Game ID: 22300137
Sacramento Kings @ Houston Rockets
Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 33 26 12 36 107SAC 19 34 15 21 89
HOU vs SAC ScoutingHOU vs SAC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
HOU availability going into 10/25 · season opener
full strength
HOU availability going into 10/27 · 1 day's rest
full strength
HOU availability going into 10/29 · 1 day's rest
full strength
HOU availability going into 11/01 · 2 days' restOUT Whitmore missed 2 since 10/27, out tonight
OUT Holiday missed 2 since 10/27, returns tonight: 11 min (66% of 16)
OUT Landale missed 2 since 10/27, returns tonight: 19 min (140% of 14)
HOU availability going into 11/04 · 2 days' restOUT Eason missed 2 since 10/29, out tonight
OUT Whitmore missed 3 since 10/27, returns tonight: 1 min (7% of 19)
BACK Holiday back 11/01 after 2, 11 min since (66% of 16)
BACK Landale back 11/01 after 2, 19 min since (140% of 14)
HOU availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's restOUT Eason missed 3 since 10/29, out tonight
BACK Whitmore back 11/04 after 3, 1 min since (7% of 19)
BACK Holiday back 11/01 after 2, 15 min since (91% of 16)
BACK Landale back 11/01 after 2, 16 min since (114% of 14)
HOU availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restOUT Thompson missed 2 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Eason missed 4 since 10/29, returns tonight: 14 min (65% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 11/04 after 3, 7 min since (36% of 19)
BACK Holiday back 11/01 after 2, 17 min since (104% of 16)
BACK Landale back 11/01 after 2, 16 min since (115% of 14)
HOU availability going into 11/10 · 1 day's restOUT Thompson missed 3 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Eason back 11/08 after 4, 14 min since (65% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 11/04 after 3, 7 min since (36% of 19)
BACK Holiday back 11/01 after 2, 18 min since (113% of 16)
BACK Landale back 11/01 after 2, 15 min since (108% of 14)
NEW Tate 16 to 22 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 11/12 · 1 day's restOUT Thompson missed 4 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Whitmore missed 2 since 11/08, out tonight
BACK Eason back 11/08 after 4, 17 min since (76% of 22)
BACK Holiday back 11/01 after 2, 18 min since (108% of 16)
BACK Landale back 11/01 after 2, 13 min since (97% of 14)
NEW Tate 16 to 22 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 10/25 · season opener
full strength
SAC availability going into 10/27 · 1 day's rest
full strength
SAC availability going into 10/29 · 1 day's rest
full strength
SAC availability going into 11/01 · 2 days' restOUT Ellis missed 2 since 10/27, out tonight
NEW Barnes 29 to 34 min over the last 3
NEW Duarte 12 to 18 min over the last 3
SAC availability going into 11/04 · 2 days' restOUT Ellis missed 3 since 10/27, returns tonight: 1 min (8% of 17)
SAC availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's restOUT Fox missed 2 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 11/04 after 3, 1 min since (8% of 17)
NEW Duarte 12 to 18 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restOUT Fox missed 3 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 11/04 after 3, 8 min since (46% of 17)
NEW Mitchell 15 to 22 min over the last 5
NEW Duarte 12 to 18 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 11/10 · 1 day's restOUT Fox missed 4 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 11/04 after 3, 12 min since (72% of 17)
NEW Mitchell 15 to 25 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 11/13 · 2 days' restOUT Fox missed 5 since 11/01, returns tonight: 36 min (100% of 36)
BACK Ellis back 11/04 after 3, 17 min since (99% of 17)
NEW Mitchell 15 to 25 min over the last 5
10/25 @ ORL 86-116 — HOU notes
HOU lost 86-116. HOU shot 41% (32 of 79) to ORL's 48%, 12 of 34 from three, and got to the line 16 times to ORL's 26. The glass went 31-57 against them. VanVleet led with 14 (5 of 13, 4 of 6 from three); Sengun added 14, Brooks 14. Q2 was theirs, 23-25, but the other 3 periods went 91-63 against them. Thompson's -34 in 21 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/27 @ SAS 122-126 — HOU notes
HOU lost 122-126 in 1 overtime. HOU shot 52% (52 of 100) to SAS's 49%, 8 of 32 from three, and got to the line 20 times to SAS's 28. Sengun led with 25 (11 of 18, 1 of 3 from three, 2 of 6 at the line); VanVleet added 24, Ja. Green 22. Q3 was theirs, 31-24, but the other 4 periods went 102-91 against them. They led by as many as 10. VanVleet's -9 in 45 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/29 vs GSW 95-106 — HOU notes
HOU lost 95-106. HOU took 9 more shots (90 to 81), fed by 10 offensive rebounds, but shot 38% to GSW's 43%, 9 of 33 from three. HOU turned it over 7 times to GSW's 14. Ja. Green led with 21 (8 of 20, 1 of 5 from three); Sengun added 19, Smith Jr. 14. Q3 was theirs, 28-24, the deficit cut from 10 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 82-67 against them. Tate's -24 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/01 vs CHA 128-119 — HOU notes
HOU won 128-119. HOU shot 52% (44 of 84) to CHA's 50%, 21 of 37 from three. Ja. Green led with 23 (6 of 16, 4 of 8 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); VanVleet added 22, Brooks 20. The hinge was Q1, 39-27: from level to 12 ahead, and the lead reached 18. Tate was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
11/04 vs SAC 107-89 — HOU notes
HOU won 107-89. HOU shot 46% (40 of 87) to SAC's 38%, 13 of 36 from three. The glass went 53-43 for them. Brooks led with 26 (9 of 14, 2 of 4 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); VanVleet added 21, Smith Jr. 21. The hinge was Q4, 36-21: a lead of 3 became 18. Sengun was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
11/06 vs SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 111, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Sengun at 18 and Brooks at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Eason (3 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 114, shooting 43 percent and 33 from three, 23 free throws a game; Fox at 31 and Sabonis at 17 a game. Without Fox (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 37 percent from three to Sacramento's 33. Call it Houston 112, Sacramento 111, Sacramento keeping it close.
