Three Takeaways As Houston Rockets Fall in Another OT Blunder Loss Against Sacramento Kings

Last Saturday, the Houston Rockets made a major statement. After their controversial overtime loss earlier in the week, the Rockets retaliated by torching the Denver Nuggets with a 115-101 dominant victory.

That win served as a major morale booster for the Rockets, but things went upside down once again this Sunday.

In what has been another frustrating meltdown, the Rockets collapsed in Sacramento with a 125-124 defeat. After leading for most of the game, Houston chose to embrace a disastrous finish instead of picking up the win against the worst team in the Western Conference.

For the third time in the last four games, the Rockets settled for a devastating OT loss.

Here are the main takeaways of the brutal endgame for the Rockets against the Kings.

1. What Happened To The Huge Deficit Again?

The Rockets were on their way for another emphatic victory this weekend, leading 100-86 with less than 10 minutes to go after Jabari Smith Jr. hit a trey.

But who would've have thought that the Kings would snatch the win against this title-contending Houston squad?

In a blink of an eye, Sacramento commenced a wild 12-0 run over Houston for the next two minutes. The Rockets were already positioned to escape with a 112-107 lead with 2:16 left in regulation, but chose to surrender all their momentum as the Kings knotted it all the way which led to overtime.

Both teams traded blows through the five-minute extension, but a missed free throw out of three attempts by Smith Jr. propelled the Kings to win it as Dennis Schroder buried the game-winning trey with 3.1 left.

This brutal loss of the Rockets against the Kings is simply a déjà vu to what happened to the 25-point choke job earlier this week against the New Orleans Pelicans. Ime Udoka and the entire group definitely needs a major soul searching regarding the wild events that happened this whole week.

2. Tari Eason With A Big-Time Comeback Game After Long Injury Recovery

At long last, Tari Eason finally made his highly anticipated return.

After being out for over a month due to oblique and shin injuries, Eason has made his comeback to the Rockets. He is simply impressive with 16 points in 6-8 shooting for 16 minjtes

As he missed 14 consecutive games, it's really promising how Eason instantly became productive this Sunday for Houston. His presence will be pivotal once again as the Rockets aim to bounce back.

3. Kevin Durant Makes Another Historic Feat

Although it has been a nightmare loss, Kevin Durant still secured another important milestone in his illustrious career tonight.

With his first assist of the game, Durant officially registered 5,000 career assists. He is now officially the third fastest player to reach 30,000+ points, 5,000+ rebounds and 5,000+ assists in the entire history of the league, trailing just LeBron James and the great Michael Jordan.

With his first assist tonight, Kevin Durant reached 5,000 career assists...

He's now the 3rd-fastest player in NBA history to reach 30K+ PTS, 5K+ REB, and 5K+ AST 👀

Michael Jordan (960 games)
LeBron James (1,107 games)
Kevin Durant (1,147 games) pic.twitter.com/bcw8dfUYF7
— NBA (@NBA) December 22, 2025

The Rockets superstar went off for the Rockets in a losing effort, finishing with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and eight dimes across 48 minutes.