Three Takeaways from the Rockets' Blowout Win vs the Kings

The Houston Rockets continued their dominant winning ways this week as they blew past the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night in Toyota Center 128-97. This was the biggest win of the season for the Rockets in terms of a 31-point margin. Houston has won back-to-back games against two of the worst teams in the league, with the Kings having the worst record in the NBA.

The Rockets improved to 36-21 on the season. This was an important one to hold onto and win because the Rockets had surprisingly lost the last two games this season against the Kings in Sacramento back around New Year’s, including a 13-point loss.

There was no suspense in this one, with the Rockets up by 27 at halftime, 77-50. The season series is now tied at 2-2. All-Star forward Kevin Durant didn’t even play in the fourth quarter as he added an under-the-radar 21 points, four rebounds, and five assists.

Houston is now 26-4 when holding teams to under 110 points.

Here are three takeaways from this dominant win.

Reed Sheppard’s First Home Start

Feb 25, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (15) shoots the ball during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Without starting guard Amen Thompson playing due to left quad tendinitis, second-year guard Reed Sheppard was thrust into the starting lineup for the seventh time this season, and he delivered in a special way. This was surprisingly the first time Sheppard had started a home game, and he put on a show for the H-Town crowd.

Sheppard put up a game-high 28 points in 32 minutes, along with three rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block. This was tied for the second-highest point total of his career so far. He was on fire from beyond the arc, and Sheppard drained a career-high seven three-pointers on 16 attempts, good for 44% from beyond the arc.

The third overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft was 43% (9/21) from the field and got 20 of those points in the first half. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound combo guard had a +24 plus-minus, the highest among the team. His impact was not denied and led from the front.

Alperen All Over

Rockets center Alperen Sengun got his 11th triple-double of his career and had his fingerprints all over this game on both sides of the ball. The two-time All-Star scored 26 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and dished 11 assists in 32 minutes. He chipped in on defense with two steals and three blocks and was 9/13 (69%) from the field. Sengun also hit one out of his two 3-pointers.

Sengun did an excellent job working with Sheppard in the pick-and-roll and two-man game all night. Their chemistry was on point so much that Sengun fired a quick no-look pass to Sheppard, who was ready and knocked down a three. He set some good screens from Sheppard, who has the ability to be a strong threat as a pull-up or driver.

The ball movement overall was a highlight, like on Monday against the Jazz. Sengun was +23 in plus-minus as well. This is kind of a performance where Sengun is at his best, distributing and attacking.

Turnovers

One of the biggest struggles all season for the Rockets has been the turnovers. They have one of the highest numbers of turnovers in the Western Conference, and the problem has only gotten worse this past week. The Rockets had a season-high 27 turnovers against the Jazz on Wednesday in a blowout win, but it was concerning how careless they were with the basketball.

Houston had nine turnovers in the fourth quarter against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden that cost them badly in a massive blown opportunity. It was finally different tonight. The Rockets had 11 turnovers total in this game, but some of those came at the end when the game was already decided.

The Rockets had 0 turnovers in the first quarter and seven through roughly the first three quarters. They were much better with ball security, and Sengun, Durant, and Sheppard each just had two.

If the Rockets are able to keep that up against the best teams, it would do them a whole lot of good.

Up next, the Rockets travel to Orlando to take on the Magic on Thursday in the second of a back-to-back.