Dylan Cardwell fell on the floor, rolled over, and got up like a stuntman, calling for a round of applause from the crowd. The Sacramento Kings’ center appeared to be bullying the Houston Rockets at Golden 1 Center. Two minutes before this incident, Amen Thompson had dunked all over Cardwell on a fastbreak. So, when Dorian Finney-Smith finally pushed the Kings player to the floor while rebounding, everything started to make sense.

But while the Rockets and the Kings players were involved in a scuffle, Cardwell quietly stood at the baseline with a big, bully-like smile on his face. The clash between the two teams escalated to the extent that security had to step in to break it up!

With over 40 seconds remaining in the third, the score was even at 75-75. Finney-Smith and Cardwell fought for a rebound from Precious Achiuwa’s missed 3-point shot. After the Kings big man initially nudged Finney-Smith, the latter, in turn, applied extra force and pushed him to the ground.

And while Cardwell hyped up the crowd, his teammate Malik Monk charged at Finney-Smith. Before the referee could break the fight, players from both sides threw themselves at each other like they were in the ring, including Nique Clifford, who seemed all heated up.

Soon after everything settled down, Finney-Smith was slapped with a Flagrant 1 foul, and Monk was assessed a technical foul.

On a separate note, it proved to be yet another disappointing night for the Rockets. After two back-to-back losses against the Portland Trail Blazers, they suffered their third consecutive loss on Sunday. The 111-98 defeat also ruined Alperen Sengun’s return from the injury.

The Rockets’ drastic drop in rankings and fortunes… should it concern them?

Before the 2025-26 season kicked off, the Rockets were being considered the biggest threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and rightfully so. Durant, still shocking the league with his lethal scoring at 37, had joined the young roster for his last bid for an NBA championship. When the Warriors took on a defensive Houston team in the first round last season, their lack of offense proved a big burden.

Durant, however, had arrived with an answer, as the city also waited for Alperen Sengun’s breakout year. They opened their season against the defending champions and suffered a double-overtime loss. There were concerns after they lost to the Detroit Pistons in the second game.

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But in the next 11 games, the Rockets played with true promise. Udoka led his team to a 10-3 record that included a pair of five-game winning streaks. After 20 games, they were the league’s second-best team with a 15-5 record, tied with the Lakers. However, this also turned out to be the inflection point of the Rockets’ season.

In their next 16 games, including the Kings game on Sunday, the Rockets have a 7-9 record…

They are one of the worst clutch groups in the league this season. In 19 such games, they have a 7-12 record. To make it worse, overtime seems to be their Achilles heel with one win in five overtime games.

The Rockets had the league’s best offensive rating in October. They slipped to 4th in November and December. But the drop in January is simply shocking. They’ve slipped to 17th. While it is understandable that Sengun was injured in four games, this serious drop should be concerning for the Rockets’ balance.

The rapid decline of their defense is even more concerning. In November, they had the 2nd-best defensive ranking in the league behind the Thunder. It dropped significantly, reaching 17th in December. They are currently ranked 12th in the league.

Should they be concerned? Well, of course. Their offense and defense have both seen a dip. There are 46 games still left in the regular season before the playoffs begin. Overburdening Durant on offense would only tire him out, which may make him less productive come the postseason.