Scola took charge from the beginning, leading the Rockets' hot start with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting in the period. The Rockets shot 65 percent from the field in the opening period and had their biggest lead at 33-24 to end the period.

The Rockets lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the final second on Friday night.

"That's the good thing about the NBA," Ariza said. "You get a tough loss the night before and you get an opportunity to come back the next night and change the outcome. Once we lost that one, we kind of forgot about it, got on the plane and got here and we got some good rest. We game back and got a win today."

Notes

The Rockets lost to the Kings 109-100 on Nov. 13 despite having three players in double figures, Trevor Ariza (28), Shane Battier (23) and Luis Scola (20). ... The Rockets had a three-game winning streak early in the season but since then they haven't won more than one in a row. ... Houston has won the last five games against Sacramento in Houston. ... The Kings have scored 100 points in seven of their last eight games. ... Rockets coach Rick Adelman is the winningest coach in Kings history (395-229).