DeMar DeRozan celebrated a historic night as the Sacramento Kings defeated the Houston Rockets 111-98 on Sunday at Golden 1 Center.
Reflecting on Malik Monk’s performance off the bench, DeRozan said, “It’s just a testament who he is as a pro, as a, you know, the talent that he is and, you know, how he take care of himself and, you know, stay ready. He’s always, you know, in there working his butt off, staying ready. And tonight, you know, shows him, you know, with everything we’ve been going through, the frustrations, everything, you know, for him to come out and be ready and, you know, essentially play as big as he did to win us that game.”
DeRozan reached 26,000 career points during the game and reflected on the milestone in the context of a win. “It’s always just satisfying getting a win, you know? I think as far as everything else, scoring, points and everything, that really won’t hit me until it’s all said and done, and you look back at however long I decide to play and the things I’ve been able to do. But it really don’t hit me in a moment.”
The veteran forward also addressed the team’s improved late-game execution. “Last game, you know, we came in, we had film as a team, and we kind of watched the last three minutes of that Golden State game, you know, seeing how we fell apart. We were more conscious going into this game trying to end the quarters better. The bench came through big for us. I think just us being conscious of how we need to be able to close out games.”
On Dennis Schroder’s suspension and its timing, DeRozan said, “It was crazy. I get a call yesterday while I was taking a nap, and people asked me what happened with Dennis. I said I don’t know what happened. He got suspended… It sucks not to have Dennis out there, him dealing with a suspension. I honestly don’t know what happened, but they make whatever decisions they need to make, and that’s just what it is.”
DeRozan emphasized the importance of team awareness and focus. “A lot of games we lost, it’s those lapses that we have two, three, four minutes here that kind of cost us the game. We’re just trying to be more aware of that tonight. The bench and everyone on the floor stepped up to close out the game, and that’s why we were able to get this win.”
With Sacramento now 9-30 and breaking their winless streak, DeRozan’s performance set the tone for a team seeking consistency. “It feels good, but we know there’s a lot of basketball left. We have to keep building and be ready for the next game.”
