De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis bolster All-Star cases in Kings’ wild win over Utah Jazz
The Kings aren’t scheduled to visit Salt Lake City again until late March, but they could be sending a large contingent in February if De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are selected for the NBA All-Star Game.
Fox and Sabonis bolstered their respective All-Star campaigns with impressive performances against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. In the end, it was Fox who shined under the spotlight, scoring 22 fourth-quarter points in a wild 117-115 win at Vivint Arena.
Fox almost effortlessly went left for a driving layup with 0.4 seconds remaining to put the Kings up by two with 0.4 seconds remaining. Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen made a crazy, one-legged desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer, but video review showed the ball left his fingertips just after time expired.
Fox matched his season-high with 37 points and established a new career high for points in a quarter (22). He went 15 of 22 from the field and 6 of 8 at the free-throw line.
“What a game by Foxy,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “He was good, and I don’t want to praise him too much. Reason being, I’m telling you, that’s what that dude’s capable of. He had a big game for us on the road, but I’m telling you, that’s De’Aaron Fox. And it’s great that the league, not just people in the NBA but media, fans, they’re starting to recognize his greatness, and he’s just scratching the surface. He’s just scratching the surface.
“This was one of the first games where he called me off multiple times, especially late. I made a play call. He’s got the green light to override me. He did it tonight on multiple occasions. Great players don’t get tired. Great players make their teammates good, and that’s what he did tonight. He came and won the game for us. That’s what great players do on the road.”
Fox, who has emerged as the NBA’s most lethal clutch scorer this season, is making a strong case for his first All-Star selection. Sabonis is building a strong case for his third. Both could be headed back to Salt Lake City next month for All-Star Weekend along with Murray and second-year guard Davion Mitchell, each of whom will likely be chosen to participate in the Rising Stars Challenge.
Sabonis had 21 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for the Kings (20-16), who split a brief two-game road trip to strengthen their hold on the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Sacramento reached 20 wins in 36 games or fewer for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
Sabonis recorded his 14th consecutive double-double, again moving ahead of two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic for the league lead with 27. Sabonis became just the second player in Kings history with a streak of 14 or more consecutive double-doubles, joining DeMarcus Cousins, who had 15 in a row from Dec. 31, 2013-Jan. 21, 2014.
Harrison Barnes added 19 points and eight rebounds with two assists and two steals for the Kings, who will open a five-game homestand Wednesday at Golden 1 Center when they play the Atlanta Hawks on the second night of a back-to-back.
Keegan Murray had 16 points and five rebounds after being named Western Conference Rookie of the Month earlier in the day. Kevin Huerter also finished with 16 points.
Markkanen had 28 points and eight rebounds for the Jazz (19-21), who were looking to avenge Friday’s 126-125 loss to the Kings in Sacramento. Jordan Clarkson scored 24 points.
Markkanen was held to 6-of-15 shooting from the field and 1-of-7 shooting from 3-point range, but he converted 15 of 15 at the free-throw line on a night when the Kings sent the Jazz to the line 29 times.
Huerter (upper back soreness) and Malik Monk (right shoulder soreness) were questionable going into the game, but both were cleared to play 90 minutes before tipoff. Huerter came out firing, scoring 10 points in his first nine minutes of action. Huerter, Barnes and Murray combined for four 3-pointers as part of a 21-3 run that put the Kings up 31-17 in the opening period.
Sacramento showed an emphasis on rebounding after allowing 21 offensive rebounds in Sunday’s 118-108 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Kings didn’t give up a single offensive rebound in the first quarter against Utah, but they gave up five in the first 3:12 in the second quarter as the Jazz capitalized on second-chance scoring opportunities to cut the deficit to five.
The Kings carried a 60-51 lead into the halftime break. They shot 50% while holding the Jazz to 40.9%.
Kelly Olynyk and Clarkson made back-to-back 3-pointers in a span of seven seconds to spark a 13-3 run as Utah battled back to get within two with 5:47 to play in the third quarter. The Jazz finally tied the game on two free throws by Markkanen and took an 89-88 lead into the fourth quarter after Malik Beasley hit a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining.
The teams traded leads throughout the fourth, but Fox came to the rescue every time the Kings needed him.
Fox made two free throws with 2:01 to play to put Sacramento up 111-107. He threw down an emphatic dunk to put the Kings up 113-109. He hit a pullup jumper to give them a 115-112 lead with 23.1 seconds to play.
Then, with time winding down and the game tied at 115, Fox drove to his left, switched to his right hand and banked in the game winner over Markkanen with less than one second remaining.
Sabonis praised his point guard after the game.
“Once I saw that confidence,” Sabonis said of Fox, “... I was like, ‘It’s over. We won.’”
This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 9:03 PM.
