‘A special place’: Beam Team showcases Sacramento crowd in Kings’ win over New York Knicks
A long-suffering Sacramento fanbase let out a roar that was heard from coast-to-coast Thursday as the Kings moved closer to their first playoff appearance since 2006 with a nationally televised win over the New York Knicks.
Domantas Sabonis recorded another triple-double, De’Aaron Fox executed another fourth-quarter takeover and people screamed “Light the Beam” while TNT’s cameras were rolling in a 122-117 victory before a sellout crowd of 18,068 at Golden 1 Center.
“I think it’s big for the organization and for the city,” Fox said. “This is much bigger than us. I think people know about the Sacramento crowd, but, obviously, we play late games. People on the East Coast and Central time, they’re asleep when we’re playing, so for them to be able to experience this on TNT tonight, I think, was big for this fanbase and for this organization. I think once playoff time comes, I think most all arenas are loud, but I think this is just a special place to play.”
Sabonis finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the Kings (39-26), who moved a season-best 13 games over .500, matching their highest win total since 2005-06. Fox had 23 points and seven assists, including 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the decisive fourth quarter.
The Knicks overcame a 21-point third-quarter deficit to tie the game in the fourth. They trailed by two with less than a minute remaining, but the Kings came up with big shots and defensive stops to close out another victory, improving to 7-1 since the All-Star break.
Despite the win, Kings coach Mike Brown was not in a celebratory mood following the game. He bemoaned his team’s rebounding and physicality, saying Fox and Sabonis have to be “elite” and demand the same from their teammates.
“We’re taking this win, but we’ve got to be better, and it starts with Domas and Foxy,” Brown said. “They’ve got to open their mouths and they’ve got to challenge their teammates to perform each possession at an elite level, but they have to do it themselves at both ends of the floor.”
Brown was clearly upset, presenting his sternest lecture since taking over as coach of the Kings. The big point of frustration was the fact that the Kings allowed the Knicks to grab 23 offensive rebounds, leading to a 17-4 advantage in second-chance points. That almost cost the Kings the game, but the Knicks amassed that advantage while missing 59 of 101 shots, shooting 41.6% from the field and 13 of 50 (.260) from 3-point range.
Many missed shots led to many second-chance opportunities for New York, but Brown, the leading candidate for NBA Coach of the Year, seized on an opportunity to teach.
The Kings shot 52.4% and made 24 of 32 free throws. They didn’t flex their full arsenal, hitting just 10 of 32 from 3-point range, but they had 28 assists and a 60-56 advantage on points in the paint.
Fox heard MVP chants in the fourth quarter. Then the crowd called for the Kings to light the beam.
Malik Monk, who came off the bench to score 19 points for the Kings, felt the energy from a loyal and passionate fanbase that has waited so long to wrap its arms around a winning team.
“It’s always great to finally show the Sacramento crowd to the world or the U.S. or whoever’s watching, especially how loud it gets in here,” Monk said. “It’s always great.”
RJ Barrett had 25 points and seven rebounds for the Knicks (39-29), who had won nine of their last 10 games. Julius Randle posted 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Jalen Brunson scored 19 points in the first half, but he did not return in the second half after aggravating the foot injury that caused him to miss the two previous games.
The Kings maintained their hold on the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with 17 games remaining. They are tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for second in the West, but Sacramento owns the tiebreaker by a wide margin by virtue of its conference record.
The Kings, at times, showcased the league’s most explosive offense in front of a national television audience. Going into the contest, the Kings led the NBA in scoring at 121.1 points per game, nearly three points higher than the No. 2 Oklahoma City Thunder (118.2). They also ranked No. 1 in offensive rating (118.7), No. 1 in true shooting percentage (.614) and No. 2 in effective field-goal percentage (.577)
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau talked about the problems the Kings present during his pregame news conference.
