Without Sabonis, Sacramento Kings Sweep the Houston Rockets For The Season Series; Win 113-103 On the Road

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PA DIGITALIZED Sports COMMENTARY 🎙

PUBLIC RECORD – 30 –

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T. ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌ ‌|‌ Public Information Officer

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“Obviously, Domas (Sabonis) went down tonight. We just tried to pick our brother up and keep that energy. …You see your brother in trouble…you help him.”

– Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis told NBC Sports California’s broadcast analysts.

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Sacramento, Calif. — When Domantas Sabonis left the game moments after the first quarter started with a left hamstring injury, the Sacramento Kings turned up the heat against the Houston Rockets.

DeMar DeRozan had 21 points and 6 assists and Zach LaVine contributed 20 points and 6 rebounds to lead the Kings to a 113-103 road win over the Rockets on March 1. The Kings improved to 31-28 and 16-14 away from Golden 1 Center this season.

Malik Mong had 16 points and 5 rebounds, while Jonas Valančiūnas generated 15 points, 14 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocked shots as an understudy for Sabonis. The 7-foot Lithuanian had 5 offensive boards in 29 minutes.

Doug Christie is 18-10 as the interim coach of the Kings, who have won 3 straight games, and 2 contests on their current 4-game road excursion. Ten players scored for Sacramento, including 1 free throw made by Sabonis.

Keon Ellis had 12 points of offense and collected 5 steals on the defensive side of the ball.

“Keon continues to be special,” Christie said of the third-year player out of Alamba.

Alperen Şengün assembled 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists for the Rockets (37-23, 20-10 at Toyota Center), who are currently in the No. 5 position of the NBA Western Conference. Jalen Green added 24 points and Tari Eason emerged off the bench to chalk up 14 points in 22 minutes.

After Sabonis made a free throw, he ended up limping on the defensive end and needed help walking to the locker room at the 10:44 mark of the first quarter. It was later reported that he had a left hamstring injury and would not return.

With Valančiūnas inserted into the lineup, the Kings produced an 18-3 run, capped by a basket by LaVine to make the score 19-3. The Rockets rallied back to cut the margin 25-21 to end the frame.

The Kings were up by 10 points in the 2nd interval before the Rockets outscored Sacramento 30-14 to claim a 54-51 lead after a 3-pointer by Brooks. After a see-saw battle, the Kings took control to finish the first 24 minutes with a 63-59 advantage.

Şengün’s 3-point play cut the Kings' margin 84-82 but a made 3-ball by LaVine and a layup from Jake LaRavia allowed the Kings to lead 89-82 through 3 quarters of play. For assurance, Monk’s basket with 3:48 left to play put the Kings ahead 111-98.

The Kings had 55 total rebounds to the Rockets’ 49. Sacramento’s bench outscored the Rockets’ reserves 58-28. The Kings turned the basketball over 13 times. They average 13.6 bungles per game.

Christie has been slightly critical of the Kings' grandstanding and showboating to achieve alley-oops while turning over the basketball at an accelerated rate. Sacramento committed 114 miscues of mishandling of the basketball in the previous 7 games (16.2 per contest).

PA IMPRESSIONS:

* Fred VanVleet returns from an 11-game absence.

* DeRozan and Dillon Brooks received double-technical fouls after Brooks shoved DeRozan. The players had words for each other before violations were assessed.

– Publicity Agents 30 –

ESSENTIAL CONCLUSIONS

Kings: Led by Ellis (5) and Jonas Valančiūnas (4), Sacramento had 13 total steals.

Rockets: Made 16 of 23 shots at the foul line (69.6%).

SIGNIFICANT JUNCTURES

LaVine closed the game out with a dunk at the 1:11 mark to give the Kings’ sweep over the Rockets an exclamation mark. The Rockets swept the Kings last season.

KEY DATA

Kings made 44 of 87 shots from the field (50.6%), while the Rockets made 37 of 86 from the floor (43%).

UP NEXT

The Kings play the Dallas Mavericks on March 3. The Rockets visit the Oklahoma Thunder on March 3.

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