‘Protect your house’: Kings beat Rockets to remain unbeaten at home under Doug Christie (original) (raw)

Doug Christie has felt the roar of the Sacramento crowd for a quarter of a century dating back to his playing days with the Kings at Arco Arena.

He wants his players to feel it, too.

Winning at home has been a big point of emphasis since Christie took over as interim coach of the Kings when Mike Brown was fired in December. The Kings did it again in a Thursday night thriller, beating the Houston Rockets 132-127 before a sellout crowd of 18,227 at Golden 1 Center and a national television audience on TNT.

“Arco Arena had it’s own (character),” Christie said. “There’s wood and metal and concrete, and you start bouncing all that together and it makes strange sounds. This building is beginning to define itself. Part of my message to them is nobody comes in your house messing with your stuff. You must — must — protect your house.

“To watch the way they continuously fight, possession after possession after possession, and I know from being someone who played in front of these people. They truly appreciate when you open your coat and say, ‘This is me, baby. I’m here and this is what I’m going to do.’ So, for me, that’s a super huge thing. When you come to Sac, we’re getting down, and I love what the guys are bringing.”

DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points for the Kings (21-20), who improved to 8-2 under Christie, winning a game that featured eight ties and 22 lead changes.

DeRozan scored 26 points in the second half, including 16 in the fourth quarter.

The Kings are now 5-0 at home with Christie at the helm after going 6-12 to start the season.

“We started in a way we didn’t want to start, but sometimes what makes the best relationships is the ones that go through a lot early on and it kind of brings you a lot closer,” DeRozan said. “That’s definitely what I’m feeling now.”

Malik Monk had 28 points and nine assists for Sacramento. Domantas Sabonis posted his league-leading 36th double-double with 20 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists.

De’Aaron Fox had 19 points and seven assists. Keegan Murray scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting with 11 rebounds.

Jalen Green scored 28 points for the Rockets (27-13), who had won five in a row. Alperen Sengun had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Amen Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds while Tari Eason came off the bench to score 16 points in his return from a 13-game injury absence.

The Kings improved to 2-0 against the Rockets after handing them a 120-111 loss on Dec. 3 in Sacramento. Houston is second in the Western Conference behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. Sacramento is ninth, 1 ½ games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 6 seed.

Monk said the energy around the team has changed — in the locker room, on the floor and inside the arena.

“It’s contagious,” Monk said. “I’m always going to have fun playing basketball, but especially now. The fans are into it, we’re into it, everyone’s into it, so it’s always a joy to see everybody happy.”

Christie alluded to trust and joy when asked to explain how the Kings have turned their season around after going 13-19 to fall to 12th in the West.

“I think the trust amongst the group and the joy they play with is something that, first and foremost, is a staple of what we do,” Christie said. “This is a game you learn to play as a child, so the childish joy that you have in that, let’s never lose that because that’s what makes it special. That’s why we’re here. And that can happen sometimes. ... It can be business, but also with 17,000 fans out there, when you do your thing, they do their thing, and I never want to take that away from them. Do your thing, have fun, enjoy yourself. When it’s time to put on a show, you put on a show.”

The Kings showed out on national TV, but the game got off to a slow start with both teams setting a defensive tone in the opening minutes. The Rockets went 6 of 19 from the field to start the game. The Kings shot the ball well but committed four turnovers in the first period.

The Kings led 26-25 at the end of the first quarter. They went up 43-36 after staging a 9-0 run in the second. Sacramento led by as many as 12 before carrying a 61-52 lead into the halftime break.

Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan (10) is celebrated after hitting a basket and getting fouled in the second half by teammate guard Malik Monk (0) during an NBA game on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025 at Golden 1 Center. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com

The Kings went up by 16 on a basket by DeRozan early in the second half, but the Rockets rallied to cut the deficit to three with 1:04 to play in the third quarter. Houston took a 91-90 lead after outscoring Sacramento 6-0 to start the fourth quarter, setting up a tense battle down the stretch.

The Kings were clinging to a one-point lead when Sabonis was whistled for his fifth foul with 5:28 to go. It felt like the game might get away from them, but they wouldn’t let that happen.

Monk hit a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, DeRozan buried a turnaround jumper over Dillon Brooks and Murray followed with a corner 3, fueling an 8-0 run that put Sacramento up 114-105.

The Rockets responded with a 10-0 run to take a 115-114 lead on two free throws by Eason with 2:36 remaining. The Kings reclaimed the lead on a 3-pointer by DeRozan. The Rockets got within one on a couple of occasions in the breathtaking final minutes, but the Kings went 9 of 9 at the free-throw line in the final 33 seconds to secure the victory.

“The free throws have been our Kryptonite for two years,” Monk said. “So I’m glad we’re turning it around and able to finish the game that way.”

Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) is comforted b teammate guard Jalen Green (4) after misses a three to tie the game during an NBA game on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025 at Golden 1 Center. Green’s teammate forward Tari Eason (17) left fouled to turn over the ball for their final possession in the 132-127 win by the Sacramento Kings. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com

This story was originally published January 16, 2025 at 10:55 PM.

The Sacramento Bee

Jason Anderson is The Sacramento Bee’s Kings beat writer. He is a Sacramento native and a graduate of Fresno State, where he studied journalism and college basketball under the late Jerry Tarkanian.