SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox looked focused, fierce and refreshed after a few days away for the NBA All-Star break. That meant more bad news for the Houston Rockets.
Fox finished with 30 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, helping the Kings start the second half of the season with a 125-105 victory over the Rockets on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center. The Kings dominated virtually every aspect of the game against the struggling Rockets, who have lost 14 in a row dating back to Feb. 4.
Richaun Holmes recorded his 12th double-double of the season for the Kings (15-22), posting 20 points and 11 rebounds. Harrison Barnes put up identical numbers for his second double-double of the season. Buddy Hield also had some nice contributions, finishing with 20 points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
Victor Oladipo had a team-high 23 points for the Rockets (11-24), but he was held to 7-of-21 shooting from the field and 1-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Eric Gordon scored 17 points in his return from the knee injury that caused him to miss a couple of games before the All-Star break. Gordon helped the Rockets keep the game close for a while, but he went to the locker room with an apparent groin injury midway through the third quarter and did not return.
The Kings led 65-51 after shooting 51.1% from the field in the opening half with a 36-28 advantage on points in the paint. Sacramento went up by 20 on a pair of free throws by Bagley early in the third quarter.
Houston battled back to cut the deficit to 14 going into the fourth quarter, but the Kings remained in control, leading by as many as 26 in the fourth.
The Kings shot 48.9% from the field while holding the Rockets to 41.4%. The Kings made just 11 of 33 (.333) from 3-point range, but they knocked down 24 of 28 (.857) free-throw attempts. Going into the game, they were last in the NBA in free-throw shooting at 71.8%. The Kings also had a 53-44 rebounding advantage and outscored the Rockets 66-58 on points in the paint.
Rookie guard Tyrese Haliburton was back in uniform to start the second half after a calf injury caused him to miss the last four games before the All-Star break.
Kings coach Luke Walton said the team’s medical staff will continue to monitor Haliburton closely after he experienced left calf soreness in a 140-121 loss to the New York Knicks on Feb. 25. Before the game, Walton said Haliburton is currently under a minutes restriction, although he didn’t specify how many minutes the former Iowa State star would play. Haliburton finished with five points, three rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes.
“The minutes are not enough,” Walton said. “We want more minutes, but they are what they are. ... With the amount of games that are coming, the fact that he’s in his rookie season and now he’s already played more than an entire college season, getting his body accustomed to this type of wear and tear, night in and night out, this is just kind of the number that our sports science team feels is best for him and where he’s at in this stage of his career. So we’re thrilled to have him back, but, yeah, we’re going to be careful with him and make sure we keep him throughout the rest of this grind-out season.”
TUCKED AWAY
There was some in-game drama on the Rockets side as veteran forward P.J. Tucker was held out for the first time this season as a healthy scratch.
At halftime, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Rockets were continuing to discuss trade possibilities with several teams. Sources told ESPN Tucker remains frustrated that he hasn’t been traded to a contender. After the game, Houston coach Stephen Silas said Tucker will no longer be with the team as the Rockets search for a resolution leading up to the March 25 trade deadline.
Tucker started the first 32 games of the season for the Rockets, but he is averaging 4.4 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting just 36.6% from the field and 31.4% from 3-point range.
UP NEXT
Schedule makers were kind enough to allow the Kings to open the second half at home, but now they’ll head out on a six-game, 11-day road trip with stops in Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia and Cleveland.
The Kings will start the trip against the Atlanta Hawks (17-20) on Saturday at State Farm Arena, the site of last weekend’s NBA All-Star Game. Trae Young scored 37 points to help the Hawks open the second half with a 121-120 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday.
Young’s scoring as dipped slightly from his All-Star sophomore season in 2019-20, but he’s every bit as dangerous now as he was then. Young is averaging 26.4 points and 9.4 assists while shooting 37.8% from 3-point range. He’s also getting to the free-throw line 9.6 times per game and shooting a career-high 87.8% at the stripe.
