Domantas Sabonis scores 27 as Kings Slow Rockets

Domantas Sabonis had a team-high 27 points, DeMar DeRozan poured in 13 of his 16 points in a third-quarter outburst and the Sacramento Kings foiled the Houston Rockets’ hopes of being the West’s top seed in the NBA quarterfinals Cup next week with a 120-111 home win Tuesday night.

Despite the loss, the Rockets took first place in the event’s West Group A with a 3–1 record, earning an automatic berth in the conference’s final four. With none of the three group winners remaining undefeated, a tiebreaker determined the top three seeds, and the Rockets ended up between the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and the third-seeded Golden State Warriors.

The Rockets will host the Warriors in a quarterfinal match next week.

Houston jumped out to a 28-19 lead in the final minute of the first quarter. Jabari Smith Jr., Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet buried 3-pointers in the early series.

From then on, however, the kings took over. They scored the final eight points of the second period to pull within one halftime period, then took the lead for good with a 42-point third quarter.

Malik Monk and Keegan Murray each hit two 3-pointers to complement DeRozan’s big quarter, allowing the hosts to take a 96-84 lead into the final period.

The Rockets got no closer than six in the final twelve minutes.

De’Aaron Fox added 22 points for Sacramento, which won for the first time in its four NBA Cup games. while Monk scored 17 points and a game-high 12 assists.

Sabonis also collected seven rebounds and four assists.

Seven Kings scored in double figures, including Murray and Kevin Huerter with 13 points each and Isaac Jones with 12.

Green went for a game-high 28 points and Alperen Sengun had 24 for Houston, which entered the game on a three-game winning streak. Sengun also found time for a team-high eight rebounds and six assists.

Tari Eason scored 16 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and three steals off the bench for the visitors, while VanVleet finished with 13 points.

–Field-level media