HOUSTON, Nov. 2 (Ticker) -- The Houston Rockets got a huge push off the bench from Jon Barry to defeat one of their biggest Western Conference rivals.

Barry scored 24 points - one shy of his career high - and added three steals in just 26 minutes as the Rockets posted a 98-89 triumph over the winless Sacramento Kings.

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Houston trailed, 27-19, heading into the second quarter, but Barry scored the first six points en route to 12 in the period to help cut the deficit to 49-46 at the break.

Yao Ming, who collected 22 points and 12 rebounds, scored five points during an 11-2 burst to open the second half as the Rockets took the lead for good.

"We knew the first five minutes of the third quarter were very crucial," Barry said. "I think we held them scoreless for about four or five minutes there, and that really started to turn things around for us.

"We did the same thing at the start of the fourth quarter, too."

Barry, who said Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy called him earlier this week about his lack of intensity, responded with possibly the best all-around game of his career.

"I have been worried about his play and his intensity in the preseason," Van Gundy said. "I thought he did a good job of generating intensity from the bench in the first half."

Barry added 10 in the final period, including a 3-pointer that gave the Rockets a 78-67 lead. Sacramento rallied within 85-79 with 4:25 remaining on Kevin Martin's two free throws, but Yao connected on back-to-back baskets to put away the game.

Bonzi Wells had 22 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for the Kings, who fell to 0-2.

"I've always been a rebounder," Wells said. "I made a conscious effort to go inside and get some rebounds to help out our front line."

"Bonzi had an unbelievable game on the boards," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "There were a lot of positives, but it's never good to lose. We have to get better."

Brad Miller added 21 points but just six after the first quarter thanks to the efforts of Rockets big men Dikembe Mutombo and Juwan Howard.

"Brad was getting a lot of good looks. He was coming off screens, he was hitting cutters," Mutombo said. "We finally just started cutting off the lane to stop him. After the first quarter, I thought he was going to score 40."

Tracy McGrady added 23 points for Houston, which had lost seven of its previous nine matchups against the Kings. The Rockets' bench held a 39-14 scoring edge.

"Having that depth is a real key for us," McGrady said. "Those guys come out and not only pick up the intensity, they score as well. (Barry) did a heckuva job. Dikembe's rebounding was outstanding."