The Rockets win and have the best record in the league

The Rockets got a win tonight over the Kings by a score of 100-91. This puts the team in a very interesting spot heading into the All-Star break.

The Houston Rockets (44-13) got the win over the Sacramento Kings (18-39) tonight. It featured the debut of Joe Johnson and some pretty bad offense all-around from both teams. A win is a win, though, and this one was huge for Houston.

Now, the Rockets have the best record in the league going into the All-Star break. Thanks to a Portland win over Golden State, the Rockets are the No. 1 seed in the tough Western Conference. That is definitely something to be proud of for Houston.

This was also the tenth win in a row for Houston as they are just scorching hot heading into the break. While tonight wasn’t in blowout fashion like many of the others on the streak, it still showed how the Rockets can win without needing to score a ton of points.

Let’s look at some stats:

Key Stats

James Harden: 28 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists

Chris Paul: 19 points, 7 assists

Clint Capela: 13 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks

How the Rockets won/Notes

The Rockets won this game on the defensive end of the court. Overall, the offense was quite bad. The Rockets shot just 39.8% from the field. However, the Rockets were able to force 17 Kings’ turnovers and the starters of Houston just dominated those of the Sacramento.

P.J. Tucker had a very good game that won’t exactly show up in the stat sheet. He had 10 points and 7 rebounds but contributed so much on both ends of the court.

Chris Paul was a huge part of keeping the Rockets in the game in the first half but was injured/not himself in the second. I’m sure we’ll get an update on him as the long weekend gets underway.

Joe Johnson was not terrific in his first game. To be fair, he hasn’t practiced with the team and just signed today. Let’s give Iso-Joe more time to adjust to the faster style of play in Houston. He had 9 points but shot just 2/9 from the field. Still, his late-game free throws sealed the deal.

Next for the Rockets…

The All-Star break is the next thing on the agenda for Houston. Eric Gordon will be looking to defend his 3-point contest title on Saturday and James Harden is starting for Team Stephen in the main event on Sunday.

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