Kings hold on against Hawks in Atlanta as Fox and DeRozan combine for 58, win 3rd straight
The Sacramento Kings built multiple big leads Friday, getting productive nights from De’Aaron Fox and DeMar DeRozan. But the Atlanta Hawks battled back from big deficits three times, including in the fourth quarter by tying the game 109-109 when Trae Young nailed a step-back corner 3 with 5:51 left — after the Kings led by as many as 18 in the third.
Fox and DeRozan combined for 58 points while the Kings hung on to win their third straight game, 123-115, improving to 3-2 on the season Friday night at State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta.
Sacramento’s scoring duo made three straight baskets after Young’s 3-pointer to push the lead back to 6. DeRozan finished with 27 points, getting to the free throw line twice in the final 1:25 and making all four attempts.
“He just makes the game so easy,” Fox said of DeRozan. “Obviously teams don’t want to switch smaller guards on him, and then he’s obviously able to get to the free throw line so well. So he’s definitely a tough cover, but he’s such a willing passer that he makes the game so much easier for everybody else.”
Fox, of course, led the NBA in clutch scoring in 2022-23 when he won the Jerry West Award while DeRozan was second the last two years. Fox scored a game-high 31 and the most of his six games this season.
“We were a little frantic there,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “And we put the ball in DeMar’s hands, and you just see his rhythm, his pace. Really, really good. There’s no panic about anything he does.”
DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in all five games this season. Friday marked the first time he and Fox were needed down the stretch to close out a tough win after there were questions about his fit with his new team after being acquired over the summer.
“I think the chemistry is there,” DeRozan said. “It’s with no effort, honestly. It’s just a feel. Not much needs to be said. It’s understood from both sides and we just read the game.”
The Hawks went on multiple runs to stay in the game after the Kings built big leads. The Hawks stayed in the game by outscoring the Kings by 27 from distance while making 19 of 50 from 3.
Garrison Matthews, who was relied on more heavily than normal because of the Hawks were missing a handful of rotation players, hit seven of 13 3-pointers and scored 23 points. Young led Atlanta with 25 points and 12 assists.
Veteran knowledge, experience pay off
Despite Atlanta’s runs, Fox credited DeRozan’s steadiness.
“Whenever they were going on a run, he looks at me like, ‘let’s get something easy,’” Fox said of DeRozan. “... And it’s just kinda knowing where the shot’s coming from, or knowing who’s able to create the advantage and an action. He makes it very easy for us to do things like that.”
Fox finished with 10 points in the fourth quarter while DeRozan had six, including making all four of his free throws. DeRozan finished 8-of-10 from the line while Fox made four of his six attempts from distance.
“Sometimes those situations are needed, especially early on,” DeRozan said. “So you know how to understand the moment. ... And whatever knowledge and experience I have from being in the league so long, I try to share it and make it easy on him as well.”
Domantas Sabonis fouled out with 2:01 left, finishing with 15 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. It was his fourth straight double-double.
With Sabonis out, Keegan Murray made one of the defensive plays of the game for the Kings, blocking a Clint Capela shot in the paint with 31.1 remaining.
Fox after the game posed for a picture with New Orleans rapper Lil Boosie, who began chirping from his courtside seat when he found out Fox was born in New Orleans.
“That’s someone that I’ve obviously seen a lot of my life, and I’ve actually seen him at games too before, but he found out I was from Louisiana, I was cool,” Fox said. “(It was) all friendly.”
The Hawks in the second quarter cut a 17-point lead to just 3, but Sacramento ended the half with a 9-2 run to take a 10-point lead into the break. Atlanta made another run in the third, trimming a 18-point lead to 9, and then DeRozan made three straight mid-range jumpers, giving him 21 points and pushing the lead back to 15.
Fox and DeRozan each had 21 points through three quarters.
It was a tough night for rookie No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, who went 1-of-7 from the floor while Atlanta was outscored by 14 during his 14 minutes in the first half. It wasn’t much better in the second. Risacher missed two shots and was on the floor for the Kings’ hot run to start the third quarter, and the Hawks were outscored by nine in just five minutes before Quin Snyder removed him.
The Hawks, now 2-4, were coming off back-to-back losses to the Washington Wizards. They were missing roughly half their rotation players including former Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, Dyson Daniels and DeAndre Hunter, who were each among the team’s top five in minutes per game.
The Kings have their second back-to-back of the week with a game Saturday against the Toronto Raptors before wrapping the four-game road trip Monday against the Miami Heat. The Heat will be coming off a trip to play Washington in Mexico City on Saturday.
Kings are a ‘different team,’ Brown says
The Kings last season made a bad habit of having some of their worst performances against bad teams, leading to a handful of frustrating losses that proved costly in the standings come playoff time. Before Friday, they won games against Portland and Utah, two teams poised to be at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
The Kings won both games with relative ease, which could be considered a good sign early in the season, particularly with DeRozan in tow.
“We’re a different team, especially with the addition of a veteran like DeMar that’s been through a lot,” Brown said. “No matter who our opponent is, you just hope you out there and play to what your standard is. We have standards, we have details, we like our guys embrace.”
Many of those standards come on the defensive end. Sacramento came into Friday’s game ninth in the NBA in defensive efficiency allowing 109.4 points per 100 possessions, with games against the Jazz (30th offensively) and Portland (25th) helping those numbers.
Last year, the Kings dropped games against bottom dwellers like the Trail Blazers, Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards. They finished three games short of the top six seeds in the NBA Western Conference and were forced to play in the play-in tournament, where they ultimately lost in the second game to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Said DeRozan: “I think when you prioritize what you could control and leave it up to you, more so not paying too much attention to the (other) team’s record, you’ll be fine. I’ve been on teams where you get caught up in the other team’s record not being so good and you fall victim to putting your guard down.”
Alex Len falls out of rotation
Friday was the third straight game backup center Alex Len didn’t play in the regular rotation, with Brown electing to go with only three players off his bench and Trey Lyles working as a small-ball five.
That continued after Sabonis fouled out with just over two minutes remaining. Lyles finished with five points on 1-of-7 shooting and five rebounds. Brown’s rotation without Len has been trimmed from nine to eight players getting regular minutes.
This story was originally published November 1, 2024 at 7:17 PM.
