HOUSTON -- Dwight Howard didnt think he was aggressive enough in Houstons two losses to Sacramento this season and vowed to attack from the beginning when the Rockets faced the Kings on Wednesday night. Howards plan worked. He had 17 points and 10 rebounds by halftime on the way to a 26-point night to help the Rockets cruise to their third straight win, a 119-98 victory over the Kings. Howard also had 13 rebounds and four blocks and James Harden added 24 points and nine assists before the pair went to the bench for the fourth quarter. "The last couple of games against those guys, I didnt come out aggressive like I needed to on both ends of the floor," Howard said. "Ive been looking at some film and I wanted to get off to a better start. Its not just about scoring. Its defence and things like that." The Rockets took the lead midway through the first quarter and didnt trail again. The Kings struggled after losing top scorers Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins to injuries before halftime. Gay, who tied a career high with 41 points on Tuesday night, injured his left Achilles tendon in the first quarter and Cousins sprained his left ankle in the second. Sacramento coach Mike Malone didnt have any more information on the injuries after the game and said that theyd know more on Thursday. "It was a big loss to lose both of those guys in the first half," Malone said. "Unfortunately, those other guys that were able to play didnt respond. We got our (tails) kicked tonight and were a no-excuse team ... so the fact that we guarded no one tonight has nothing to do with them not being able to play in the second half." Derrick Williams scored 22 points with 11 rebounds and Isaiah Thomas added 20 points for the Kings. Houston led by 15 points entering the fourth quarter and padded its lead with Harden and Howard relaxing on the bench in their warm-up shirts. They used a 15-3 spurt in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the fourth to make it 103-76. Sacramento missed eight shots, including three layups in that span, and its only points came on free throws by Williams. The Rockets were up by nine points early in the third quarter before scoring 10 straight points to stretch their advantage to 65-46. Chandler Parsons and Patrick Beverley both had 3-pointers in that stretch. Jimmer Fredette made a 3-pointer that cut Houstons lead to 11 points with about eight minutes left in the second quarter. Cousins went down on Sacramentos next possession when he was knocked to the court on a hard foul by Beverley as he drove to the basket. Beverley stood over him for a second while he was down and Beverley received a technical. Cousins entered the game leading the team in scoring (23.1) and rebounding (11.7). He scored just two points before getting hurt, snapping a streak of 30 straight games with at least 10 points. The Rockets used a 6-2 spurt after that to extend their lead to 44-29. Sacramento got within eight two times after that in the second quarter, but Howard scored six points with two alley-oop dunks in the last 1 1/2 minutes of the first half to help the Rockets lead 55-44 at the break. The Kings were up by five points early before Houston used a 14-5 run to take a 21-17 lead with about three minutes left in the first quarter. Gay, who entered the game averaging 20.2 points, was injured at the beginning of that run, which was powered by eight points from Harden. Houston coach Kevin McHale was impressed with Hardens work on Wednesday night. "He started getting to the rim," McHale said. "I thought we were settling for a lot and playing East and West. We told them to get to the hole and put pressure on the basket and they did." Gay has started all 21 games for the Kings since being traded from Toronto on Dec. 9. Aaron Gray received a flagrant foul soon after that when he grabbed Harden as he was heading to the basket. Harden made both free throws as part of an 8-2 run that put the Rockets up 29-22 at the end of the first. Omri Casspi added 20 points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds and Parsons added 19 points with 10 rebounds. NOTES: Houstons Terrence Jones missed his second straight game with a deep thigh bruise and Ronnie Brewer sat out with a sore calf. ... Sacramentos Quincy Acy and Harden both received technical fouls on the same play in the third quarter. ... Thomas has made at least one 3-pointer in 35 straight games, tying the fourth-longest streak in franchise history. Stitched Mets Jerseys .J. - Henrik Lundqvist has done more than set a couple of franchise records for the New York Rangers this week. Custom New York Mets Jerseys . 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NEW ORLEANS -- Rudy Gay went from ejection to redemption in just a couple of days. One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. "Honestly, I didnt even know how much I scored," Gay said. "It was more about getting the win." In a loss two nights earlier to the Thunder, Gay scored only six points before being sent off the court with two technical fouls in the fourth quarter. But Gay hit 16 of 25 shots in the Big Easy, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, to match a point total he last put up on Dec. 13, 2009, in Miami. It was going so well for Gay that he casually walked the ball up the court with an eye on the clock late in the third quarter, and then drilled a pull-up jumper from 27 feet. "He put on a show tonight, coming off a game in Oklahoma City where he didnt play very well and got thrown out," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "He wanted to bounce back and show everybody what he is capable of." DeMarcus Cousins had 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for the Kings, who have won five of eight. Isaiah Thomas added 20 points and 11 assists. "When in doubt, go to Rudy and youll get an assist," Thomas said. "He really carried us tonight." Tyreke Evans scored 17 for New Orleans, which trimmed a 23-point deficit to six shortly before halftime, only to fall behind by 23 again in the third quarter and remain behind by double digits the rest of the way. Anthony Davis scored 16 points and blocked four shots, and New Orleans rookie centre Jeff Withey had a career-high 14 points, but that was not nearly enough to prevent the Pelicans from losing for the ninth time in 10 games. The latest loss came one night after the Pelicans snapped an eight-game skid in Memphis. "We just didnt have a lot of juice collectively from our starters tonight and certainly didnt play with any kind of intensity that was comparable to what we did last night," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "That is just part of being a pro and understanding that when you have an emotional win like we did last night, theres a quick turnaround." Quincy Acy grabbed 10 rebounds for the Kings, who outrebounded New Orleanns 46-35.dddddddddddd The Kings were the sharper team from the outset, shooting 70 per cent (14 of 20) in the first period, during which they scored 38 points and built an 18-point lead. "Obviously I could point to a few things, but that would be emotional and I dont want to do that," Williams said. "Theres some things Ive discussed with our team that they need to be better at, and they understand. ... Were not the type of team that can just put our jersey on and step onto the floor. Weve got to go out and play with a high level of energy." New Orleans had 10 players in uniform, out of 15 on the roster. Ryan Anderson (herniated disk), Jrue Holiday (stress fracture, right shin) and Jason Smith (right knee) were injured. Reserve shooting guard Anthony Morrow was sick and newly acquired guard Tyshawn Taylor was not with the team. All 10 active players had checked in before the first quarter ended, in part because four players --Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu, Greg Stiemsma and Alexis Ajinca -- each had two fouls in the period. The Kings lead grew to 23 on Gays 3 midway through the second quarter, and it might have been worse if not for Witheys 12 points in the period. New Orleans enjoyed momentum for only the last half of the second period, scoring on 10 of its last 11 possessions. Witheys dunk sparked a 12-3 spurt, capped by Roberts fast-break layup. Next came an 11-2 run during which Evans scored eight, trimming Sacramentos lead to six before Derrick Williams free throws gave the Kings a 64-56 halftime lead. The Pelicans second-quarter surge put them in striking distance of a memorable comeback, but Sacramento opened the third with a 17-4 run. The surge began with two baskets by Cousins and included two 3s by Gay, the second making it 83-60. "When we play that type of basketball, were a tough team to beat," Cousins said. "Weve got a long way to go to grow as a team, but were definitely on the right path." NOTES: The Kings conclude a six-game road trip Wednesday night at Houston. They are 2-3 on the trip so far. ... Four players spent at least one season of college under current Kentucky coach John Calipari: Cousins, Davis, Evans and Darius Miller. All are former Kentucky players except Evans, who played at Memphis, Caliparis previous stop. ' ' '