Houston Rockets vs Sacramento Kings Prediction, 12/21/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Houston Rockets vs Sacramento Kings

Date: Sunday, December 21, 2025

Location: Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA

TV: NBC Sports California

The Sacramento Kings (6-21) host the Houston Rockets (16-8) at Golden 1 Center on Sunday.

The Rockets played the Pelicans and went home with a loss by a final score of 133-128 in their last contest. Concerning personal fouls, the Rockets ended up with 21 while the Pelicans racked up 24 personal fouls. They also buried 11 out of their 27 attempts from beyond the arc. New Orleans finished the contest at 85.7% from the charity stripe by burying 24 of their 28 attempts. Additionally, New Orleans totaled 41 rebounds (13 offensive, 28 defensive) and earned 8 blocks. New Orleans earned 27 assists and had 15 steals in this contest. In reference to defending, Houston allowed the other team to shoot 50.5% from the field on 49 of 97 shooting. They also recorded 30 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In terms of rebounding, they collected 58 with 25 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Rockets buried 18 of 27 tries for a rate of 66.7%. Houston wrapped up the game with a 46.7% field goal percentage (50 of 107) and made 10 of their 32 shots from distance.

Kevin Durant is a player who was a factor for the contest. Durant walked away from this one shooting 80.0% from the field and totaled 2 assists. He played 43 minutes played and also collected 7 boards. He had 32 points on 12 out of 15 shooting.

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Houston will enter this matchup with a mark of 16-8 this season. They are losing possession via turnover 16.3 times per contest and as a team they are committing 20.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Houston is grabbing 49.1 boards per contest and has accounted for 617 assists for the year, which has them ranked 30th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. The Rockets are hitting 39.6% on shots from 3-point land (282 of 713) and 78.5% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 121.1 points per outing (3rd in basketball) while going 48.6% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Rockets are forcing 14.1 turnovers every game and they draw 22.5 personal fouls. They are ranked 1st in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 586 relinquished on the campaign. The Rockets defense is giving up a FG percentage of 46.2% (979 of 2,120) and they relinquish 37.7 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They give up 34.7% from beyond the arc while they are 3rd in the league in PPG allowed (112.1).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Kings took a loss by a score of 134-133 when they faced the Trail Blazers. The Kings were able to collect 31 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 42 in this contest. They also coughed up the ball 18 times, while getting 13 steals for the game. The Trail Blazers committed 27 fouls for the contest which took the Kings to the charity stripe for 34 attempts. They were able to make 31 of those for a rate of 91.2%. When discussing three-point attempts, Sacramento buried 6 out of 19 attempts (31.6%). When all was said and done, the Kings finished shooting 48 out of 94 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.1%. The Kings allowed the Trail Blazers to knock down 49 of their 103 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 47.6% for this contest. They went 33.3% from beyond the arc by shooting 15 of 45 and ended up going 21 out of 33 at the free throw line (63.6%). When talking about cleaning the glass, Sacramento allowed Portland to grab 44 in total (17 offensive).

DeMar DeRozan ended up being a factor for the Kings in this matchup. DeRozan earned 33 points in his 35 minutes on the court and had 3 assists in this game. He knocked down 10 out of 16 for the contest for a field goal rate of 62.5%, and added 4 rebounds.

Sacramento has a win-loss record of 6-21 for the campaign. When it comes to executing on offense, the Kings are shooting 46.6% from the field, which is 17th in basketball. Sacramento has 3,015 points on the year (111.7 per contest) and they average 39.9 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 25.5 times per contest (21st in the league) and they turn it over 14.2 times per game. The Kings have committed 20.6 personal fouls per contest and they go 75.9% from the free throw line.

The Sacramento defense allows 35.1% on shots from behind the 3-point line (347 of 988) and their opponents are making 78.0% of their foul shots. They have given up 28.6 assists and 46.7 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 26th and 26th in the league. The Kings on defense are ranked 27th in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 122.8. They are forcing 15.1 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 49.8% from the floor (30th in the NBA).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Sacramento

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