11/08 vs LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 107, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Ja. Green at 20 and Sengun at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Thompson (2 straight), Eason (4 straight). One day's rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 118, shooting 49 percent and 31 from three, 25 free throws a game; James at 27 and Davis at 24 a game. Without Hachimura (4 straight), Vincent (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 39 percent from three to the Lakers' 31 and the defense, Houston allowing 107 a night to the Lakers' 118. Call it Houston 115, the Lakers 110.
11/10 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 101, shooting 49 percent and 42 from three, 22 free throws a game; Ja. Green at 21 and Sengun at 18 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Thompson (3 straight). One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 120, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 24 free throws a game; McCollum at 25 and Williamson at 22 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without McCollum (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Houston allowing 101 a night to New Orleans's 120 and the glass, where Houston has been plus-5 a night and New Orleans minus-7. Call it Houston 117, New Orleans 106, Houston by 11.
11/12 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 100, shooting 50 percent and 42 from three, 23 free throws a game; Ja. Green at 22 and Sengun at 19 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Thompson (4 straight), Whitmore (2 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 21 free throws a game; Jokić at 31 and Porter Jr. at 19 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Murray (2 straight). 3 days' rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 42 percent from three to Denver's 35 and the defense, Houston allowing 100 a night to Denver's 109. Call it Houston 112, Denver 109, Denver keeping it close.
10/25 @ UTA 130-114 — SAC notes
SAC won 130-114. SAC shot 46% (47 of 102) to UTA's 45%, 19 of 51 from three, and got to the line 20 times to UTA's 31. Barnes led with 33 (11 of 16, 5 of 7 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Sabonis added 22, Fox 18. The hinge was Q1, 32-24: from level to 8 ahead, and the lead reached 23. Fox was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
10/27 vs GSW 114-122 — SAC notes
SAC lost 114-122. SAC shot 44% (41 of 94) to GSW's 55%, 12 of 40 from three, and went to the line 29 times to GSW's 14 — 20 points from the stripe to their 12. SAC turned it over 14 times to GSW's 19. Fox led with 39 (14 of 28, 5 of 9 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Sabonis added 19, Murray 16. Q4 was theirs, 30-23, the deficit cut from 15 to 8, but the other 3 periods went 99-84 against them. They led by as many as 11. Murray's -11 in 40 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/29 vs LAL 132-127 — SAC notes
SAC won 132-127 in 1 overtime. SAC shot 47% (49 of 104) to LAL's 44%, 17 of 48 from three, and got to the line 24 times to LAL's 34. Fox led with 37 (14 of 24, 3 of 8 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Monk added 22, Murray 17. The hinge was Q1, 41-28: from level to 13 ahead. Fox was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
11/01 @ GSW 101-102 — SAC notes
SAC lost 101-102. SAC shot 41% (36 of 88) to GSW's 48%, 11 of 35 from three, and went to the line 23 times to GSW's 15 — 18 points from the stripe to their 13. SAC turned it over 12 times to GSW's 17. The glass went 48-36 for them. Sabonis led with 23 (8 of 16, 7 of 12 at the line); Monk added 16, Barnes 14. Q3 was theirs, 24-18, turning a 1-point deficit into a 5-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 84-77 against them. They led by as many as 11.
11/04 @ HOU 89-107 — SAC notes
SAC lost 89-107. SAC shot 38% (32 of 84) to HOU's 46%, 11 of 41 from three. The glass went 43-53 against them. Monk led with 18 (6 of 13, 3 of 7 from three); Barnes added 13, McGee 12. Q2 was theirs, 34-26, the deficit cut from 14 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 81-55 against them. Sabonis's -26 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/06 @ HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 111, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Sengun at 18 and Brooks at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Eason (3 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 114, shooting 43 percent and 33 from three, 23 free throws a game; Fox at 31 and Sabonis at 17 a game. Without Fox (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 37 percent from three to Sacramento's 33. Call it Houston 112, Sacramento 111, Sacramento keeping it close.
