Houston Rockets move to 12-3 after defeating Kings 102-89

The Rockets met the much improved Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. The Kings coming in at 9-5 and on the 2nd night of a back-to-back, having handled the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, a game in which Kings star DeMarcus Cousins out played Pelicans star Anthony Davis.

The Kings were playing Wednesday without their 2^nd best player Rudy Gay and starting point guard Darren Collison due to some nagging injuries. The Rockets in turn were once again without Dwight Howard, Patrick Beverley and Terrence Jones.

The Rockets are getting used to playing without those guys and are learning how to win in spite of all the injuries.

The Rockets came out red hot in the 1^st quarter led by James Harden’s 12 points. The Kings were sloppy with 9 turnovers and the Rockets were converting most of them into buckets.

Nov 26, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets forward

Donatas Motiejunas

(20) shoots the ball during the first quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The highlight of the period came at the 3:10 mark when a DeMarcus Cousins turnover led to a fast break and a slick behind the back pass from Donatas Motiejunas to a streaking James Harden for a layup, giving the Rockets a 28-16 lead.

D-Mo has continued to improve during this stretch of starting for Terrence Jones and had his low most moves going early. He finished the quarter with 9 points. The Rockets continued to pour it on and when Jason Terry hit a 3 with 2.1 seconds to go, the Rockets closed out the quarter with a 37-19 lead.

The Kings cleaned up their act in the 2^nd quarter and cut down the turnovers. Trevor Ariza did his best to help the Rockets hang onto the lead that they built with 7 of the first 9 points to start the quarter including a 3-pointer with 8:39 to play for the largest lead of the game 22 points, Rockets up 43-21.

After that however, the Rockets struggled to convert on the offensive end and the Kings fought their way back into the game. But not before the game got a little chippy as Trevor Ariza and Omri Casspi went face to face and had to be separated.

The Kings were led by DeMarcus Cousins 14 first half points and Omri Casspi’s 10 points clawed their way back into the game cutting the lead to 57-50 at the half.

James Harden had 15 points in the first half, D-Mo contributed 13 in one of his best quarters of the season and Trevor Ariza added 13.

The 3^rd quarter started off as just a carry-over of the end of the 2^nd as the Rockets stayed ice cold, missing their first 6 shots. Isaiah Canaan broke the drought with a 3 pointer at 8:58, Rockets lead down to 4 points at 60-56.

Canaan however did his best to pull the Rockets out of the offensive slump. He got red hot in the quarter and the Rockets kept feeding him the ball. Canaan hit four 3-pointers in the 3^rd period, giving him 21 points and tying his career high to that point.

Canaan scored 14 of the Rockets 20 points in the quarter but the Kings led by Cousins 23 points through 3 quarters continued to creep closer and closer. Cousins, twice had to be separated from a few pushing and shoving incidents as he continued to let his emotions show. At one point Kings Coach Michael Malone was warned to get a handle on Cousins.

Rockets lead 77-73 at the end of the 3^rd.

Nov 26, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) shoots the ball as Sacramento Kings guard

Ben McLemore

(23) defends during the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Rockets as a team woke up in the 4^th quarter. James Harden struggled shooting 10-for-31 following his monster game on Monday night against the Knicks. In spite of the shooting woes and clear frustration from Harden, he still managed 26 points in the game.

But as we have come to see much more often this season, Harden had some great plays on defense with a 2 steals and 3 blocked shots, including one on DeMarcus Cousins.

Motiejunas continued to work in the low post, adding 6 more in the 4^th quarter to give him his career high 21 points, when he hit a turnaround hook shot at the 4:00 mark and a Rockets 90-81 lead.

Not to be forgotten Isaiah Canaan stepped up with another 3 pointer with 1:29 to go to put the final nail in the Kings coffin. The bucket gave the Rockets a 98-87 lead and gave Canaan his new career high of 24 points.

Final score Rockets 102, Kings 89 and the Rockets go to 12-3 on the season.

It continues to be a great start to the season for the Rockets, when you consider how many injuries they have had. They’ve now played 11 games with starter Terrence Jones and it’s still unknown when he will return. Patrick Beverley has also missed 7 of the past 12 games and Dwight Howard missed his 4^th straight.

Many questions about the bench were present to start the season. Veterans Jason Terry and Francisco Garcia are doing whatever they still can. The bench is still relatively thin, but a couple young players have stepped up and two of those players shined bright tonight, Isaiah Canaan & Donatas Motiejunas. (highlights here)

Jones’ absence has given D-Mo the opportunity to step up and after a slow start he has played well and seems to be figuring out his role on this team, excelling in the low post offensively, hitting an occasional 3 and looking more comfortable in the open court and with his passing game.

Nov 26, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard Isaiah Canaan (0) shoots the ball as Sacramento Kings guard

Ramon Sessions

(9) defends during the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Likewise, Beverley’s absence has forced Kevin McHale to play Isaiah Canaan even though at times it has been clear that he did not want to. He first tried playing Ish Smith ahead of him in training camp and Jason Terry in front of him to start the season.

But Canaan has seized the opportunity and shown his worth. Although he’s not the defensive player that Beverley is he is an exceptional offensive player when given the minutes and should be given even more minutes going forward.

In terms of the bench depth however another issue was exposed against the Kings. Joey Dorsey cannot shoot free throws. Pressed into more minutes with Dwight Howard out and backing up Tarik Black, the “hacka-Dwight” strategy became “hacka-Joey” as the Kings tried to send Dorsey to the free throw line repeatedly, where he went 0-for-4 and Kevin McHale could not get him out of the game quick enough.

At this point you have to wonder if the Rockets would like a “do-over” on Dorsey and wish they had kept Jeff Adrien instead, as we suggested here at House of Houston. Adrien wouldn’t have helped at center but could have at least given them some depth at power forward.