Austin Rivers scored a career-high 41 points off the bench and the Houston Rockets used a big third quarter to pull away and cruise to a 129-112 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.
Harden added 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Houston.
The Kings fell to 1-5 in the bubble after being eliminated from playoff contention earlier Sunday when Portland beat the 76ers. Sacramento’s playoff drought is now 14 years, which is the longest active streak in the NBA
De’Aaron Fox had 26 points for the Kings.
D’Antoni was impressed with Houston’s work on defense Sunday and likes how his team has improved in that area since it’s been in Florida.
The Rockets were up by 24 early in the fourth quarter when Sacramento used an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 97-81 with about 9 ½ minutes remaining
Rivers made two free throws after that before the Kings used a 7-2 run, with 3s from Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield, to make it 102-88 with about 8 minutes to go.
Houston got back on track after that, using a 11-4 run to push the lead to 113-92 with less than 5 minutes left and most of the Rockets starters went to the bench for good after that.
Houston was up by seven in the third quarter before scoring the next eight points, with 3s from Ben McLemore and Robert Covington, to make it 74-59 with about 7 ½ minutes left in the quarter.
A shot by Harrison Barnes got the Kings within 14 points later in the third before a 12-4 spurt by Houston extended the lead to 91-69 with about a minute left in the third