Peja Stojakovic scored 24 points and Mike Bibby added 18 as the Sacramento Kings posted an 89-84 victory over the battered Rockets, who saw their offense collapse in the final minutes.
 Sacramento's Vlade Divac puts some touch on a floater. Bill Baptist NBAE/Getty Images |
The duo has combined to average nearly 38 points per game but was adequately replaced by rookie Oscar Torres and Moochie Norris. Torres scored a season-high 20 points and Norris had 19.
"I've started a few games and I know what it takes to run the ballclub," Norris said. "I thought we put out a good team effort without our 1-2 punch. Of course, we miss their 40 points and we've got to find way to make up for that."
"It doesn't matter who you suit up, if you do the right thing, you have a chance to win," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich added. "It doesn't matter the names or the credentials, I expect our guys to have the mentality that they expect to win every night."
Neither Torres nor Norris could ignite Houston's offense in the fourth quarter. The Rockets had a 73-72 lead with 8:56 to go before Sacramento went on a 16-9 run to take control.
Houston missed nine straight shots in the final four minutes and went more than three minutes without a point en route to its third straight loss.
"We really battled to get the win, but at the end we just didn't make the shots we needed," Tomjanovich said. "The effort was really good, though we made a couple of mental mistakes."
Stojakovic scored five points in the final minute to seal the victory as the Kings rebounded from Monday's stunning defeat at Memphis and snapped a two-game road losing streak.
"We were fortunate to do enough in the fourth quarter to get the win," Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said. "I feel better tonight than I did (Monday). We lost (Monday) to a team that didn't have three starters. We've got to turn it up on the road."
"It was very important after (Monday) to win," Stojakovic added. "We had the unexpected loss to Memphis and had to get back on track."
Kenny Thomas posted season highs with 18 points and 19 rebounds for the Rockets, who have lost the last six meetings with the Kings.
Sacramento shot 52 percent (12-of-23) in the first quarter and Stojakvic scored nine points to build a 29-27 lead. Torres kept Houston close with 11 points in the period.
The Kings scored the first seven points of the second quarter and took a 36-27 lead with 9:03 left on a layup by Bobby Jackson, who had four points during the stretch.
Jackson and Bibby each scored six points in the period and Sacramento went into halftime with a 52-41 lead.
The Kings had their largest advantage, 56-41, just 55 seconds into the second half before Houston went on a 26-8 run. Norris scored 12 points during the burst and Thomas had 10.
"We have a tendency to relax when we get up a lot," Bibby said. "I don't know why, but we let down after having the big halftime lead. We need to come out with a killer instinct."
Torres nailed a 14-foot jumper with 2:13 remaining to forge a 64-64 tie and Thomas put the Rockets ahead with a three-point play with 53 seconds left.
Lawrence Funderburke scored the last two baskets of the quarter to reclaim the lead for the Kings heading into the fourth.
Houston had its only lead of the final period after Norris made a running jumper with 8:56 to go, but the Rockets made just four baskets and two free throws the rest of the way.