Rockets-Kings Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Apr 08 2012 2:32AM

A pair of impressive wins over potential championship contenders have increased the Houston Rockets' odds of going to the postseason.

The potential return of Kyle Lowry combined with a favorable upcoming schedule appear to be a good chance for them to further help their cause.

Lowry could be back Sunday night when the Rockets begin a stretch of four games against teams outside the playoff race by aiming for a season sweep of the Sacramento Kings.

Houston (30-25) has won six of nine, following Monday's 99-93 win at Eastern Conference-leading Chicago with a 112-107 victory Friday at the Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Lakers.

The Rockets are currently tied with Dallas for sixth in the Western Conference, one-half game ahead of eighth-place Denver and two behind Memphis for fifth.

A seemingly favorable upcoming schedule could help them solidify their position. After visiting the Kings (19-37), Houston caps its four-game trip at Portland on Monday before returning home to face Utah on Wednesday and Phoenix two nights later.

Leading scorer Kevin Martin (17.1 points per game) is still nursing a shoulder injury, but the Rockets may be about to get their starting point guard back in the lineup.

Lowry returned to practice earlier this week, but Friday marked the 15th game in a row he's missed while recovering from a bacterial infection. It remains unclear exactly when he will return to game action, but getting him back would likely give the Rockets a big lift.

Lowry, averaging career highs of 15.9 points and 7.2 assists, had 25 points and nine assists in Houston's 103-89 home win over the Kings on Jan. 13.

Houston also did just fine without him March 26, beating Sacramento 113-106 in overtime - also at home.

Goran Dragic has helped pick up the scoring slack with Lowry out, averaging 18.5 points and 8.7 assists in the past 15 contests. Dragic has been even better in the last four games, averaging 23.5 points while hitting 55.9 percent of his field goals overall and shooting 9 of 18 from beyond the arc.

Dragic had 14 points and 10 assists in the most recent matchup with Sacramento.

The Kings enter this meeting losers of eight of 10 overall, surrendering an average of 107.7 points in that stretch.

They struggled defensively again Saturday, allowing the Los Angeles Clippers to make 11 of 27 3-pointers en route to a 109-94 defeat at Staples Center to complete a home-and-home sweep.

Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and 20 rebounds, but shot just 5 of 19 from the floor and 5 of 9 from the free-throw line. Despite his struggles, at least he was able to remain on the court after being limited by foul trouble to 18:28 of a 93-85 home loss to the Clippers two days earlier, eventually fouling out.

Cousins' 222 personal fouls are the most in the NBA, while his 11 technicals rank second. He also got fined $25,000 by the NBA on Friday for criticizing officials. However, he also has 33 double-doubles - the most by a King since Chris Webber's 45 in 2002-03.

"I'm trying to stay low and just sticking to playing basketball," he said."

Cousins had 38 points and 14 rebounds in last month's loss at Houston.

Lee scores 25 in Rockets' 104-87 win over Kings

Posted Apr 09 2012 12:51AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Despite missing leading scorer Kevin Martin and point guard Kyle Lowry for more than a month, the Houston Rockets are playing some of their best basketball of the season.

Courtney Lee scored 19 of his 25 points in the first half, leading the Rockets to a 104-87 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.

Houston has won three straight and four of the last five, including a pair of road games, where they have struggled for much of the season. The Rockets, sixth in the Western Conference, moved one-half game ahead of defending champion Dallas.

Houston is getting consistent play from Goran Dragic at point guard and Lee has filled in admirably for Martin. Solid contributions from the other starters and many of the reserves has helped the Rockets win seven of their last 10.

"We're a deep team, everyone on this team can play," Lee said. "We're moving the ball, we're executing on offense. Once we get all our guys back we'll be a pretty dangerous team."

Martin watched the game in street clothes, but Lowry played for the first time after missing 15 games with a bacterial infection that required hospitalization. Lowry came off the bench in the first quarter and finished with one point and seven assists in 18 minutes.

"I was glad to be back. I wanted to play last game (Friday against the Lakers) but coach said no," Lowry said. "It wasn't a break I wanted to take, but I definitely feel good."

Dragic was a steady influence on offense, continually penetrating the Kings defense and finishing with 15 points and nine assists. Chase Budinger was a big factor in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of his 15 points. Luis Scola added 13 points and eight rebounds, and Patrick Patterson had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Houston entered the game well rested, playing just twice over the previous seven days. Both were significant wins as the Rockets beat East-leading Chicago on the road and the visiting Lakers on Friday.

"We had a huge win at Chicago, now we've got two in a row on the road," Dragic said. "This year we haven't played well on the road, but this would be a great time to start. We're playing very well as a team right now. We have great team chemistry."

Terrence Williams had a season-high 21 points and eight rebounds for the Kings, losers of four straight and nine of 11. Rookie guard Jimmer Fredette, making his seventh start, made three 3-pointers and finished with 17 points in a season-high 37 minutes, and Isaiah Thomas added 16 points.

The Kings lost Saturday night in Los Angeles against the Clippers and looked sluggish against the Rockets.

"We have some injuries right now. Guys are down," Fredette said."We just didn't have a lot of energy tonight. It's something we have to work on as a team."

