Parsons Leads Rockets To 112-102 Win Over Kings
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Chandler Parsons scored 29 points and James Harden added 21 to lead the Houston Rockets to a 112-102 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.
Parsons and Harden, the team's two leading scorers, returned to the lineup to help the Rockets win their third straight and eighth in 11 games. Parsons, who made 12 of 18 shots, had missed the previous game with food poisoning, while Harden had been nursing a foot injury. Harden also has nine rebounds and seven assists.
Omer Asik had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Jeremy Lin had 15 points and 10 assists, and Terrence Jones chipped in with 14 points and 11 rebounds for Houston, which is in seventh place in the Western Conference.
Tyreke Evans scored 22 points and Marcus Thornton had 21 for the Kings. DeMarcus Cousins had 20 points and fouled out late in the fourth quarter. Jason Thompson added 17 points and 15 rebounds.
After the Kings cut an 11-point deficit to five, the Rockets responded. With time running out on the shot clock, Lin made a 3-pointer and Asik followed with a three-point play, giving the Rockets at 112-101 lead with 1:42 remaining.
Ahead by three points in the fourth, the Rockets scored six straight. Jones scored twice from close range and Harden had an emphatic breakaway dunk following a Kings turnover, putting Houston ahead 102-93 with 5:45 left.
Asik scored the first seven points of the third for Houston. He finished with 11 points in the period to help the Rockets take an 88-82 lead into the fourth. Following a quiet first half, Evans had a huge third quarter with 16 points.
Coming of a sore right foot that caused him to miss the previous two games, Harden got off to a fast start. He made two 3-pointers and scored nine points in the opening quarter when the Rockets led 27-26.
Harden scored 15 and had six assists, while Parsons had 14 points for Houston, which took a 59-55 lead into the break. Cousins had 14 points and six rebounds and Thornton had 13 points for the Kings.
Off the court, the uncertainty remains regarding the future of the Kings. A group from Sacramento and Seattle both made presentations in New York today with NBA commissioner David Stern and 12 owners.
The Seattle group, led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, made a 90-minute pitch accompanied by Seattle's mayor and a county executive.
The Seattle group has a pending agreement with the Maloof family to buy 65 percent of the team and move it back to the city the SuperSonics left in 2008.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and a potential ownership group — Vivek Ranadive, Mark Mastrov, Ron Burkle and Paul Jacobs — pleaded their case to keep the team in Sacramento.
Stern said both cities made strong presentations. The commissioner indicated that it's possible the league might not be able to decide the issue at their Board of Governors meeting later this month, which was the original target date for a decision.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