“Obviously, I think since Fox has been here, the speed of the game has been unbelievable, so he creates a lot of easy offense,” Thibodeau said. “But then when you add in the shooting that they’ve added to the team, the 3-point shooting, that has also helped Fox because it’s opened up the floor, and then you bring in a guy like Sabonis, who can invert their offense and run a lot of offense.”
Thibodeau said the additions of Kevin Huerter, Monk and Keegan Murray have made Fox even more dangerous.
“You hate to compare players,” Thibodeau said. “When I was with (Rajon) Rondo (as an assistant coach) in Boston, the speed is so unique, and it’s an offense unto itself. When he’s attacking and he’s going downhill, there’s going to be opportunities for everyone, and that’s what makes him so difficult is that speed and his ability to get you back on your heels. And you can’t guard him — it’s difficult to guard him with one guy, so you have to be tied in with all five guys in defensive transition, and sometimes you do it and he still finds a way through.
“So that speed is a gift, and they do a great job of moving him around, so it’s a lot, and I think he’s gotten better every year, but I think the big thing with that is all the shooting. You look at Huerter. Hurter was a great pickup. Murray. Monk. It’s opened up the floor for them, and I don’t want to overlook Harrison Barnes. I think he’s one of the most underrated players in the league.”
The Kings put Thibodeau’s words in motion as part of a stellar first half. They shot 62.8% from the field, made 7 of 15 (.467) from 3-point range and tallied 18 assists on 27 made baskets with only seven turnovers. Monk scored 17 of his 19 points, going 6 of 7 from the field and 4 of 4 from beyond the arc. The Kings went up by as many as 20 in the second quarter and carried a 69-53 lead into the halftime break.
Sacramento led by 21 early in the second half, but the Knicks gradually battled back despite the absence of Brunson. They got within five in the final minute of the third quarter and trailed by seven going into the fourth.
The Knicks grabbed four offensive rebounds on a single possession before tying the game when Barrett launched a 3-pointer on an inbound play with one second left on the shot clock.
That’s when Fox took over, scoring the next three baskets, including a 3-pointer, to put the Kings up 103-96 with 6:37 remaining. Fox had 11 points in a span of 3:33 to help his team withstand the run from New York.
The Knicks got within two on a basket by Randle with 47.1 seconds remaining, but Fox answered with a driving layup, Barnes came up with a steal and the Kings made five of their six free throws in the final 21.1 seconds to secure a huge win in their playoff pursuit.
Before the game, Brown explained how Fox’s leap to stardom has helped the Kings stage a remarkable turnaround this season.
“It’s huge because the West is extremely close, and on any given night, you can win a game or lose a game, basically, in the last two or three possessions, and so having a guy who can make clutch plays offensively the way he has for us, game after game after game, (is important),” Brown said. “But I would also caution everybody because everybody looks at the scoring and the clutch situations, but he’s come up with some big defensive plays for us, too.
“He’s had some big steals and stuff like that that have resulted in some points, and I’m still going to stay on his behind about his defense overall, but he has come up with some big plays for us defensively. So that, plus his clutch scoring down the stretch, has definitely won us some tight ballgames throughout the course of the year, and I know we wouldn’t be sitting where we are without that type of production.”
Brown was asked if a national television appearance — with longer TV timeouts and other unfamiliar nuances — was good for the Kings as they gear up for the playoffs.
“Yeah, I never thought of the timeout deal or how long the timeouts are, but I think it’s good for anybody to get the exposure on national TV, especially when you’ve worked as hard as the guys have in that locker room,” Brown said. “I’m sure there are some learning experiences the guys can take into the playoffs.”
More and more, the Kings are talking about when, not if, they reach the playoffs. When they do, the world will hear more from the Sacramento crowd.
“I think people know about it, but for them to just turn on their TV and not have to go through League Pass to watch it, I think is a big thing,” Fox said. “During the playoffs, it’s going to be a normal occurrence, so hopefully we’re able to get homecourt advantage, and those first two games, let’s get it rocking.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2023 at 2:46 AM.
