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Kings down Rockets; Houston still alive in West

Apr 6, 2011 - 6:18 AM Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Samuel Dalembert finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds as the Sacramento Kings held on to top the Houston Rockets, 104-101, at Toyota Center.

Marcus Thornton scored 21 points and DeMarcus Cousins posted 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Kings, who have won consecutive games and avoided a season sweep to Houston. Tyreke Evans posted 18 points for the victors.

"Defense was the key. We did a good job after they made a run of not losing our poise," Cousins said. "We are playing together and trusting one another. We are playing to win. Marcus came in during the season and has become a big part of our team. We have five options that we can go to at any point."

Kevin Martin scored a game-high 30 points to pace the Rockets. Luis Scola posted 18 points and 10 rebounds while Kyle Lowry contributed 15 points and nine assists in the loss.

Thanks to Memphis' loss to the Clippers earlier on Tuesday, the Rockets remain three games back of the Grizzlies for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference with four games remaining. The Rockets loss also guaranteed the Portland Trailblazers a berth in the playoffs.

The Kings took a 76-74 lead into the final stanza and widened their lead to 12 just over the midpoint of the fourth quarter. A Jason Thompson jumper gave Sacramento a 94-82 lead, however, the Rockets responded with an 8-0 run to keep the game close.

Courtney Lee and Lowry connected on consecutive three-pointers to put the game at 94-90 with 2:19 remaining, and after Lowry was fouled while shooting a three-pointer with 37.5 seconds remaining, he made all three from the stripe to put cut the Kings' advantage to 98-95.

The Sacramento lead remained around three until Dalembert connected on 3-for-4 from the line in the final 11 seconds to give the Kings a 104-86 advantage. Martin's three at the buzzer accounted for the final margin.

Houston held a 28-24 lead after one and the Kings took a 52-46 lead into the break. The Rockets shot 55 percent from the field in the third to cut their deficit to 76-74 entering the fourth.

"It's a tough loss. We just didn't do enough at either end of the court," Rockets head coach Rick Adelman said. "They had a lot of points in the paint. We missed a lot of wide-open shots. Missed free throws. We just didn't what we had to do at either end of the court to win it."

Game Notes

Thompson scored 14 and Beno Udrih added 10 points for the victors...Lee posted 12 points in the loss...Sacramento held a 46-43 rebounding advantage...The Kings went 15-of-18 from the line. The Rockets went 14-of-21.