Trae Young prevails in duel with De’Aaron Fox as defenseless Kings fall to Atlanta Hawks
De’Aaron Fox tends to bring some extra oomph when he matches up with the other gifted young point guards in the NBA, but that won’t be enough when the Kings play defense like this.
Fox finished with 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but the Kings opened a six-game road trip with a 121-106 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on Saturday night.
Trae Young had 28 points and nine assists for the Hawks, who turned a double-digit deficit into an insurmountable lead after staging a huge run in the second quarter.
“Until we get better at playing defense, it’s going to be hard to win,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “… We can’t rely just on scoring to either stay in games or win games, and right now that’s kind of what we’re doing most nights. Offensively, we’re doing good things. We’re putting up big numbers, but that’s no way to win consistently unless you’re one of the most elite offensive teams of all time, and we’re not there.”
Clint Capela had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawks (18-20), who have won four in a row for the first time since 2017. Danilo Gallinari came off the bench to post 15 points and seven rebounds.
Richaun Holmes recorded his 13th double-double of the season, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings (15-23). Marvin Bagley III had 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Hawks shot 51.2% from the field, made 12 3-pointers and went to the free-throw line 33 times. The Kings shot just 43.9% from the field and 19.4% from 3-point range as Fox and Buddy Hield combined to go 4 of 21 from beyond the arc.
The Kings raced out to a 24-10 lead with Fox orchestrating the offense beautifully and Bagley feasting around the rim. Bagley demonstrated nice timing, rhythm and touch in the pick-and-roll, spinning into the paint with a variety of moves to score eight points in the first 5:30.
Sacramento led by 11 at the end of the first quarter, but Rajon Rondo came off the bench to pick the Kings apart in the second. Rondo wiggled into the lane for a bucket, knocked down two 3-pointers and made sure to feed Capela around the basket, helping the Hawks outscore the Kings 24-2 to start the second period.
It took 3:01 for Fox to score Sacramento’s first points of the quarter. The Kings went another 3:33 before Harrison Barnes scored their next basket with 5:26 to play in the first half. The Hawks would outscore the Kings 39-18 in the second quarter to carry a 61-51 lead into the halftime break.
“Outside of the first quarter, we just struggled to play with continuity on both sides of the ball,” Barnes said. “Defensively, we kept having breakdowns.”
The Hawks put up another big number in the third quarter, outscoring the Kings 37-30. They led by as many as 23 in the third and took an 18-point lead into the fourth. The Kings got within 10 on a driving layup by Fox with 5:03 to play, but they waived the white flag after Young buried a 3-point bomb from the half-court logo to put the Hawks up 119-104 with 1:40 remaining.
Hello, old friend
The Kings had an opportunity to get reacquainted with former teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic, who spent three seasons in Sacramento before signing with the Hawks in November.
Bogdanovic recently returned after missing seven weeks with an avulsion fracture in his right knee. He has appeared in only 13 games for the Hawks, averaging 8.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He had a rough night against his former team, finishing with six points on 2-of-12 shooting from the field and 0-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.
The Kings let Bogdanovic go as a restricted free agent after a reported sign-and-trade agreement with the Milwaukee Bucks came unraveled. Bogdanovic subsequently signed a four-year, $72 million offer sheet with the Hawks. Kings general manager Monte McNair deliberated for two days before choosing not to match the offer.
Up next
The Kings will make the second stop on this six-game road trip when they visit the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.
The game will feature the first head-to-head matchup between leading Rookie of the Year candidates Tyrese Haliburton and LaMelo Ball. Haliburton sat out with a calf injury in a 127-126 loss to the Hornets on Feb. 28 in Sacramento. Ball had 24 points and 12 assists in that contest.
Ball, the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, is averaging 15.6 points, 6.4 assists and 6.0 rebounds for the Hornets. He’s shooting 44.4% from the field and 37.4% from 3-point range.
Haliburton, the No. 12 pick in the draft, averages 13.0 points, 5.3 assists and 3.5 rebounds. He is shooting 48.9% from the field and 43.4% from 3-point range. He has 163 assists and 48 turnovers, another example of his remarkable efficiency.
Injury report
Hawks: OUT — Kris Dunn (ankle); De’Andre Hunter (knee); Cam Reddish (Achilles).
Kings: OUT — Chimezie Metu (right wrist fracture); Hassan Whiteside (health and safety protocols); Robert Woodard II (left hamstring strain).
Kings upcoming schedule
March 15 at Charlotte Hornets, 4 p.m.
March 17 at Washington Wizards, 4 p.m.
March 19 at Boston Celtics, 4:30 p.m.
March 20 at Philadelphia 76ers, 5 p.m.
March 22 at Cleveland Cavaliers, 4:30 p.m.