A surprise starter, Fredette got tested early by Lee. Defended by Fredette, Lee had a big first quarter with 17 points. The Houston guard scored several times off the break, but also victimized Fredette with three 3-pointers.

"Before the game I thought Tyreke Evans and Francisco (Garcia) were going to start, and when I saw that Jimmer was starting I wanted the ball a little more," Lee said. "I was able to get going early, get to my spots and knock down some shots."

Houston led by 22 points in the third quarter before the Kings cut the margin to 10 entering the fourth. However, the Rockets pulled away again as Budinger made a runner and followed with a 3-pointer to put Houston ahead 93-74 with 4:02 remaining.

The slumping Kings committed 12 turnovers in the first half and finished with 21.

Quiet in the first half, Scola made three jumpers early in the third quarter. A three-point play by Parsons put the Rockets ahead 69-47, their biggest lead of the game.

But the Kings quickly recovered. Switching to a zone defense with four reserves, and benefitting from the shot-altering capability of backup center Hassan Whiteside, the Kings ran off nine straight points and closed the quarter with a 16-4 run to pull to 73-63 heading into the fourth.

"The group that got us to eight points, I played those guys," said Kings coach Keith Smart, defending the move to keep DeMarcus Cousins, Evans and Jason Thompson on the bench for much of the second half. "They did a great job getting us back to a manageable number. But of course, they ran out of gas."

Houston led by 11 points after the first quarter and took a 58-43 lead into the break.

NOTES: Ex-King Martin is still nursing a shoulder injury and missed his 13th straight game. ... Houston shot 61 percent in the first quarter when it led 32-21. ... Kings F John Salmons has missed the last eight games with a sore hip and teammate Marcus Thornton has been out the last four with a bruised left calf. ... The Kings made 20 of 37 free throws.

Notebook: Rockets 104, Kings 87

Posted Monday April 9, 2012 12:48AM

By James Ham, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Sacramento Kings came out flat and got embarrassed on their home floor. The Houston Rockets hit them early and often, walking away with an easy 104-87 road win.

Courtney Lee was a star for the Rockets, scoring a game high 25 points in the romp. Backcourt mate Goran Dragic added 15 points and nine assists, while orchestrating a well-balanced offensive attack for Houston.

Former Rocket Terrence Williams had a little hop in his step off the Kings bench tonight. Williams fought hard despite his team trailing by double-digits for much of the evening, finishing with a team high 21 points and eight rebounds. Rookie Jimmer Fredette started for the injured Marcus Thornton, scoring 17 points in the loss.

QUOTABLE: "I just think our team is not our team right now. We're patching it up right now, it's not the team right now. We've got guys that are normally in the rotation, trying to come in, trying to play frontline teams, NBA players who are starters on other teams. So I think the team has been twisted a little bit because of some injuries and set-backs that we've had. But you know, you've got to fight through it and we will fight through it."
-- Kings coach Keith Smart

THE STAT: The Kings did a nice job getting to the foul line, but a horrible job of capitalizing on those opportunities. The home team missed 17 of its 37 free throw attempts, shooting just 54 percent from the charity stripe on the night.

TURNING POINT: This one was over before it began. The Kings came out flat and never showed enough energy to get back in the game. The Rockets led 32-21 at the end of the first quarter and never trailed in the game.

QUOTABLE II: "You just got to be ready to play. It's a mental thing more than a physical thing. Mentally, you have to be prepared -- all of us. We've got to do a better job of getting ourselves ready in warmups and getting ourselves mentally prepared, so we can start the game well and not get into lapses."
-- Fredette on the Kings' lackluster play

HOT: Lee's eyes must have been the size of dinner plates tonight when he looked over at the Kings' starting lineup and saw rookie Jimmer Fredette was guarding him. The fourth-year guard out of Western Kentucky scored 17 points in the game's first 12 minutes, going 7-for-8 from the field, including all three of his long balls.

QUOTABLE III: "Before the game, I thought Tyreke Evans or Francisco (Garcia) were going to start and when I saw that Jimmer (Fredette) was starting, I wanted the ball a little more."
-- Lee on his big night

NOT: Evans had very little energy for Smart, leaving his coach no choice but to leave his starting small forward on the bench for much of the night. Evans finished with six points in 22 minutes of action in the lopsided defeat.

BAD MOVE: The Kings failed to guard Lee early, which set this game off on the wrong foot. Be it Fredette, Williams or Evans, the Kings didn't have an answer for Lee, who scorched the Kings for 25 points.

NOTABLE: Kyle Lowry returned to action for the Rockets after missing 15 games with a bacterial infection. The veteran point guard looked rusty, finishing with one point and seven assists in 18 minutes.

UP NEXT: For the Rockets, Monday @ Portland, Wednesday vs. Utah, Friday vs. Phoenix. For the Kings, Tuesday @ Dallas, Wednesday @ New Orleans, Friday @ Oklahoma City.

• Rockets: Fortson, Smith
• Kings: Salmons

• Rockets: --
• Kings: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Power Balance Pavilion, Sacramento, CA
• Officials: #31 Scott Wall, #47 Bennie Adams, #8 Marc Davis
• Attendance: 13299
• Duration: 2:03