11/08 vs POR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 116, shooting 43 percent and 32 from three, 23 free throws a game; Sabonis at 15 and Monk at 14 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Fox (3 straight). One day's rest. Portland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 109, shooting 42 percent and 29 from three, 24 free throws a game; Grant at 23 and Sharpe at 21 a game. Without Simons (6 straight), Henderson (2 straight), Murray (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Sacramento wins, and the game turns on the defense, Portland allowing 109 a night to Sacramento's 116. Call it Sacramento 110, Portland 109, Portland keeping it close.
11/10 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 115, shooting 43 percent and 32 from three, 25 free throws a game; Monk at 17 and Sabonis at 16 a game. Without Fox (4 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 120, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 31 and Jal. Williams at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, OKC at 39 percent from three to Sacramento's 32 and the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-1 a night and OKC minus-4. Call it OKC 117, Sacramento 116, Sacramento keeping it close.
11/13 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 109, shooting 42 percent and 30 from three, 24 free throws a game; Sabonis at 17 and Monk at 15 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Fox (5 straight). 2 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 110, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 31 free throws a game; Mitchell at 28 and LeVert at 18 a game. Without Okoro (3 straight), Merrill (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-5 a night and Cleveland minus-2 and the line, where Cleveland takes 31 free throws a game to Sacramento's 24. Call it Sacramento 111, Cleveland 110, Cleveland keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
CW C. Whitmore
DB D. Brooks
FV F. VanVleet
JG J. Green
JL J. Landale
JS J. Samuels Jr.
JS J. Smith Jr.
JT J. Tate
JG Ja. Green
SACAL A. Len
AV A. Vezenkov
CD C. Duarte
CJ C. Jones
DM D. Mitchell
DS D. Sabonis
HB H. Barnes
JF J. Ford
JM J. McGee
KE K. Ellis
KH K. Huerter
KM K. Murray
MM M. Monk
HOU/SAC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Brooks has big fourth quarter, scores 26 to lead Rockets over Kings 107-89
HOUSTON -- — Dillon Brooks scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Houston Rockets to a 107-89 win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.
It's the second straight win for the Rockets after they opened the season 0-3.
A 3-pointer by Malik Monk got the Kings within 3 with about 8 1/2 minutes remaining. The Rockets then went on a 10-2 run, with six points from Brooks, to push the lead to 90-79 midway through the period.
Monk made a layup after that, but Brooks hit a 3-pointer seconds later to extend Houston’s lead. Harrison Barnes made one of two free throws for Sacramento before Brooks struck again, making another 3-pointer to extend it to 96-82 with 4 ½ minutes left.
He blew a kiss to the crowd before racing down the court to play defense.
“We weren’t scoring well, obviously and then, we just looked for a spark somewhere and ... then Dillon just made the hustle plays and effort plays,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said.
Monk scored 18 points off the bench to lead the Kings with star De’Aaron Fox out for a second straight game with a sprained right ankle. Domantas Sabonis had 11 points with a team-high 15 rebounds and Harrison Barnes added 13 points for Sacramento.
“I thought our resolve was not good, especially in the fourth quarter," Sacramento coach Mike Brown said. "And that’s something that cannot be habitual because that’s what losing teams do and that’s not what we are.”
Fred VanVleet scored 21 with 12 assists and Jabari Smith Jr. also had 21 points with 11 rebounds for the Rockets.
“Our shots weren't falling in the third quarter, but we relied on our defense and we just stayed with it,” Smith said.
The Rockets outrebounded the Kings 53-43 after Udoka pointed out that they ranked last in the league in rebounding entering the game.
“I kind of took that personal and I'm sure everybody else did,” Smith said. “And we tried to make an emphasis to rebound and be able to get back in transition to get stops.”
Houston led by as many as 17 in the first half. But the Kings used a 10-0 run capped by a 3 from Barnes to go on top 65-64 for their first lead of the game with five minutes left in the third quarter. Houston committed three turnovers in that stretch.
Neither team could score for the next couple of minutes until VanVleet made a layup with about three minutes left in the third to snap a Rockets' scoring drought of more than seven minutes.
That bucket was the start of an 7-0 run that left Houston up 71-65. But Monk hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the quarter to cut the lead to 71-68 entering the fourth.
The Kings were disappointed that they fell so far behind early and had to work so hard just to get back into the game.
“We got hit in the mouth in the beginning,” guard Davion Mitchell said. “We tried to play catch up (but) they were already in the rhythm. We've just got to do a better job at the beginning of the game.”
The Rockets were without rookie Amen Thompson , who sprained his right ankle Thursday night.