This is his team. His win. His time. De’Aaron Fox raises his game for first playoff win | Opinion
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Sacramento Kings in the Playoffs
Kings playoffs have arrived! Here’s everything you need to know.
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In their first NBA playoff game in 17 years, the Sacramento Kings shot terribly for much of the game – and still beat the defending champion, the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors shot poorly as well, and turned the ball over 15 times. That helped. What helped more was a win that proved to everyone in attendance and everyone watching nationally that these Kings can play with great Warriors, even when the Kings were far from their best
And showed the nation a player who has been a hidden gem in Sacramento just waiting for his chance to shine. This was De’Aaron Fox’s game and his moment.
The Kings were rusty, but not awed. They lacked consistency, but not courage. They bent but didn’t bow to a team that falls out of bed and wins championships. It was ugly at times, but exultant in the end.
A 126-123 win will be cherished around these parts for 48 hours until tipoff Monday night.
When Steph Curry, the best pure shooter in NBA history, missed a three-pointer that would have tied this game, Sacramento lost its mind.
Sacramento has been dreaming of this moment over 17 dismal years of perpetual losing by Kings teams.
Struggle to win
A ragged game in the first half turned into a compelling one in the second as the Kings rallied and raged, despite the struggles of big man Damontas Sabonis and the invisibility of starters Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray.
Sabonis didn’t score in the second half until three minutes remained. He poured all that frustration into a monster dunk that raised the roof off of Golden 1 Center.
A team doesn’t usually win a playoff game when three of their five starters struggle. No one will view this game as a clinic of great Kings basketball, but that doesn’t matter.
Fox showed the nation who he is, scoring 38 points and willing his team to victory. Malik Monk, Trey Lyles, Davion Mitchell and Alex Len all came off the bench to give the Kings critical contributions.
It was an epic day in Sacramento.
Before the game, the G1C crowd was as loud as the late, great Arco Arena used to be. The noise was ear-splitting as the Kings took the court for warm-ups, and the prospect of Warriors fans making a lot of noise never materialized.
The crowd shared a beautiful moment when Jason Williams, the flamboyant Kings point guard of the late 1990s and early 2000s, looked genuinely touched when the crowd cheered his image on the giant G1C scoreboard.
The Monk factor
In the first half, the Kings were game but ragged. Fox’s shot wasn’t falling. He missed all three of his 3-point shots and picked up two ticky-tack fouls. Fox was subdued in the pre-game introductions, showing no emotion. He finally was in the NBA playoffs in his sixth season with the Kings.
Fox opened the second half with an airball.
Sabonis scored 10 points but he was double-teamed under the basket every time he attempted to score. He also looked rusty, hitting only four of 12 shots and missing his only 3-point attempt. He also turned the ball over three times. He led all players with nine rebounds in the half, he was a load under the basket, but far from his best.
Kings rookie Keegan Murray scored two points – no threes for him in his playoff debut.
It was the Kings’ bench players who kept them close to Golden State.
Monk had three fouls with six minutes left if the half and sat for a bit until coach Mike Brown took a gamble and inserted him back in because the Kings needed his energy and industry on the floor.
He was by far the best Kings player of the half, scoring 15 points and playing dynamically, in contrast to his teammates. Lyles hit two 3-point shots to give the Kings some life. Mitchell made the Kings first 3-point shot after they missed their first nine. Len rejected the shot of Warriors villain Draymond Green.
Fox rises
But the Kings weren’t going to win the game with Monk, Mitchell and Len. Their starters needed to shake off the rust of a week off and, as is almost always the case, Fox took the ball and forced himself into the flow of the game. He started getting his points in the third by using his speed to get to the basket.
Suddenly, late in the third, a couple of Warriors misses were followed by 3-point shots by Lyles and Fox, and the G1C faithful were in the game again. Monk hit a layup with three seconds left in the third to give, improbably, the Kings the lead.
It hurt your head to be in the arena.
The additions of Monk and Lyles by Kings GM Monte McNair illustrated why the Kings were here and why they had finally broken their cycle of losing.
McNair acquired Monk and Lyles in the kind of deals that mostly get noticed by rabid fans. Monk and Lyles will probably never be NBA All-Stars but on Saturday they moved beyond supporting roles to essential ones. They showed no fear while facing the Warriors juggernaut of Hall of Fame players to be.
But of course, the evening belonged to Fox. From the minute he set foot in Sacramento, you could tell this young man was special beyond his physical abilities. His work ethic, his maturity beyond his years, his desire to get better – even when the Kings were a dysfunctional mess – have always been apparent.
Fox labored under poor management in his formative Kings years, sometimes giving the impression that his spirit was flagging. But he never quit and even though he wasn’t a starter in this year’s All-Star game, after Saturday, Fox will never be an unknown to a national audience again.
On Saturday, he sensed the danger the game could get away from the Kings and took responsibility to keep that from happening.
This is his team, his win and his time.
This story was originally published April 15, 2023 at 9:26 PM.
