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Rockets beat Kings, climb over .500

Mar 8, 2011 - 6:47 AM Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) - Chase Budinger went 4-for-6 from beyond the three-point arc en route to 20 points as Houston climbed over the .500 mark for the first time this season with a 123-101 win over Sacramento

Kyle Lowry had 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Rockets, who have won for the seventh time in eight games and now have a 33-32 overall record. Courtney Lee had 19 points and Kevin Martin added 15 points in the win.

"Our goal is to keep this post All-Star break record going," Martin said. "We are just going to continue to keep playing hard."

DeMarcus Cousins notched 20 points -- all in the first half -- and 11 rebounds for the struggling Kings, who have lost three straight and 13 of the last 16 overall. Marcus Thornton chipped in 16 points, while Beno Udrih and Francisco Garcia had 15 and 11 points, respectively, in the loss.

The Rockets separated themselves from Sacramento for good in the third period. The lead reached 10, 74-64, on Budinger's three-point shot four minutes in.

Then Houston scored the final 11 points of the quarter to go up 95-74. Lowry's treys started and finished the run, which also saw Budinger hit from long range.

Houston pushed the lead to as much as 30 in the final frame, while Sacramento only chipped the deficit down to 19 just under two minutes left to play.

"We have to play the whole game together. Play team ball the whole game. Hopefully we can change things around," Cousins said.

Udrih's three-point play with 26.2 seconds left in the opening quarter put the Kings up 30-29. Lowry's technical free throw with 4:40 left in the half started a 9-4 run to put Houston up 60-53.

The Rockets kept the distance with a 65-58 lead at the break before going on to dominate the third stanza.

Game Notes

Houston has won four straight over the Kings, including all three meetings this season...Rockets forward Luis Scola did not play most of the second half after suffering a left knee injury. He finished with 10 points...Goran Dragic also had 10 points for the Rockets...Omri Casspi and Jermaine Taylor each had 10 points in the loss...The Kings committed 16 turnovers, which yielded 33 Houston points.