‘Great fans’: Kings’ crowd erupts with ‘Dougie’ chants during McDermott’s scoring spree
There’s a reason Doug McDermott is known as “Dougie McBuckets.”
The 32-year-old Kings forward reminded everyone of that Sunday, putting on a vintage shooting display in a 141-97 victory over the Utah Jazz at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
McDermott came off the bench in the fourth quarter to score a season-high 18 points in eight incredible minutes, going 6 of 7 from 3-point range. He hit his first six 3-pointers as Sacramento’s lead swelled to 46 points. His 3-point barrage whipped Kings fans into a wild frenzy with the crowd erupting in “DOUGIE” chants while “Teach Me How to Dougie” played inside the arena with every basket.
“I definitely heard that,” McDermott said. “That was cool. Great fans here. They’ve always been really good, even as a road player. Just good to be on their side.”
When it was over, McDermott was called to midcourt to light the beam for the first time since joining the Kings. McDermott said he didn’t realize he had put up so many points while sharing the floor with Colby Jones, Jodan McLaughlin, Alex Len and Isaiah Crawford in the final minutes of a blowout.
“I wasn’t even looking up to be honest,” McDermott said. “I was just kind of in a rhythm, in a zone. A-Len and J-Mack and all those guys were doing a good job of finding me. I wasn’t really caught up in the numbers or how much time was left. I was just shooting.”
McDermott was named national college player of the year before coming out of Creighton as the No. 11 pick in the 2014 NBA draft. The 11-year veteran is a 40.8% career 3-point shooter. He made 939 3-pointers over his first 10 NBA seasons with the Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs.
The Kings signed McDermott to a one-year, $3.3 million contract in October to address their need for shooting and wing depth. McDermott has appeared in 16 games, averaging 2.7 points while shooting a career-low 33.3% from the field and 32.5% from 3-point range in 8.1 minutes per game.
McDermott had not made more than two 3-pointers or scored in double figures for the Kings prior to Sunday’s outburst.
“Once the first couple went in, I figured I might as well keep shooting,” McDermott said. “It was a good win for us. Our group came out really happy with the way we closed the game. Everyone on the bench was ready to play.”
McDermott did not play in two of the previous four games. He only played more than four minutes once in the past nine games, attempting a total of seven shots during that stretch.
“It just felt good to contribute and contribute to a win,” McDermott said. “Our guys set the tone early and we were able to get some good run there at the end.”
