SACRAMENTO, Calif. --- Occasionally, when their sharpshooters zero in, the Houston Rockets can only imagine what they might accomplish from long distance. Beating them on such nights may seem a virtual impossibility, especially when the effort from the opponent is less than dazzling.

The Sacramento Kings got a close-up look on Friday.

The Rockets fired away, shooting an NBA-record 50 3-pointers and making 21 of them in a 117-104 victory over the Kings at Golden 1 Center. Trevor Ariza scored all 18 of his points on six 3s, and seven Rockets canned at least one in Houston's fourth victory in five games.

The 21 treys fell two shy of the NBA mark that the Rockets share with the Orlando Magic. The 50 3-point attempts broke the old mark of 49 set in 1996 by the Dallas Mavericks.

"I'd like to get the record for the most made," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. "But hey, look, that's how we play, and if that's what (the opponent) is going to give us, that's what we'll take."

Houston has made at least 10 3-pointers in 15 straight games, the third-longest streak in NBA history and only one shy of the mark set a year ago by the Golden State Warriors and matched later in the season by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Houston made its 10th not even two minutes into the second quarter, a 25-foot pullup by Patrick Beverley that put the Rockets ahead 49-25 with 10:15 left before halftime. Less than two minutes after that, the lead was 53-24.

"We were just too loose," Kings coach Dave Joerger said. "Certainly, we know they can shoot 3s, so we started to stay in there. As the roller (off the screen) was to the rim, it was either a layup or a kickout. We did not get back in front of the ball especially in the first quarter. When they missed, they got offensive rebounds, and they started getting some free looks."

DeMarcus Cousins scored 32 points for Sacramento and hit four 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter to cut Houston's lead to 112-104 with 1:12 left before Houston's final 3-pointer, this one by Eric Gordon, killed the rally.

"I don't understand these starts," Cousins said. "It's one thing is a team is making a lot of shots. It's another thing if they start missing those shots and then they get offensive rebounds and convert those to points. If we get those offensive rebounds, then we're down 10 and not (29). We have to have a better approach. I wish I had an answer. It's on us."

James Harden also finished with 23 points on just 6-of-18 shooting from the field to lead Houston. But he added 10 assists and 10 rebounds for Houston in his third triple-double of the season.

Ariza knocked down 6 of 11 3-pointers, Ryan Anderson made 4 of 10 and Gordon connected on 4 of 12. Corey Brewer and Beverley each made two 3s, and Sam Dekker made one.

"The good part is that it didn't seem like we took 50 shots," Anderson said. "We took them in rhythm, and didn't force it. It's fun basketball. It's feeding off the emotion of distribution of the ball to one another."

Clint Capela finished with 17 points and Anderson scored 13 for Houston. Gordon scored 14, while Corey Brewer and Nene 10 apiece.

Matt Barnes and Ty Lawson each scored 12 points for the Kings, and Kosta Koufos added 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting to go with five rebounds. Rudy Gay also scored 10.

The Kings play their next six games on the road, their second-longest trip of the season. They play all Eastern Conference teams and the combined record of the opponents after Friday were 32-57.

NOTES: The Rockets have not addressed media reports that they pulled a two-year contract offer for F Donatas Motiejunas from the table on Wednesday, the deadline for signing players and keeping them eligible to be traded by the Feb. 23 deadline. Motiejunas, who averaged 12 points and six rebounds per game for the Rockets two seasons ago, is a restricted free agent who hasn't played this season. ... Sacramento F Omri Casspi, who hadn't played in the previous three games and five of the past six, scored seven points in 29 minutes for the Kings. ... Rockets F Ryan Anderson, who grew up about 30 minutes outside Sacramento and rooted for the Kings, told CSN Bay Area's James Ham that signing a free-agent deal with Houston and turning down the Kings marked the "toughest decision of my life." ... Kings F DeMarcus Cousins reached 250 career double-doubles in Wednesday's win over Oklahoma City and trails only Atlanta C Dwight Howard (266) and Cleveland F Kevin Love (266) among active players.