‘I was bad’: De’Aaron Fox blames self, but he wasn’t alone in Kings’ loss to Pelicans
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox stood in front of the cameras with microphones, voice recorders, cellphones and dozens of eyeballs on him following a 117-115 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night at Golden 1 Center.
Fox blamed himself. It wasn’t entirely his fault, but he was on the floor when the Kings (13-23) were the most thoroughly outplayed by the Pelicans (12-24).
Fox finished with 17 points, five assists, three rebounds, one steal and three turnovers. He made 2 of 3 from 3-point range but hit only 5 of 14 from the field and 5 of 11 from the free-throw line.
“I was bad in every aspect of the game,” said Fox, who was 8 of 8 at the foul line in Thursday’s victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. “I was out there in crunch time and just didn’t make plays for us. … Missed free throws, missed layups. I wasn’t great defensively tonight, so …”
So they lost.
They lost another one of those games they have to start winning if they’re going to remain among a group of seven teams currently vying for the eighth spot in the Western Conference. They lost because Fox missed layups and free throws. They lost because Buddy Hield committed seven turnovers. They lost because the team committed a total of 21 turnovers.
So they lost. How, exactly, did they lose this time?
For starters …
The Kings were outscored 22-8 to start the game with their starters on the floor. Fox, Hield, Harrison Barnes, Nemanja Bjelica and Richaun Holmes started as usual and the Kings were trailing by 14 by the time Trevor Ariza entered the game for Fox at the 5:16 mark.
Everybody scored for the Pelicans during that stretch. J.J. Redick, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball did most of the damage. Redick hit a 3-pointer following a bad pass by Fox, Jrue Holiday hit a 3-pointer following a bad pass by Hield and then Ball got a layup on a lob after a turnover by Barnes.
Secondly ...
The Kings gave up an 11-1 run in the second quarter. Sacramento was leading by seven when Fox entered the game for Yogi Ferrell with 4:22 to play in the half, joining Hield, Ariza, Barnes and Holmes on the floor. Ferrell reentered the game for Ariza in the middle of that run, but by the time it was over a 43-35 lead had turned into a 46-44 deficit. A turnover by Holmes led to a 3-pointer by Josh Hart. A turnover by Fox led to a steal by Ball and another 3-pointer by Hart.
And fourth of all …
The Kings led 80-76 to start the fourth quarter. They were on their home floor against a Pelicans team that was playing on the second night of a back-to-back after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
Public address announcer Scott Moak and in-game hosts Scott Freshour and Katerina Kountouris did their jobs to get the crowd going. What did the Kings do? They got outscored 10-0 to start the fourth with Fox, Cory Joseph, Ariza, Bjelica and Holmes on the floor.
Ingram made a 3-pointer. Hart made a couple of free throws after being fouled by Joseph and threw down a dunk following a turnover by Ariza. Ball made a 3-pointer following a turnover by Fox. Suddenly the Kings were trailing 86-80.
Despite all that, the Kings were still in the game until Hield was whistled for a personal foul and then a technical foul that resulted in a four-point possession for the Pelicans, who went up 94-85 with 7:37 remaining.
Finally ...
The six players who logged the most minutes were on the floor when the Kings were most thoroughly outplayed. They were down by 14 with 4:04 to play. They made a crazy comeback to tie the game on a four-point play by Bjelica with 4.2 seconds remaining, but then they lost after giving up a layup to Redick with 1.1 seconds left.
“Tough way to lose, but the message and the main learning point is that it’s in the details,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “Again, it was lost with our 21 turnovers — 29 points (off) 21 turnovers.”
The Kings were outscored 41-35 in the fourth period. The Pelicans had a 12-5 advantage in points off turnovers in the last period.
“We can’t give up 41 points in the fourth quarter,” Walton said. “It’s not OK.”
Fox blamed himself, but teammates said he wasn’t the only one at fault for the loss.
“He put it on himself?” Hield said. “Man, it’s a team game. Sometimes I don’t play well and they pick me up, so it’s our job to pick him up, too. It’s a team game, for sure. As a leader, you should say something like that and we respect that because he wants to win, but … it’s our job to pick him up regardless.”
Kings upcoming schedule
Jan. 6 vs. Golden State, 7 p.m.
Jan. 7 at Phoenix, 6 p.m.
Jan. 10 vs. Milwaukee, 7 p.m.
Jan. 13 vs. Orlando, 7 p.m.
Jan. 15 vs. Dallas Mavericks
This story was originally published January 5, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
