Month: March 2025

Rockets Bow to Kings, 113-103, Suffer First Season Sweep

Swept Away.    No Sabonis, No Problem.    Hitting the Road.

For the first time in months, Houston was fully healthy entering their Saturday night matchup with the Kings. Sacramento’s star Domantas Sabonis even went down with a hamstring injury in the first minute of the game. Yet none of this mattered, as the Rockets eventually fell the Kings, 113-103, in disappointing fashion at Toyota Center. The loss closes out Houston’s three game home-stand with a whimper, as the Rockets now fall to 37-23 in the standings, still good for fifth place in the ultra competitive Western Conference. With this being the final matchup between these squads, Sacramento now becomes the first team to sweep Houston all season, as the Rockets dropped all three games to the Kings this season.

Alperen Sengun paced Houston with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Jalen Green added 24 points, and Tari Eason chipped in 14 points, but the Rockets didn’t get much offensive production outside of those three guys. Fred VanVleet showed signs of rust in his return, connecting on only one of his eight shot attempts during the game. DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and Zach LaVine added 20 points to lead a balanced offensive attack from Sacramento. Houston’s defense allowed at least six different Kings players to score a dozen points. Besides scoring 38 points in the second quarter, the Rockets offense was quiet, not surpassing 23 points in any other quarters.

With their latest defeat, the Rockets are now 5-7 over their last twelve games, and slowly sinking down the standings. Houston has a tough three game road trip coming up next on the schedule. If the Rockets can’t get back on the winning track, the squad may find themselves slipping into a dangerous Play-In position. Houston has one of its toughest back-to-backs of the season, as the Rockets will play in OKC against the West-leading Thunder on Monday night, before playing the rising Pacers in Indianapolis on Tuesday evening. They’ll close out the road trip with a trip to the Big Easy for a Thursday night tilt against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Houston has also lost six straight road games as they prepare to play three straight away from Toyota Center. Hopefully the squad can regain the success they had earlier in this campaign, or the Rockets could be preparing for an earlier playoff exit than they anticipated after their solid first half to the season.

Rockets Aim to Dethrone Kings in Final Matchup of Season

Quarterback’s Return.    Whole Again.    Avoiding the Brooms.

Houston wraps up their three-game home-stand by hosting the Sacramento Kings for the first and only time this season. This contest is the final matchup between these squads, and the Rockets are 0-2 against the Kings this season, with both losses coming in Sac-Town. And for the first time in two months, Houston is finally fully healthy and whole again entering tonight’s matchup. Fred VanVleet will be making his return from an ankle injury after missing the last eleven games for the Rockets. Houston has sorely missed their floor leader and quarterback, as the Rockets went 5-6 without FVV in the lineup.

Despite beginning the season off the bench, Amen Thompson will remain in the starting lineup, as Twin has more than earned his spot with the first unit. Jabari Smith Jr. has no problem coming off the bench, and expect him to still play around the same amount of minutes, in the mid to high thirties.

Sacramento is a new look squad since the last time they faced Houston. The Kings dealt their star point guard De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal at the trade deadline. In exchange they received star swingman Zach LaVine form the Chicago Bulls, who reunites with his former Bulls teammate DeMar DeRozan in Sacramento. How do these changes affect the Kings? So far, they’ve actually played better since the deal, so it will be interesting to see how they finish the season as they battle for playoff and play-in position down the stretch.

After a slow offensive performance in their previous game, expect Alperen Sengun to have a bounce back performance tonight against the Kings. Sengun has had memorable battles with both Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas in the past, so Houston’s All-Star center should be prepared to put on another impressive performance.

Saturday night’s matchup is the finale of a three-game home-stand at Toyota Center. After tonight, the Rockets will hit the road for a three-game road trip beginning Monday night in Oklahoma City against the daunting Thunder. If Houston wants to stay in the hunt for the second seed in the Western Conference, they’ll need to close out the Kings, and avoid their first sweep of the season.

 

Toyota Center:  Houston, Texas

 

Jersey Colors:

Sacramento Kings (30-28):  Black

Houston Rockets (37-22):  Red

 

Tip-Off:  7:00 PM CT

TV:  Space City Home Network,  NBA League Pass

Rockets Blast Past Spurs, 118-106, to Win Season Series

Wire to Wire.    Efficient Prayer.    I-10 Victors.

In a rare occasion, Houston never trailed against San Antonio, as the Rockets beat the Spurs, 118-106 on Wednesday night at Toyota Center. The vast majority of Houston’s games have been close and competitive. It was nice to see the Rockets get a comfortable wire-to-wire win. The victory gives Houston the edge over San Antonio in the I-10 Rivalry Series this season, with the Rockets winning three of the four matchups. With Victor Wembanyama sidelined, the Spurs aren’t the same team. If Wemby can healthy next season, this rivalry should be amped up a notch in competitiveness and intensity, with both of these squads on the rise towards becoming future contenders. As for this season, San Antonio has pretty much slipped out of playoff contention, as the Spurs now boasting a 24-33 record, which pits them in thirteenth place in the competitive Western Conference. Meanwhile, Houston remains in fifth place in the West, although the Rockets still have an opportunity to grab the second seed with a strong finish to the season. 

Amen Thompson led Houston with 25 points on a very efficient 12-for-15 shooting from the floor. Twin also chipped in 9 boards and 5 assists in the win. Jalen Green added 21 points, and Dillon Brooks provided 19 points to round out the top scorers for the Rockets in their latest victory. On a night when Alperen Sengun struggled offensively, scoring only 9 points, Jeff Green came off the bench with another impressive showing, scoring 13 points in 20 minus of action. Rookie of the Year favorite Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson scored 22 points apiece to pace the Spurs. And despite the final score showing Houston winning by a dozen, this game wasn’t close any moment, with the Rockets leading by as many as 28 points en route to the blowout victory.

After beating San Antonio, Houston now improved to 6-8 on the second half of back-to-backs this season. Coming up, the Rockets will now get another couple of days off before they host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night to close out this three game home-stand. Houston is winless in two attempts against the Kings this season, with both losses coming earlier this season in Sacramento. As the Rockets will try and avoid their first sweep of the season, Fred VanVleet is finally expected to make his return to the lineup after an eleven game absence due to an ankle injury. Houston has gone 5-6 without FVV in the lineup. It’ll be nice to have a fully healthy Rockets squad, as the team prepares for the final stretch, with only 23 games now remaining in the regular season.