De’Aaron Fox helps Kings outgun Pistons to win sixth in a row for first time since 2004-05
The Kings on Sunday won their sixth game in a row for the first time since the 2004-05 season, finishing their four-game homestand undefeated with a 137-129 victory over the lowly Detroit Pistons.
Sacramento got 33 points from De’Aaron Fox while all five starters scored in the double digits. The Kings overcame a sluggish second quarter, a seven-point second-half deficit and some hot 3-point shooting from Detroit to improve to 9-6 and light the beam atop Golden 1 Center.
Domantas Sabonis, dealing with foul trouble and hits to the face throughout the game, spurred the comeback in the fourth quarter with a pair of offensive rebounds leading to baskets, a defensive stop against rookie Jaden Ivey, and an assist to Kevin Huerter, who made it a four-point game with 1:29 remaining with a 3 from the corner.
Sabonis finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and sevens assists while Huerter added 24, five and five. Harrison Barnes, who had a key dunk during the comeback sequence, had 27 points and nine rebounds.
Ivey scored 24 and Bojan Bogdanovic had 21 for the Pistons (3-15), who lost their seventh in a row.
Fox, who has been one of the NBA’s best clutch scorers this season, was given “MVP” chants during free throws inside the final minute. Coming into the game, his 42 points in clutch situations trailed only Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell (47) for the top mark in the NBA.
The Kings allowed Detroit to shoot 53% from the floor and 52% from distance. The Pistons had 54 points in the paint while Sacramento struggled to protect the rim. But the Kings made up for it by scoring 62 points in the paint, continuing to attack the Pistons perimeter defense with drives to the lane.
The game included the return of failed former No. 2 draft pick Marvin Bagley III, who was greeted with hearty boos from Kings fans starting with opening introductions and continuing every time he touched the ball. The Kings traded away Bagley last February after four tumultuous seasons for a package including reserve forward Trey Lyles.
Bagley started 0-3 in his first four minutes. His first bucket was a putback dunk early in the second quarter. Bagley got into foul trouble early, getting his third at the 7:20 mark in the second quarter on a moving screen. He was quickly subbed out. He later scored while getting fouled by Kings guard Monk and drew “Bagley sucks” chants from Kings fans.
Bagley was then called for his fifth foul with 5:17 left in the third. He returned for a few fourth-quarter minutes and finished with 15 points and six rebounds. Bagley had missed time earlier this season with a knee injury.
“He’s battling back from his knee sprain that kept him out for I don’t know how many games, so he’s getting off to a slower start,” Pistons coach Dwayne Casey said pregame. “But (we) love Marvin. He fits perfectly into our timeline with our younger guys. He’s just 23 years old.”
Monk was ejected midway through the fourth quarter after bumping Pistons guard Killian Hayes following an emotional and-1 layup. Monk’s first technical came in the first half after an and-1 basket for Bagley.
Rookie Keegan Murray, who missed Thursday’s game with a back injury, momentarily went to the locker room in the fourth quarter after it appeared his injury flared up. But he returned to the game to replace Monk following his ejection. He finished with 13 points.
The Kings will now hit the road to play three games in four nights. They will visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday and Boston Celtics on Friday.
This story was originally published November 20, 2022 at 6:55 PM.
