HOUSTON — If the goal is to lose games to earn the top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, then the Houston Rockets are doing their job perfectly.
The Sacramento Kings came into Toyota Center on Monday night and dropped 140 points in a blowout win against the Rockets.
No one expected Houston to be a contender this year by any means, but the 20-point loss comes just days after giving up 153 points to the Oklahoma City Thunder in another blowout.
Houston's stretch of allowing 293 points in the last two games is the worst in franchise history. Yet somehow, it's not one of the worst spans in NBA history. Nonetheless, head coach Stephen Silas let his team have it in the postgame press conference.
"They're not giving the effort on the defensive end," Silas said. "They're not getting after it like they're supposed to. They're not getting into their man and fighting over and helping each other. They're not doing what they're supposed to do."
Highlighting the Rockets' poor defense was Kings rookie Keegan Murray, who went 8 for 12 from beyond the arc on a night Sacramento made 21 3-pointers. Murray's performance broke the previous Kings' record of seven 3-pointers by a rookie set by Ricky Berry in 1989.
"Just letting guys line up wide open threes...no, we don't do that," Silas said.
Houston's 293 points allowed in the last two games is the most since 1970 when the San Diego Rockets gave up 287 points.
