Coach Mike Brown’s ejection sparks Sacramento Kings in comeback win over Toronto Raptors
Wednesday’s win for the Sacramento Kings in Toronto meant a little more than others.
Head coach Mike Brown, who has been frustrated with officiating at various points this season, reached a boiling point. He was ejected in the third quarter after darting on the court. He was visibly frustrated by a sequence that included a foul on guard Terence Davis, and then a technical on De’Aaron Fox, who thought he had been getting hacked throughout the game.
Brown may face discipline for making contact with referee Zach Zarba. His tirade was laced with expletives and he had to be separated by coaches after going at Brent Haskill, who isn’t a full-time NBA referee. But the moment proved pivotal in a game the Kings were losing by four points 2:51 into the second half.
Players afterwards mentioned Brown’s ejection as a turning point in the team’s 124-123 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena, a win that could reinvigorate what was a frustrating road trip.
“We just had to do it for him,” Domantas Sabonis said.
Said Malik Monk, who gave the Kings 24 points and five made 3s off the bench: “It just gave us energy. It boosted us. And I think that’s why we got the win.”
Sabonis logged his second 20-20 game of the season by finishing with 21 points, 20 rebounds and seven assists. He starred along with Fox, who hit key buckets down the stretch, tallying 27 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. It was Fox’s second game back after missing games in Cleveland and New York with a foot issue. He had just 13 points in Tuesday’s 20-point loss in Philadelphia.
Fox required two stitches on a cut just outside his left eye, which proved emblematic of his frustration with the officials. The game was stopped in the fourth quarter because blood was coming down his cheek, and on his way to the sideline he made it clear to the referees he wasn’t at all happy.
Fox said the cut came on an inadvertent elbow by a Raptors player fighting for a rebound moments earlier. But he was emotionally charged by Brown’s willingness to stick up for his team when he was sent to the showers early.
“I think that’s just the culture and everything he’s instilled in us,” Fox said of Brown. “Just being able to come together after someone goes out like that, regardless if it’s a coach or player, great that we were able to come together and still pull this one out.”
Unlike Monk, who sported a band-aide earlier in the season during Sacramento’s seven-game winning streak, Fox plans on getting rid of his bandage as soon as possible. He was never a fan of Monk’s band-aid, which became a symbol of unity for Kings fans, because Monk’s cut had healed long before he stopped wearing it.
Wednesday’s win comes with the context of the Kings losing their previous two games against the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers to enter Toronto 1-3 on a cold, six-city East Coast road trip. A cough has been going around the locker room, and reserve big man Alex Len left the team because he was dealing with a non-COVID-19 illness.
“We came east, and whether it’s flu-related stuff or whatever’s going on, it got us a little bit,” Harrison Barnes said. “But I’m just proud. I think everyone, coming off a back-to-back, be able to get to this point, that’s a huge win for us.”
Brown’s absence led to lead assistant Jordi Fernandez taking over the head coaching duties, which included doing the post game news conference while Brown not made available, though he was in a joyous mood after the game outside the locker room.
Fernandez was greeted with a celebratory shower of water from his players upon entering the locker room after the game. He gave a brief speech and awarded the team’s new defensive player of the game chain to Barnes, who helped limit Raptors standout Pascal Siakam to an inefficient 7-of-19 shooting performance. Teammates chanted “Light the beam!” as the necklace was put around Barnes’ neck.
Fernandez’s title is associate head coach, and he’s Brown’s top defensive mind on his staff. He echoed many of the things Brown mentioned before the game, like the importance of winning the possession battle (the Kings had 93 field goal attempts to Toronto’s 94 despite losing the turnover battle, 15-7) and playing physical defense without fouling.
But ultimately, the most significant takeaway from Wednesday’s performance was the Kings bouncing back from an adverse situation. They were down by four when Brown was ejected and went the entire first and third quarters without shooting free throws. The Raptors led for the majority of the game, which included building a 16-point lead early in the second.
“Compared to other games when we got really frustrated,” Fernandez said, “teams went on big runs. This time, when we saw that happen, we responded the right way, and that is a huge step for us.”
Fernandez wasn’t the only surprise performance from Sacramento on Wednesday. With Kevin Huerter unexpectedly missing the game with ankle soreness, Davis, a former Raptor, made his second start of the season. He began his NBA career with Toronto after getting signed following a stint with Fernandez’s Denver Nuggets’ summer league team in 2019.
Davis averaged 7.3 points in 106 games with Toronto before the Kings acquired him in exchange for a second-round pick. Davis came out firing in Huerter’s absence, scoring nine points in the first quarter before finishing with 19 points in nearly 25 minutes. He hit five 3s.
“I found out (I was starting) about 30 minutes before the game,” Davis said. “God opened up an opportunity. Kev, I didn’t even expect him to not play tonight. ... Any time you can help your team by spacing the floor, knocking down shots, your teammates finding you, man, it’s great.”
The Kings’ spent Wednesday night in Toronto, regarded as a top-five road city to many in the locker room, before making the short flight to Detroit on Thursday. They’ll play the Pistons on Friday with a chance to finish the road trip 3-3.
The Kings will then return to Sacramento to open a six-game homestand against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday at Golden 1 Center.
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 9:05 PM.
