The Kings were destroyed by the visiting Houston Rockets, and DeMarcus Cousins is now one technical away from being suspended after getting ejected in the 3rd.
The Kings were absolutely beat down by the Rockets on Tuesday night. The Rockets were in control right from the get go, outscoring the Kings 42 to 17 in the first quarter. James Harden nearly set an arena record for points in a half but fell just short scoring a mere 30 points in the first 24 minutes. Harden would finish with a season-high 43 points on just 20 shots, going 15-16 from the line.
Dwight Howard played just 24 minutes but still managed 20 points,11 rebounds and 2 blocks.
DeMarcus Cousins had a good first half for the Kings, scoring 16 points, but picked up 2 technicals in the third quarter and was promptly ejected. It was Cousins' first ejection of the year, but it puts him at 15 technicals, one away from a mandatory suspension.
Rudy Gay led the way for the Kings with 25 points on 10-16 shooting after starting off 0-5. Isaiah Thomas had a tough shooting night, going 4-14, and no other King was able to really get going. Rookie Ray McCallum played a season-high 25 minutes and finished with 6 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds.
In a somewhat surprising development, Jason Thompson picked up two quick fouls in the first five minutes and did not play another minute. Instead, Reggie Evans, Aaron Gray, Derrick Williams and Carl Landry got the majority of the big man minutes. No word as of yet if Thompson's hurt or if there's something else afoot. Evans had a near double-double with 8 points and 8 rebounds and used all 6 of his fouls in 24 minutes.
The Kings will now get a few days off before facing the Lakers in Los Angeles on Friday in the first game of a back-to-back
For the opposing perspective, visit The Dream Shake.