NBA

Houston Rockets at Sacramento Kings

· NBA Cup - Group Play
15-7, 6-4 Away
Final
111 - 120

10-12, 5-7 Home

The Kings make 15 straight shots to beat the Rockets 120-111

Ime Udoka gets ejected for verbal tirade at official

The shooting spree by the Kings turned an eight-point deficit late in the second quarter into a 12-point lead midway through the third to give the Kings their only win in four NBA Cup games.

De’Aaron Fox added 22 points, Malik Monk had 17 points and a career-high 12 assists, and DeMar DeRozan scored 16.

The Rockets won their first three games in the NBA Cup and could have clinched the top seed in the West with a win over the Kings. Houston will host Golden State in the quarterfinals.

Jalen Green scored 28 to lead Houston and Alperen Sengun added 24.

Takeaways Rockets: Houston had won three straight and 10 of 12 games before delivering a dud against Sacramento. The frustration led to coach Ime Udoka and Sengun getting ejected late in the fourth quarter.

Kings: Sacramento found its shooting touch after hitting less than 40% of its 3-point tries in six straight games. The Kings came into the day ranking sixth worst in the NBA by making 33.2% from 3 but went 14 for 30 against Houston.

Key moment The Kings shooting run began shortly after a heated moment between the teams after a hard foul by Fox against Jabari Smith Jr. There were three technicals issued with Monk getting one for Sacramento and Smith and Dillon Brooks getting them for Houston.

Key stat The Kings went nearly nine minutes of game action without missing a shot from the field. Sabonis and Fox each made four, DeRozan and Keegan Murray made three and Monk made one.

Up next The Rockets play at Golden State on Thursday night. The Kings travel to face Memphis.

Regular Season Series

SAC leads series 1-0

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 111 - 120
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 111 - 120
4th 2.0 Alex Len offensive rebound 111 - 120
4th 4.1 Jordan McLaughlin misses free throw 2 of 2 111 - 120
4th 4.1 Kings offensive team rebound 111 - 120

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/hou.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originHOU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/sac.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originSAC
41-93 FG 47-91
44 Field Goal % 52
14-39 3PT 14-30
36 Three Point % 47
15-21 FT 12-20
71 Free Throw % 60
53 Rebounds 34
18 Offensive Rebounds 10
35 Defensive Rebounds 24
14 Assists 33
6 Steals 7
1 Blocks 8
15 Turnovers 10
1 Team Turnovers 0
16 Total Turnovers 10
5 Technical Fouls 1
5 Total Technical Fouls 1
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
22 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 9
12 Fast Break Points 13
36 Points in Paint 56
23 Fouls 20
11 Largest Lead 15
Sacramento Kings Sacramento Kings Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Devin Carter, G Day-To-Day Dec 23
Keegan Murray, F Day-To-Day Dec 23
Zach LaVine, G Out Dec 23
Domantas Sabonis, F Out Dec 19
Drew Eubanks, F Out Dec 13
Houston Rockets Houston Rockets Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Dorian Finney-Smith, F Out Dec 24
Alperen Sengun, C Day-To-Day Dec 24
Jae'Sean Tate, F Day-To-Day Dec 24
Fred VanVleet, G Out Sep 22

Game Information

Golden 1 Center

Location: Sacramento, CA
Attendance: 15,019 · Capacity:

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
San Antonio 22 7 .759 - W7
Houston 17 10 .630 4 L2
Memphis 14 16 .467 8.5 W1
Dallas 12 19 .387 11 W1
New Orleans 8 23 .258 15 L1

2025-26 Pacific Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
LA Lakers 19 9 .679 - L2
Phoenix 16 13 .552 3.5 W1
Golden State 15 15 .500 5 W2
LA Clippers 8 21 .276 11.5 W2
Sacramento 7 23 .233 13 L1
Full Standings

NBA News

Kerr: Bench spat with Draymond 'not my finest hour'

Kerr: Bench spat with Draymond 'not my finest hour'

Warriors coach Steve Kerr says he regrets how he handled his recent in-game argument with Draymond Green.

Steve Kerr laments beef with Draymond Green: 'Not my finest hour'

Steve Kerr laments beef with Draymond Green: 'Not my finest hour'

In a remarkable 15-minute media session Wednesday, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr took responsibility for his argument with Draymond Green that caused the forward to leave the bench in the middle of a game.

Shams: Cam Johnson will miss 'some time' for Nuggets

Shams: Cam Johnson will miss 'some time' for Nuggets

Shams Charania gives an update on Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson's injury.

Anthony Edwards reveals trash talk origin, sets lofty mark for Christmas Day

Anthony Edwards reveals trash talk origin, sets lofty mark for Christmas Day

Shams Charania chats with Anthony Edwards about his trash-talking, the Olympics and the Timberwolves' Christmas Day game.

Sources: Nuggets F Johnson has bone bruise, will miss some time

Sources: Nuggets F Johnson has bone bruise, will miss some time

An MRI shows that Denver Nuggets forward Cam Johnson has a bone bruise in his right knee and is expected to be out for some time, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.