The Sacramento Kings took on the Houston Rockets Friday night at the Golden 1 center, and despite some great efforts by a few key players, the Kings were undone by an early 29 point deficit.

James Harden was able to get a triple-double, but Sacramento did a great job of containing him.  Harden made just six of his 18 attempts on the night, and was forced into five turnovers.  Houston’s victory was largely due to 21 made threes on an NBA-record 50 attempts.  Some very hot shooting to start the game got the Rockets enough of a lead to keep them firmly in control throughout the game.

Here are some notes from the loss:

• Garrett Temple locked down James Harden for most of the game, and is doing a great job of showcasing his defense and versatility.  Temple appears to be one of the team’s most valuable players at this point, and is likely headed towards more minutes moving forward.
• Omri Casspi had a fairly large role tonight, playing over 28 minutes and scoring seven points to go along with four rebounds and five assists. Casspi had some understandable rust to shake off early, but he appears to be a good fit with the second unit.  His defensive intensity and shooting ability would likely be welcome additions to a group that desperately needs more of both.
• Sacramento came out looking incredibly sluggish offensively, and head coach Dave Joerger couldn’t get things going on that end until eventual lineup changes brought some life back into the team.  The offense has been stagnant at times this year, and Sacramento will want to look into getting more players involved.

DeMarcus Cousins tried to bring the team back into the game late, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter alone, but his late-game heroics were ultimately not enough to bring the Kings back into the fold.  The Sacramento Kings officially finished with a 2-3 record on the home stand, and now move on to Brooklyn for a game Sunday night against the Nets.