Former Kentucky teammates De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk lead Kings to blowout win over Lakers
De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk dreamed of a night like this since their days together with the Kentucky Wildcats.
That dream became a reality when the Kings played host to the Los Angeles Lakers in their preseason finale Friday night before a sellout crowd of 17,611 at Golden 1 Center.
Fox and Monk started together for the first time since the 2016-17 season at Kentucky, helping the Kings beat the Lakers 133-86 to finish preseason play undefeated.
Fox scored a game-high 21 points for the Kings (4-0), who will remain in Sacramento to prepare for Wednesday’s season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Trey Lyles had 17 points for the Kings. Terence Davis added 14. Monk had 13 with two 3-pointers and a spectacular alley-oop dunk from Fox early in the third quarter. Davion Mitchell and Keon Ellis scored 11 points apiece — each with three 3-pointers — and Domantas Sabonis just missed a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.
The Kings shot 48.9% from the field and knocked down 20 of their 41 3-point attempts, shooting 48.8% from beyond the arc.
Monk came off the bench in Sacramento’s first three preseason games, but he started Friday with Kevin Huerter out of the lineup due to ankle soreness. Rookie Keegan Murray was also held out for the second game in a row due to a non-COVID-19 illness.
Monk, who signed a free-agent deal with the Kings over the summer after spending last season with the Lakers, said he was excited about playing with his former college teammate.
“We’ve been talking about playing together in the league for a long time,” Monk said before the game. “We never knew if it would actually happen, but we’re looking forward to it, for sure.”
Fox said he was excited, too.
“It’s going to be fun,” Fox said. “A lot of athleticism, a lot of speed, so I think it’s going to be good.”
Fox and Monk combined for two of Sacramento’s six three-pointers in the opening period as the Kings raced out to a 36-23 lead in the first quarter. They went up 42-24 on a putback dunk by Richaun Holmes and carried a 65-44 lead into the halftime break.
Sacramento led 109-74 with 6:55 to play in the fourth quarter when coach Mike Brown pulled his starters. The Kings blew out the Lakers (1-5) for the second time in less than two weeks after opening preseason play with a 105-75 victory Oct. 3 in Los Angeles.
Lakers star LeBron James was held to 10 points after struggling to make shots against the defense of Kings forward KZ Okpala. James went 4 of 13 from the field and 0 of 4 from 3-point range.
Okpala also had a big blocked shot against Lakers guard Patrick Beverley.
“That’s what I do,” Okpala said. “Those are the things I can bring to any team, weakside help. I’m real good at that.”
Kings coach Mike Brown praised Okpala for his defensive capabilities.
“KZ is one of those guys who slipped through the cracks and I’m glad he slipped into our lap,” Brown said. “He’s an NBA player. He can be — trust me on this now — he can be a high, high, high-level defender in the NBA.”
Russell Westbrook, who moved into a new role as a backup for the Lakers, was held scoreless before leaving the game with a left hamstring injury. Westbrook’s fit with the Lakers has been the subject of renewed scrutiny in recent days after Westbrook appeared distant with teammates during Wednesday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham explained his decision to bring Westbrook off the bench prior to the game.
“It’s not a demotion,” Ham said. “It’s a realignment.”
The Lakers were missing Anthony Davis (back), Lonnie Walker IV (ankle), Troy Brown (back) and Dennis Schroder (finger). They shot 35.8% from the field and went 8 of 33 (.242) from 3-point range.
James was asked about his team’s poor preseason showing after the game.
“I think the way we wanted to implement the new system, the way Coach Ham wants to approach the game offensively and defensively, we mix and matched a lot of lineups and things of that nature,” James said. “I thought we had some great moments in this preseason. We had some not-so-good moments, but we’re a team that’s going to continue to learn each other. Every day, we have to stack days. We have to get better, whether that’s in practice, on the floor, or it’s a film session. It begins now. The season is here, so we’ve got to get better.”
This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 9:30 PM.
