CALIFORNIA – Jalen Green had a much efficient scoring game as the Houston Rockets got back at Sacramento Kings, 118-112, in the 2021-2022 NBA Season on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines) at the Golden 1 Arena in Sacramento.
The Filipino-American rookie drilled six of his 10 field goal attempts to finish with 15 points to go with five rebounds and four assists as the Rockets notched its second win in the last six games for an 13-32 slate.
Green, the no.2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Rookie Draft, struggled during their 126-114 loss to the Kings last Friday where he converted only five of his 18 shot attempts for 11 points.
Christian Wood spearheaded Rockets’ victory with double-double 23 points and 14 rebounds, Kevin Porter Jr. added 23 points and seven assists, while Garrison Mathews and Eric Gordon chipped in 17 and 15, respectively.
Failing to protect their early double-digit edge, the Rockets played catch up in the fourth period to take a 114-110 advantage following a three-pointer from Porter with over a minute left.
The Kings trimmed the deficit to 112-114 but a basket from Gordon with 12.5 seconds remaining followed by two free throws from Porter secured the win for the Rockets.
Buddy Hield scored 27 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter, Terence Davis added 17 points, while De’Aaron Fox contributed 14 points for the Kings (18-28).
Meanwhile, Utah Jazz (29-14) snapped its four-game losing skid with a 125-102 domination over Denver Nuggets (22-20) at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 31 points, Bojan Bogdanovic added 21, Rudy Gobert had double-double 18 points and 19 rebounds, while Filipino-American Jordan Clarkson chipped in 16.
In other results, Minnesota Timberwolves (21-22) stunned shorthanded Golden State Warriors (31-12), 119-99, while Phoenix Suns (33-9) wallop Detroit Pistons (10-32), 135-108./PN
BOX SCORE:
HOUSTON 118 — Wood 23, Porter 23, Mathews 17, Green 15, Gordon 15, Tate 10, Martin 9, Sengun 6, Brooks 0, Christopher 0.
SACRAMENTO 112 — Hield 27, Davis 17, Mitchell 16, Fox 14, Metu 14, Barnes 12, Harkless 5, Holmes 4, Jones 2, Len 1.
Quarterscores: 29-21, 55-60, 85-88, 118-112.
