The Rockets can shoot the rock.
The shorthanded Sacramento Kings walked into the Toyota Center Wednesday evening and the Houston showed no mercy. The home team pounded their out-of-state guests from the opening tip, hitting 22-for-42 from 3-point range on their way to a 132-98 win.
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James Harden took a secondary role against a Kings team missing DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Ben McLemore. The perennial MVP candidate still managed to pick up a triple-double, with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists in the win.
Sacramento native Ryan Anderson torched his hometown team from the perimeter, hitting 4-for-7 from behind the arc on his way to 22 points. Trevor Ariza heated up in the second half to finish with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from long range.
Sam Dekker bombed away from the downtown, scoring 19 points off the Rockets bench on 8-of-10 shooting. Clint Capela went to work in the post, coming away with 14 points.
With their two leading scorers on ice, Garrett Temple stepped forward as the Kings primary scoring option. The veteran wing finished the night with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting from deep.
NBA
Darren Collison struggled with his shot, but still managed to drop in seven points and hand out nine assists.
Anthony Tolliver got the start and dropped in 12 points and 10 rebounds. Willie Cauley-Stein chipped in 11 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Omri Casspi and Kosta Koufos each finished the night with 10 points.
With the game out of hand, rookies Malachi Richardson and Skal Labissiere both made it on the court in the fourth quarter. Richardson scored seven points on 2-for-5 shooting and Labissiere added two points in the loss.
STANDOUT PERFORMER -- Anderson had a field day with the Kings. The 6-foot-10 forward seriously considered joining Sacramento during the offseason. On Wednesday night, he showed the Kings what they missed out on.
TURNING POINT -- This game was over when it was announced earlier in the day that Cousins, Gay and McLemore weren’t going to play. It’s tough to win without 60 percent of your starting lineup. Even tougher when you don’t defend the 3-point line.
INJURY UPDATE -- Cousins missed his first game of the season for “scheduled rest.” Gay sat with a hip flexor issue and McLemore is dealing with a thigh contusion - both are listed as day-to-day.
WHAT'S NEXT -- The Kings board a plane following the game where they will face Dave Joerger’s former team, the Memphis Grizzlies. They finish their three game trip Sunday in Dallas against Mark Cuban’s Mavericks.