Poor Officiating Clouds Rockets’ 120-111 Loss to Kings
Blind Whistle. Unlikely Stretch. The Inspirers.
In their final NBA Cup Group Stage match, the Rockets fell to the Kings, 120-111, on Tuesday night. This was the worst officiated game Houston’s been a part of all season. Ime Udoka and Alperen Sengun were tossed near the end of the contest. The refs seemed to be trying to atone for costing Sacramento the 2002 Western Conference Finals, or they were getting paid to throw this game. The officiating was that atrocious. Udoka had the best postgame rant about NBA refs all season when he suggested how the officials could fix their problems, Ime said “so get some f**king glasses up in your eyes.” The refs were simply not calling the game both ways. Sengun was getting hacked without any fouls being called, and the Rockets were being called for ticky-tack calls if they barely touched a Sacramento player.
If there’s any good news from Tuesday’s loss, Jalen Green at least had a bounce-back performance. Green scored 28 points on 9-for-14 shooting to lead Houston’s offensive attack. Alperen Sengun had another slow start, scoring only six first half points. The Wizard bounced back in the second half to finish the game with 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. And Tari Eason provided 16 points, 12 boards, and 3 steals off the bench.
The Rockets had a chance to win this game, even with the Kings going on an offensive stretch rarely seen in professional basketball. Sacramento made fifteen consecutive shots on Tuesday night. The Kings made their last six shots of the first half, and their first nine buckets in the third quarter to pull away from the Rockets. Sacramento connected on nearly 74 percent of their shots in the third period. And in the fourth quarter, the refs halted any of Houston’s attempts at a comeback.
This game featured several Kings players who had been struggling all season. And they all seemed to snap out of funks against the Rockets. Kevin “Red Velvet” Huerter scored 13 points, Keegan Murray also added 13 in the scoring column. Malik Monk scored 17 points. And the Kings “Big Three” of DeAaon Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and DeMar DeRozan all had solid games. This Houston team seems to inspire struggling opponents to play their best basketball. Coming into this matchup, the Kings had lost six of their previous seven games. When the Rockets narrowly lost in Milwaukee earlier this season, the Bucks were 4-9 before the game. After beating Houston, Milwaukee won their next seven games in a row. And after the Rockets beat the Clippers twice in a row at Toyota Center earlier season, L.A. went on to win five straight games, and eight out of ten overall. Don’t be surprised if this game marks the beginning of a hot streak for Sacramento.
Being the final group stage game of the NBA Cup, the Kings were already eliminated from knockout play. And with the loss, the Rockets ended up finishing second in the NBA Cup Standings in the Western Conference, and will host the hated Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night in Houston. The winner will advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas. Ironically enough, Houston’s next opponent on this three-game California trip happens to be: those same Golden State Warriors. These squads will meet for the second time this season on Thursday night in San Francisco before their NBA Cup Quarterfinal matchup. And the Rockets are desperately aiming to finally snap a fourteen game skid at the hands of their Bay Area rivals.