Once 13-18 and spiraling, the Sacramento Kings are now 20-19 and squarely back in the playoff hunt. What changed and is it sustainable?

Winning at home has been a big point of emphasis since Christie took over as interim coach of the Kings when Mike Brown was fired in December. The Kings did it again in a Thursday night thriller, beating the Houston Rockets 132-127 before a sellout crowd of 18,227 at Golden 1 Center and a national television audience on TNT.

Kings interim head coach Doug Christie discusses Thursday's 132-127 win over the Rockets, the way Sacramento closed out for a second win over second place Houston, the clutch free throw shooting by his team to go 20-of-22 in the victory,

Doug Christie took over as interim head coach ... but one player is quietly hitting his stride in the recent stretch of games; Keegan Murray. Murray has had a very interesting season so far.

The Jazz and Kings have conducted exploratory trade talks centered on John Collins. Sacramento can make salaries work while avoiding the tax by including Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles. Collins is averaging 17.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 43.8% on threes. pic.twitter.com/1o9HpiRolO

Doug Christie’s biggest accomplishment since ... ve been through in December [until] now is just 360,” forward Keegan Murray told reporters. “He’s a coach that instills confidence in ...

There are so many factors that have led to the Sacramento Kings rattling off seven straight wins. Doug Christie took over as interim head coach, Keon Ellis got more minutes and made winning play after winning play, and first-round draft pick Devin Carter made his NBA debut and immediately contributed to winning basketball.

The Sacramento Kings have reportedly reached out to the Utah Jazz about trading for their star forward amid trade rumors.

DeMar DeRozan gave Sacramento the lead for good with 2:20 remaining, De'Aaron Fox made five free throws amid two controversial calls in the final 33 seconds, and the host Kings hung on to defeat the Houston Rockets 132-127 on Thursday night.

DeMar DeRozan scored 28, De'Aaron Fox 20 and Keon Ellis 18 for Sacramento. Domantas Sabonis had 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard combined for 25 points during a 47-point first quarter that propelled the Milwaukee Bucks to a 130-115 win over the visiting Kings on Tuesday night, snapping Sacramento's seven-game winning streak.