Not on Tuesday.
Murray entered the contest shooting 27.4 percent from downtown through 21 games. He was asked about his shooting slump after practice Monday, to which he responded that he wasn’t worried about it and still feels confident that he’d be able to turn things around.
His unwavering belief paid off Tuesday, and it appears the sharpshooting rookie who broke records two seasons ago is back in Year 3.
Murray finished the game with 13 points on three triples, with six rebounds and three blocks.
Meanwhile, Huerter, who returned after missing last game with an ankle injury, also has struggled mightily to get any shot to fall, even being removed from the starting lineup and playing limited minutes off the bench.
He entered Tuesday’s game averaging 27.7 percent from deep in 18 games this season. On Tuesday, he finished 13 points and three made 3-pointers.
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