 Peja Stojakovic scored five of his 25 points during a 9-2 third quarter run to close out the Rockets. Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images |
On Sunday, Sacramento built a 10-point lead in the third quarter, only to fall at the Los Angeles Lakers, 93-85. But the Kings did not let the defeat linger in winning their fifth straight over Houston and remaining unbeaten at home.
"After the loss, you have to have a goal not to lose two in a row. We came big tonight and took care of it," said Kings center Vlade Divac, who had nine points and five rebounds.
"We needed to come back and win after last night," added Scot Pollard, who added 12 points and 14 rebounds. "It was big for us to come back and control this game throughout, and a big part of that is being at home, and we love that."
The Kings are 5-0 at home, where they have won by an average of 21 points.
Sacramento scored 14 of the game's first 18 points and never trailed, leading 54-39 at halftime.
The Rockets were within 73-62 late in the third, but the Kings closed the quarter with a 9-2 spurt, including five points from Stojakovic, for an 82-64 advantage.
Brent Price's three-pointer capped the 20-0 run and gave Sacramento its largest lead at 106-70 with 3:25 remaining.
"They made a couple of runs and we responded each time," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "I was just glad our energy level was so high after losing that tough game. I was worried that (the Rockets) were going to jump on us early, but from the first four or five minutes, I could see we were really into it."
Doug Christie, playing with tendinitis in his right shoulder, scored 23 points for Sacramento, which went 7-of-14 from three-point range.
"It was vital for us to come out and play a big game," Christie said. "We played a good game last night but not for 48 minutes. It was big for us to come out with a lot of intensity and play 48 minutes of ball, and we did that."
Steve Francis scored 18 points to lead Houston, which shot 36 percent (26-of-73) and committed 16 turnovers. Kenny Thomas and Cuttino Mobley contributed 12 points apiece.
"Nobody looked like they really wanted to play in this game, against a team that played last night," Francis said. "We just didn't come out aggressive against a team that's known for playing hard. We didn't come out and match their intensity."
Opening a four-game road trip, the Rockets lost their third straight game away from home and their fourth in the last five overall.
"That wasn't a loss, that was a (butt) kicking," Houston forward Kevin Willis said. "That's worst than a loss as far as I'm concerned."
Willis did not help matters when he was ejected with 7:17 left for arguing a flagrant foul against Pollard.
"That was just showing some emotion," he said. "I wasn't that upset by no means. That was just a sense of emotion."