The Houston Rockets fell short in their attempt for a four-game sweep of NBA Cup group play. The Rockets faced a 9-12 Sacramento Kings squad that had been struggling shooting and rebounding the basketball. Like their game against the Bucks last month, the Rockets seemed to be the cure to the opposition’s ills.
After a second quarter dust-up where the Rockets were accessed two technical fouls, and a potential four-point play from Jalen Green was wiped away, it seemed like the Rockets would once again be galvanized by another “altercation”, however it was the Kings who took their play to another level as at one point between the second and third quarter, the SKings made 15 consecutive shots, turning a 11 point deficit into a 15 point lead eventually.
The Rockets largely lost this game because they were unable to do the things they normally do well. Namely score in the paint and protect the paint. The Kings outscored them in the paint 56-36 in large part due to a ton of missed layups and the inability to create turnovers and get out in transition. The Rockets allowed 51.6 percent shooting by the Kings, including 46.7 from the three-point-line. The Kings matched the physicality of the Rockets, and at times seemed to play with more intensity.
Now that I’ve given you the objective reasons the Rockets lost, I can go ahead and admit that I believe the officiating in this game was bad. The Rockets were bothered by it, and it caused them to lose composure as the game began winding down and getting out of hand. They were not shooting well but I thought they played hard and put themselves in position to keep the game close, however the foul calls began to be very inconsistent. Ultimately the frustration boiled over to the tune of head coach Ime Udoka, and Alperen Sengun getting multiple technical and both being ejected late in the fourth quarter.
“If you’re going to call the ticky-tack calls, then call the obvious ones that are right in front of you.”
That’s what Ime Udoka had to say to the media after the game when he was asked what frustrated him about the officiating. Specifically, a sequence that saw Alperen Sengun blatantly fouled multiple times by Domantas Sabonis during a drive to the basket, which turned out the be the straw that broke the camel’s back for both Sengun and Udoka. The bad calls aren’t why the Rockets lost, but certainly was a factor in the inability to close the gap.
A bright spot in the game was the play of Jalen Green, who scored 28 points on an efficient 14 shots, 5-8 from three-point range, and he had seven rebounds and three assists. Sengun also played well, a welcome sight always, but especially when it is in tandem with Jalen Green. The Rockets made a respectable effort but ultimately it was the Kings who were able to better enforce their will.
Regarding what this loss means for the Emirates NBA Cup, unfortunately the OKC Thunder jumped ahead of the Rockets in the seeding for the knockout round, with an identical group play record, but a higher point differential. However, the Rockets will still get to host the knockout round game at Toyota Center against the Golden State Warriors.
First things first are the Rockets completing this three game West Coast trip with games coming up against the aforementioned Warriors this Thursday at 9:00 pm CST, and the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday AT 8:00 pm CST. The Rockets drop to 15-7 on the season and back to a game and a half behind the Thunder.
