King Killers

The Houston Rockets are winners in four of their last five games and they have also won three-straight games at home during that span. As expected, the offense is coming up huge in the current run, averaging 128.4 points and 17.6 threes per game. With a 15-7 record, they rank fifth in the Western Conference standings.

The past three season series, which dates back to the 2016-17 season, have been dominated by the Rockets as they have won 10 of the last 11 matchups.

Considering the present state of the two teams, we can probably expect the one-sided battle to continue tilting in the same direction. James Harden (38.5 PPG) has been on a scoring tear for years now, and defenses rarely have the goods to shut him down, especially since he can facilitate too (7.4 APG).

Russell Westbrook broke out of his shooting slump in the recent win and paired his triple-double with a 10-for-18 (55.6%) shooting night. It will be interesting to see if he can keep it up.

Clint Capela (14.4 PPG, 14.7 RPG), meanwhile, is in a tough match-up as the Kings are allowing the fifth-fewest rebounds in the league.

Coming off an upset win

The 8-13 Sacramento Kings finally stopped some of the bleeding on Monday. They upset Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on the road, 110-106, courtesy of Nemanja Bjelica and Buddy Hield combining for 56 points on an impressive 69.6%-shooting. It was only their second win in seven games.

Though Bjelica’s career day isn’t likely to happen on consecutive nights, he could be considered as an x-factor because his confidence is at a high right now. Look for the Kings to call his numbers early.

Hield, as you know, is a different story. The fourth-year swingman has been blossoming into a real scoring threat since last season. With averages of 21.2 points and roughly four threes per game, he can match the Rockets’ three-point heavy attack, particularly if he gets in the zone.

Harrison Barnes can also be added in the mix of Kings players to watch out for. There’s an uptick in his numbers over the last two weeks as he has put up 18.5 PPG in that span. It includes three 20-plus point games and a 30-point performance where he guided the Kings into a win against the stingy, rhythm-killing defense of the Denver Nuggets.

PREDICTION:

The Rockets continue their dominance of the Kings with a 113-104 win.