Undrafted former two-way player puts up career-high 33 points in Kings’ loss to Hawks
The question going into Monday’s game was which player would step up to help De’Aaron Fox carry the scoring load with DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk and Domantas Sabonis still sidelined due to injuries.
The answer: Keon Ellis.
Ellis came off the bench to score a career-high 33 points, but the Kings came up short, falling 109-108 to the Atlanta Hawks following a controversial finish before a crowd of 16,333 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Ellis, who entered the league as a two-way player after going undrafted out of Alabama in 2022, went 9 of 17 from the field and 9 of 15 from 3-point range.
“(Teammates) just kept saying let it fly. Same with the coaches,” Ellis said. “... Everyone kept saying keep shooting it. I think everyone kind of knew I was on fire.”
Ellis eclipsed his previous career highs of 26 points and eight 3-pointers against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 3, 2024. Ellis is one of five players in franchise history to make nine or more 3-pointers in a game, joining Keegan Murray (12), Buddy Hield (11, 9, 9), Omri Casspi (9) and Mike Bibby (9).
“The way he shot the ball tonight was definitely incredible and kept us in the game,” Fox said. “He had big moments for us, and then getting to the line down the stretch, he was big for us tonight.”
De’Andre Hunter returned from injury to score 24 points for the Hawks (7-8), who have won three of their last four. Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft, scored 18 points. Clint Capela had 14 points and 14 rebounds while Dyson Daniels added 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots.
Trae Young was held to seven points on 1-of-7 shooting, but he dished out 19 assists, one shy of his career high. Kings coach Mike Brown said limiting Young’s scoring opportunities was part of Sacramento’s game plan.
“We didn’t want him coming in here and getting 30-something,” Brown said. “We wanted to see if somebody else could beat us and they made enough plays to make it happen. I thought our game plan was pretty good. I thought it came down to us missing a handful of shots in the fourth quarter that we normally knock down.”
The Kings went 4 of 22 from the field and 1 of 11 from 3-point range while getting outscored 20-15 in the fourth quarter.
Fox had 28 points and seven assists for the Kings (8-7) after scoring 109 over the past two games, including a franchise-record 60 in Friday’s overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Trey Lyles had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Huerter was held to nine points while going 4 of 15 from the field and 1 of 10 from 3-point range. Murray fouled out with 8:51 to play in the fourth quarter, finishing with seven points and seven rebounds.
The Kings trailed 22-6 after going 2 of 13 from the field and 1 of 7 from 3-point range over the first seven minutes. They finally broke the ice with a couple of 3-pointers from Ellis and Murray, sparking a 14-3 run for Sacramento. The Kings got within five on a 3-pointer by Fox and took a 31-30 lead on a 3-pointer by Doug McDermott.
The Kings trailed by one at the end of the first period. They went up 46-39 early in the second following a flurry of 3-point baskets by Ellis, who went 6 of 6 from beyond the arc for 18 points in his first 10 minutes of action.
“Heck of a job by Keon,” Brown said. “We’ve been on him about, hey, if you’re open, let that thing go, and tonight he let it go.”
Sacramento went up by 11 in the second quarter before the Hawks came back to cut the deficit to one. The Kings led 66-64 at the halftime break.
Sacramento shot 54.5% from the field and made 14 of 23 (.609) from 3-point range. At one point, they connected on 11 of 12 from long distance after missing seven of their first eight.
The teams traded leads four times in the third quarter. The Kings led 93-89 going into the fourth, which featured three ties and five lead changes.
The Hawks went up 96-94 on a basket by Risacher. The Kings later reclaimed the lead on a 3-pointer by Fox.
Atlanta led 106-101 with 3:21 remaining after Hunter hit a 3-pointer and Fox was whistled for a technical foul. Sacramento cut the deficit to one on two free throws by Ellis with 49.1 seconds to play.
The Kings had a chance to win the game on the final possession, but Daniels blocked a shot by Fox as time expired. Daniels made contact with Fox’s hand or wrist, but it wasn’t clear if a foul should have been called.
“Hand is a part of the ball when it’s convenient,” Fox said.
Video replays showed Daniels’ foot coming down out of bounds with 0.9 seconds to go as he passed to Young, but the ball might have been out of his hands when his heel touched the floor.
“I couldn’t see it from where I am, but obviously our video guys saw it,” Brown said. “It looked like there were 0.9 seconds on the clock. It looked like he stepped out of bounds. It will be one of those things on the Last 2 Minute Report. If he did step out of bounds, the league will say, ‘Oops, I’m sorry you guys lost.’”
Injury updates
DeRozan (back), Monk (ankle) and Sabonis (back) were ruled out Monday, but all three appear to be nearing a return after missing recent games due to injuries.
All three players were cleared for individual on-court workouts after being reevaluated Monday. DeRozan and Sabonis are considered day-to-day. Monk will be reevaluated again in the coming days.
Starting lineup
Brown started his third different lineup in the past three games with key players out due to injuries.
The Kings started Fox, Huerter, Murray, Sabonis and Alex Len in Friday’s game against the Timberwolves. They started Fox, Huerter, McDermott, Murray and Lyles in Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz. On Monday, they started Fox, Huerter, Murray, Lyles and Len.
Bogdanovic is back
Former Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic was greeted with a nice ovation when he checked into the game for the first time midway through the first quarter. He finished with six points, three rebounds and three assists.
Bogdanovic suited up for the Hawks for just the second time this season after missing 13 games due to right hamstring tendinopathy. He had not appeared in a game since Atlanta’s season-opening win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Bogdanovic spent the first three years of his career with the Kings. He appeared in 209 games for Sacramento, averaging 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Up next
The Kings will travel to Southern California to face the Los Angeles Clippers in an NBA Cup in-season tournament game Friday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
The Clippers (7-7) handed the Kings a 107-98 loss on Nov. 8 in Sacramento. Norman Powell had 31 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers. Fox had 31 points for the Kings.
Sacramento Kings schedule
Nov. 22 at Los Angeles Clippers
Nov. 24 vs. Brooklyn Nets
Nov. 25 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Nov. 27 at Minnesota Timberwolves
Nov. 29 at Portland Trail Blazers
This story was originally published November 18, 2024 at 10:25 PM.
