HOUSTON — The Rockets started Wednesday’s game versus Sacramento with an Amen Thompson floater in the lane, a Kevin Durant dunk, and a turnaround fadeaway shot by Alperen Sengun.

It sent a message to the Kings that Houston would dominate in the paint all game long, and that is precisely what the home team did in its 121-95 victory at Toyota Center. The Rockets (14-5) have now won 14 of their last 17 games, overall.

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Houston outscored Sacramento in the paint by 32 points, 78-46, as they repeatedly bullied the Kings’ smaller post players.

For the Rockets, their season-high 78 points in the paint came after not surpassing 60 in any of the previous 11 games. They have allowed fewer than 50 in seven of their past eight games.

In a league that prides itself on shooting from beyond the 3-point arc as an effective way to win, the Rockets went old school and attacked the rim, rather than taking longer shots.

Houston attempted only 16 shots from 3-point range, 15 below its 31-per-game average. That total is lowest in the league for the 2025-26 season.

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It was a strategy deployed by head coach Ime Udoka and his coaching staff, as the Kings couldn’t match the size of the Rockets’ starting frontcourt of Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., and Sengun. When Udoka went to his reserves, he brought in Steven Adams and Clint Capela. All five of those players are 6-foot-10 or taller.

“Our main objective was to score where we could,” Adams told Rockets Wire postgame. “We know that there wasn’t much rim protection on that team, so we just took what the defense gave us and tried to exploit them. We didn’t hit the 3-pointers, but we were getting layups at the rim, so we didn’t need to change that until they stopped it.”

Adams finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds (5 offensive), and 2 blocks in 18 minutes while making 5-of-6 shots (83.3%).

The type of basketball played on Wednesday had an old-school vibe that Durant thrives on, with his deadly mid-range shot and an ability to glide into the paint.

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If the Kings tried to limit Durant from reaching his spots, they then had to account for Sengun and Amen Thompson. That trio combined for 72 points while taking only six 3-point shots, as they overwhelmed smaller defenders throughout the game.

“When we touch the paint, that should be our goal… to touch the paint, and see what happens after that,” said Durant, who finished with 24 points. “I think we make good decisions when we do that. Sometimes it’s going to result in 40 3s or 45 3s, and sometimes it might result to 80 points in the paint, and we won’t need to take those shots.

Durant finished with a season-high 8 assists and 0 turnovers, reflecting his ability to collapse defenses by driving into the paint. It was the first time since February 2019 that the perennial All-Star had that many assists without a turnover.

“Touching the paint is important, and you’ll probably hear 29 other teams talk about paint touches, as well,” said Durant, whose Rockets rank No. 2 in the NBA in offensive rating. “That’s just a source of good offense.”

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More: ‘The paint was open’: Rockets bludgeon Kings inside, improve to 14-5

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: ‘Paint touches’ drive offensive success for Rockets, Kevin Durant