Kings find a way to win again vs. Clippers; De’Aaron Fox extends streak of 30-point games
Playoff fever gripped the city as the Kings returned to Sacramento to open a four-game homestand against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Kings had won their first four games out of the All-Star break to solidify what once felt like a tenuous position in the Western Conference standings. They won again Friday night, finding a way to fend off the Clippers in a 128-127 victory before a record-setting sellout crowd of 18,111 at Golden 1 Center.
Domantas Sabonis made two free throws with 7.0 seconds remaining, Paul George missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer and De’Aaron Fox pumped his fist as time expired following another stellar performance. Fox finished with 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, extending his Sacramento-era franchise record with his eighth consecutive 30-point game. He scored 11 points in the third quarter and 12 in the fourth.
Fox, who missed Tuesday’s win over Oklahoma City due to left wrist soreness, has scored 30 or more in nine of his last 10 games dating back to Jan. 30. He became just the third player in franchise history with a streak of eight or more 30-point games, joining Tiny Archibald and Oscar Robertson.
Kings coach Mike Brown continued to campaign for Fox and Sabonis as All-NBA selections, saying: “They’re doing things that are historic for our organization and we’re winning games. … The string of 30-point games is off the charts. They’re up there with guys that were born when their grandfathers were born.”
Sabonis had 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Kings (37-25), who will play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday in a back-to-back. Sabonis recorded his NBA-leading 50th double-double of the season, becoming the ninth player in franchise history and the first since DeMarcus Cousins (2013-14) to post 50 or more in a season.
Harrison Barnes had 20 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Huerter added 18 points and Keegan Murray made four 3-pointers to finish with 14 points.
Paul George had 28 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Clippers (33-33). Russell Westbrook had 27 points and 10 assists. Five-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard sat out on the second night of a back-to-back due to right knee injury management.
The Kings remained third in the Western Conference, but they gained a game on the Memphis Grizzlies. The Kings now trail the Grizzlies by only one game for the No. 2 seed. They have a three-game lead over the fourth-place Phoenix Suns with 20 games remaining in a season that is beginning to feel like a dream.
“For me, it’s all brand new,” Huerter said. “I haven’t seen the lows that this city has gone through, so for me it’s great. There’s so much excitement around the city. It feels like everybody here is following us. You can’t go in pubic without everybody saying they’re seeing the Kings. There’s no other team in town that people watch, so for me, it’s been great.
“You show up and you win. Third seed in the West. This is the most games over .500 I’ve ever been in my career, the highest seed I’ve ever been in my career, so there’s a great sense of excitement. The fans, they show up every night for us. I haven’t seen the other side of it. I hope I never do, but it’s been unbelievable for me so far and, I think, the rest of the team.”
Maybe no one more than Fox, who endured five difficult seasons in Sacramento before experiencing this kind of success.
“It’s great,” Fox said. “It’s definitely a great feeling. I would say it’s great because it’s my first time. This is something we want to make annual. We want to be a team that’s contending for a title, so, yeah, this feels good, but for us, making the playoffs isn’t our goal.
The Kings beat the Clippers for the third time this season and the second time in seven days following their epic 176-175 double-overtime shootout last week in Los Angeles. The Kings won the season series 3-1, giving Sacramento the advantage in any postseason scenario. At this point, though, the Clippers trail the Kings by six games in the standings and eight games in the loss column, so they’ve joined a growing list of teams that will have a hard time catching Sacramento.
Brown was happy with the outcome but not entirely pleased with the performance. The Kings shot 52.9% and went a perfect 26 of 26 at the free-throw line, eclipsing the 1983-84 Kansas City Royals for the single-game franchise record for free throws made without a miss. However, they allowed the Clippers to shoot 54% and trailed twice in the final minute after leading by 13 with less than eight minutes remaining.
“We found a way to steal that game,” Brown said. “During this time of the year, especially with how close everybody is in the West, you take them how you can get them, but that was not one of our better performances.”
During a first-quarter timeout, the Kings paid tribute to longtime radio play-by-play announcer Gary Gerould, who called his 3,000th game on Sunday in a road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Gerould, affectionately known as the G-Man, received a standing ovation from the Sacramento crowd.
Huerter drained a 3-point on the opening possession while looking to break out of his 29.2% February shooting slump, but he went to the bench after picking up three fouls in the first 3:13. Murray made three 3-pointers in the opening period for the Kings, who led 35-32 after shooting 57.1% in the first quarter.
Huerter returned in the second quarter and picked up where he left off, hitting back-to-back 3s in a span of 43 seconds. He was then fouled on another 3-point attempt, resulting in three free throws.
“The first shot went in,” Huerter said. “Tonight was frustrating, just the foul trouble for me, seeing one go in and then have to come out of the game, but … they trusted me to put me back in in the first half.”
The Kings led 68-63 at the halftime break, but the Clippers came back to tie the game on a 3-pointer by Westbrook and took a 71-68 lead on a 3 by Nicolas Batum early in the second half. Fox went on the attack to score 11 third-quarter points after being whistled for a technical foul, helping the Kings carry a 101-96 lead into the fourth.
The Clippers got within three on a basket by Terance Mann early in the fourth, but Barnes made two free throws and Fox followed with a 3-pointer to spark a 12-2 run that put Sacramento up 113-100 with 8:19 to play.
The Clippers stormed back to take a 125-124 lead on a corner 3-pointer from George. They led 127-126 when George scored on a driving layup with 33.1 seconds remaining, but Sabonis grabbed an offensive rebound, drew a foul and made two free throws, completing a perfect night at the stripe for Sacramento. The Kings escaped with another important victory, improving to 5-0 in one-point games.
“You’ve got to be able to finish games at the end of the day,” Fox said. “Obviously, we would love to be in blowout wins, but when the game gets close, that’s what any competitor wants to experience. Being in close games, hopefully this is helping us gear up for the playoffs.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 11:55 PM.
