Sacramento no longer needs to worry about a losing slide. Here's how to watch the game at Houston plus where the bets swing towards.
Feels good for Sacramento Kings fans to wake up realizing their team can start a winning streak, right?
That's what this franchise now faces on Wednesday against the Houston Rockets. Sacramento is fresh off snapping the long 16-game slide back on Monday in Memphis -- even getting the beam to lit up and post jubilation on social media.
Head coach Doug Christie was another who showed relief after the 123-114 road win.
"I mean, more than anything, we've already struggled and been through...some ups and downs, things you go through in the NBA season, injuries and all that kind of stuff," Christie said after the win with reporters. "But super proud of how these guys continue to come and compete at a really high level, holding each other accountable, and getting after it."
Now they get this chance for the first time since middle of January: Starting a winning streak.
Sacramento last won four straight one month ago inside the Golden 1 Center. But to win two in a row, the Kings must go through one of the louder venues in the league the Toyota Center.
And awaiting the Kings? A Rockets team in great position to make a playoff run.
Houston sits at a more comfortable 35-21 record. Kevin Durant continues to rewrite NBA history books while the franchise also brings with them Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun.
Houston remains the massive favorite here per FanDuel Sports: A 14-point favorite to top the Kings.
But can the Kings prevent Houston from covering? And does Sacramento have any hope of pulling off one of its biggest upsets of the season?
Well, the Kings did beat Durant and company before -- 111-98 a month ago at Sacramento. That victory sparked the four-game winning streak of January.
Durant, Thompson, Sengun and company likely have that game fresh in their minds and will be out for retaliation.
Sacramento will need another epic defensive outing from Nique Clifford to boost its chances of winning this game. Of course the Kings' chances of pulling the upset increases if a former teammate of Durant's Russell Westbrook goes off on the scoring end. Same with fellow veteran DeMar DeRozan and rookie Maxime Raynaud.
NBC Sports California will air this game alongside AT&T SportsNet Southwest (the latter serving Rockets fans). But despite ending the 16-game slide, Houston presents a strong chance to cover this spread here.
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