De’Aaron Fox erupts for career-high 43 points, but Kings can’t stop Zion Williamson
De’Aaron Fox left it all on the floor in one of the finest performances of his professional career, but even that wasn’t enough for the struggling Kings.
Fox had a career-high 43 points and 13 assists with four rebounds and four steals, but Zion Williamson walked away victorious after the New Orleans Pelicans held on to beat the Kings 128-123 on Sunday at Golden 1 Center. Fox made play after play to help his team come back from big deficits throughout the game, but in the end he was left agonizing over the plays he didn’t make.
“When we cut the lead down, that’s when your player needs to step up and make a play, and I don’t think I really did that tonight when the game was really tight,” Fox said.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Fox became the franchise’s first player to post 40 points and 10 assists in a game since Nate “Tiny” Archibald did it for the Kansas City Royals on March 13, 1973. Fox made 17 of 27 field-goal attempts and 3 of 9 from 3-point range to surpass his previous career high of 39 points against the San Antonio Spurs last season in the NBA bubble.
Williamson scored 31 points on 13-of-15 shooting for the Pelicans (5-7), who snapped a five-game losing streak. Brandon Ingram scored 22 points and Eric Bledsoe added 21 for New Orleans. Steven Adams recorded a double-double, posting 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Marvin Bagley III had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings (5-9), who have lost three in a row and eight of 10 since going 3-1 to start the season. Bagley was 11 of 19 from the field with two 3-pointers. He has made 10 of 24 (.417) from 3-point range over the past seven games after making 3 of 15 (.200) in the first seven games.
“I never lost my confidence,” Bagley said. “I put a lot of work into it in the offseason and it’s just starting to show. What you put in is what you get out, and I put a lot of time into that.”
Buddy Hield added 18 points for the Kings. Richaun Holmes had 16 points and seven rebounds.
The Kings went into the game with an emphasis on defense after allowing an average of 131.7 points over the past seven games, but the outcome only emphasized their deficiencies. The Kings shot 54.5% in the opening half, but they went 5 of 18 from 3-point range and couldn’t get a stop at the defensive end. The Pelicans shot a sizzling 61.9% from the field and made 5 of 11 (.455) from beyond the arc while amassing a 23-10 rebounding advantage.
New Orleans outscored Sacramento 14-6 over the final 2:15 of the first quarter to take a 34-25 lead. The Pelicans paraded to the rim for an assortment of layups, dunks and kick-out 3-pointers to extend their lead to 19 before the Kings battled back to cut the deficit to nine at the half.
Sacramento got within six when Fox sank a 3-pointer early in the third quarter, but New Orleans quickly pushed the lead back to double digits. The Pelicans went up 78-65 on a 3-pointer by Bledsoe and took a 93-76 lead on another 3 by Bledsoe, but the Kings finished the third with an 18-4 run to get within three on a 3-pointer by Harrison Barnes. Fox ended the third quarter with 33 points and 11 assists, becoming the first Kings player to post at least 30 points and 10 assists through three quarters since Mike Bibby did it against the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 27, 2005.
The Pelicans led 110-100 with 9:02 remaining and still had a nine-point lead with 6:23 to play. The Kings got within three following 3-pointers from Hield and Bagley and cut the deficit to one when Fox threw down an emphatic dunk to tie his career high with 39 points.
“(Fox) did a masterful job of getting in the paint, creating pace opportunities, creating open looks for other people and then scoring when we needed scoring,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “So much of the fourth-quarter games will come down to somebody just finding a way to get buckets. I thought De’Aaron did that at a very elite level tonight.”
The Kings had a chance to tie the game in the final minute, but Bagley missed a 3-pointer and the Pelicans made their free throws down the stretch.
Injury updates
Bagley (wrist) and center Hassan Whiteside (hip) were listed as questionable going into the game. During his pregame news conference, Walton said Bagley would play but Whiteside would not.
Bagley was experiencing left wrist soreness, an injury that occurred in Friday’s 138-100 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Walton said. Whiteside has missed the last two games due to left hip soreness.
Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball was out with bilateral knee tendinopathy.
Point guard duties
With Ball still out of the lineup, Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy again turned to Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a second-year player who made his second start of the season.
Alexander-Walker had a huge game against the Clippers on Wednesday, erupting for a career-high 37 points and eight rebounds. He made 15 of 23 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range. He had nine points, five rebounds and five assists against the Kings.
The Brooklyn Nets drafted Alexander-Walker out of Virginia tech with the No. 17 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. His draft rights were traded to the Atlanta Hawks and then immediately traded again to the Pelicans.
Up next
Sacramento will have a relatively light week after playing 13 games in 26 days to start the season.
The Kings will have Monday and Tuesday off before visiting the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. They will come home to face the New York Knicks on Friday before embarking on six-game road trip starting with a back-to-back set against the Memphis Grizzlies Jan. 24-25.
The Clippers handed the Kings an embarrassing 138-100 loss on their home floor Friday. Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points and Paul George added 26 for the Clippers, who shot 58.4% from the field and made 18 of 35 (.514) from 3-point range. The Kings will also have to do a better job of rebounding after allowing the Clippers to amass a huge 47-32 advantage.
Injury report
Pelicans: OUT — Lonzo Ball (knee)
Kings: QUESTIONABLE — Marvin Bagley III (wrist); Hassan Whiteside (hip). OUT — Jahmi’us Ramsey (groin); DaQuan Jeffries (ankle).
Upcoming Kings schedule
Jan. 20 at Los Angeles Clippers, 7 p.m.
Jan. 22 vs. New York Knicks, 7 p.m.
Jan. 24 at Memphis Grizzlies, 5 p.m.
Jan. 25 at Memphis Grizzlies, 5 p.m.
Jan. 26 at Memphis Grizzlies, 5 p.m.
This story was originally published January 17, 2021 at 8:47 PM.
