Kings vs. Clippers game highlights: Hideous first half dooms Sacramento in NBA Cup game
DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis returned to the lineup, but the Kings suffered a 104-88 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in an NBA Cup in-season tournament game Friday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
Sacramento trailed by as many as 25 points in the first half. The Kings stormed back to cut the deficit to seven in the third quarter, but they couldn’t get any closer.
The Kings will play their next game against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Stat leaders
James Harden scored 22 points for the Clippers (10-7). Derrick Jones Jr. had 17 to help Los Angeles overcome the absence of Norman Powell, the team’s leading scorer, who was out with a hamstring injury.
De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points to lead the Kings (8-8). Sabonis had 24 points and 15 rebounds.
First-half struggles
The Kings scored only 29 points and trailed by as many as 25 during a hideous first half. They went 10 of 41 (.244) from the field, 2 of 17 (.118) from 3-point range and 7 of 11 (.636) at the free-throw line.
Fox was held to four points on 1-of-6 shooting. Kevin Hurter and Keegan Murray both went scoreless, combining to go 0 of 10 from the field and 0 of 5 from 3-point range. They were outscored 24-10 on points in the paint, 10-3 on second-chance points, 10-2 in fastbreak points and 8-2 in points off turnovers.
Third-quarter Fox
Fox tried to will the Kings back into the game early in the second half. He scored 15 points in the third quarter, going 6 of 8 from the field, 1 of 2 from 3-point range and 2 of 2 at the free-throw line.
Fox fueled a 22-7 run as the Kings rallied to cut the deficit to seven with 6:15 to play in the third period, but the Clippers withstood the charge.
De’Aaron’s demeanor
Kings coach Mike Brown was asked about De’Aaron Fox’s demeanor as he garners national attention for his recent scoring outburst. Fox scored a franchise-record 60 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves and 49 against the Utah Jazz, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant as the only players to score 109 points or more over a two-game stretch.
“He’s pretty even keeled,” Brown said. “He’s about as even keeled as they come. He never gets too high, never gets too low. It’s amazing how his demeanor is. Tim Duncan was similar to that. I’m not comparing players, but just the personalities. Tim never got too high, never got too low, but yet and still there’s a competitive nature inside both of them. Foxy is starting to get a little bit of well-deserved attention and he’s just the same guy.”
Up next
The Kings will return to Sacramento to face the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday at Golden 1 Center.
The Nets (6-10) have lost four of their last five games. They opened a four-game road trip with a 113-98 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday despite a 37-point performance from Cameron Johnson.
The Thunder (12-4) is second in the Western Conference. Chet Holmgren is expected to be out at least 8 to 10 weeks with a pelvic fracture.
Sacramento Kings schedule
Nov. 24 vs. Brooklyn Nets
Nov. 25 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Nov. 27 at Minnesota Timberwolves
Nov. 29 at Portland Trail Blazers
Dec. 1 vs. San Antonio Spurs
This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 9:59 PM.
