De’Aaron Fox dazzles in Kings’ win over Pelicans after ejection of Marvin Bagley III
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox twirled past Zion Williamson, blew by Lonzo Ball and glided to the basket with a move that left the Pelicans wondering where he went and what he would do next.
Fox put on a dazzling display in the final minutes, leading the visiting Kings to a 119-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Fox scored 14 points in the final 5:22 to help his team overcome a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit despite the absence of Marvin Bagley III, who was ejected early in the second half.
Fox finished with 38 points and 12 assists for the Kings (9-11), who have won four of their last five games. He made 14 of 24 from the field and all seven of his free-throw attempts after going into the game shooting 67.2% from the stripe.
“De’Aaron was big time down the stretch of that game and it’s good to see that growth from him,” Kings coach Luke Walton said.
Fox scored 17 points in the fourth quarter for the second game in a row after doing the same in a 105-104 loss to the Miami Heat on Saturday. He became the first Kings player in at least 20 years and the first in the NBA this season to accomplish that feat, but Fox seemed more satisfied with a flawless performance at the free-throw line.
“I know with the way I play, I’m going to get fouled,” Fox said “I’m going to get to the line. I have to be able to make free throws, especially down the stretch.”
Harrison Barnes added 24 points and eight rebounds for Sacramento. Richaun Holmes recorded a double-double, posting 17 points and 10 rebounds with a career-high-tying six blocked shots. Buddy Hield added 16 points and eight rebounds. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton had a career-high 11 rebounds with six assists.
Brandon Ingram had 20 points on 6-of-20 shooting for the Pelicans (7-12), who shot just 39.6% from the field. Williamson had 17 points and eight rebounds with three blocked shots.
The Kings trailed by 10 early in the fourth before staging a 16-3 run to take control of the game. Barnes and Hield knocked down a couple of 3-pointers, Holmes converted a three-point play and then Fox took over to deliver a stunning closing act.
“I see an All-Star,” Holmes said. “He’s been playing amazing for us. ... He wants to be a star and you can see him turning into that in front of our very eyes.”
Fox started the scoring barrage with a 3-pointer and then hit a step-back jumper to put the Kings up 103-102. He followed with a series of driving layups, making it look easy against a New Orleans defense that could do nothing to stop him.
“He was in the paint all the time,” Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said. “He was by us defensively and we didn’t give good help. We just couldn’t stop him at all in the fourth quarter. We didn’t stop him really the whole night, but really in the fourth quarter we couldn’t stop him at all.”
Haliburton said it was a joy to watch.
“(Number) five is special. He’s very special,” Haliburton said. “… I think he’s proving that he’s taking that next step and I think he’s been an All-Star this year. He’s playing like one, no question.”
Marvin Bagley III ejected
Bagley received a technical foul after being whistled for a personal foul against Williamson with 0.1 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Bagley was called for the technical because he cussed at an official, crew chief James Capers told pool reporter Andrew Lopez of ESPN in response to questions from The Sacramento Bee.
“The Sacramento team bench had been warned about continually complaining and then he (Bagley) resented a foul call and had a profanity laced statement directed towards the official which caused him to get the first technical foul,” Capers said.
Bagley picked up his second technical after being called for another personal foul on Williamson with 10:18 to play in the third quarter. Bagley, a bit more demonstrative in his objection this time, was slapped with a second technical foul and ejected from the game.
“There was a personal foul called against him (Bagley), he had an overt reaction that went beyond the heat of the moment and because he had one technical the second technical was an automatic ejection” Capers said.
Bagley finished with 10 points, four rebounds and one blocked shot in 22 minutes.
“I didn’t think Marvin deserved to be tossed,” Walton said. “Look, I like young players kind of letting their emotion out a little bit, so I have no problem with Marvin getting a technical, but that hurt when we lost him because he was doing a heck of a job again out there tonight.”
Up next
The Kings will play seven of their next eight games at home with one quick trip to Los Angeles before they go on the road again.
The Kings will host the Boston Celtics at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Golden 1 Center, their first home game since Jan. 22. The Celtics (10-8) are coming off consecutive losses to the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers. They will visit the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night before coming to Sacramento on the second night of a back-to-back.
Jaylen Brown is making another significant leap to stardom in his fifth season with the Celtics. He is averaging a career-high 27.1 points per game while shooting career bests of 53.1% from the field and 44.3% from 3-point range.
The Celtics will be without starting point guard Marcus Smart, who is expected to miss two to three weeks with a strained left calf. Smart is averaging 13.1 points, 6.1 assists and 1.8 steals this season.
Injury report
Kings: OUT — Nemanja Bjelica (back); DaQuan Jeffries (ankle); Jahmi’us Ramsey (G League); Robert Woodard II (G League).
Pelicans: OUT — Steven Adams (calf); Naji Marshall (ankle).
Kings upcoming schedule
Feb. 3 vs. Boston Celtics, 7 p.m.
Feb. 6 vs. Denver Nuggets, 2 p.m.
Feb. 7 at Los Angeles Clippers, 12 p.m.
Feb. 9 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 7 p.m.
Feb. 12 vs. Orlando Magic, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 8:11 PM.
