The Fantastic Mr. Fox: Sacramento Routs Warriors, Win Third Straight
Mar 25, 2021, 9:36 PM | Updated: 10:12 pm
Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images
De’Aaron Fox established a new career-high of 44 points and the Kings have won five of their last six games
The game of basketball is very easy for De’Aaron Fox right now.
One night removed from scoring 37 points against the Atlanta Hawks, Fox would score a career-high 44 points in a 141-119 blowout win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center.
Fox’s big night helped lead the Kings to their largest scoring output of the season, as the team would score 141 points on 60-percent shooting from the field.
Sacramento (20-25) has now won five of their last six games–including three straight–as they turn their attention to a postseason run now that the trade deadline has passed.
Fans of the Sacramento Kings have to be getting used to the offensive clinics that De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton have been putting on over the past few weeks.
One night removed from dropping 24 points in the first half against the Atlanta , Fox would do it again–and then some–on Thursday.
The 23-year-old scored an eye-popping 25 points on 10-of-13 from the field to help pace Sacramento to a 72-61 lead at the break.
20 of those 25 first-half points would come during an electrifying second quarter run, acting as the most points scored by a member of the Kings in any quarter this season.
Alongside his monster scoring line, Fox would go on to finish with seven assists and three steals in the win.
It was the 11th time this season that Fox has scored 30 points or more in a game, and also the ninth time over the last 10 games that the young guard has scored 28 points or more.
Fox would get plenty of help from his fellow starting guard on Thursday in the form of rookie phenom Tyrese Haliburton
Haliburton would get off to a hot start on Thursday night, scoring 14 points in the first quarter on five-of-six shooting from the field and four-of-four shooting from the three-point line.
That play would carry over into the second half, with the 21-year-old capping off a big third quarter with an ankle-breaking, step-back, four-point play to put Sacramento out in front by 20 points heading into the fourth.
The rookie would finish with 21 points on seven-of-11 shooting from the field–including a career-high six-of-seven from three-point range.
Since being moved into the starting lineup in place of the injured Marvin Bagley III, Sacramento holds a 5-1 record over their last six contests.
Richaun Holmes, the NBA’s leader in field goal percentage, would score 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field to go along with 11 rebounds.
For the 17th time this season, Holmes posted a double-double in what has been a breakout year for the talented big man.
With the newest Kings acquired in the trade deadline deals unavailable, Sacramento turned to Kyle Guy for some heavy minutes at the backup point guard spot.
Guy would deliver off of the bench, establishing a new career-high with 17 points on six-of-nine shooting from the field (four-of-six from three-point range) while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing four assists over 22 minutes of action.
Buddy Hield, who had a rough performance during Wednesday’s win over Atlanta (5-of-18 from the field), found the bottom of the net with more ease on Thursday night.
Hield scored 16 points on six-of-11 from the field to go along with six rebounds and six assists in the win.
Goodbye, Deadline
At long last, the NBA trade deadline has come and gone.
Sacramento held onto all of their main pieces that were highly mentioned in trade talks, with all of Harrison Barnes, Buddy Hield, Richaun Holmes, Marvin Bagley III and Hassan Whiteside remaining on the roster.
With the addition of efficient guard Delon Wright to the rotation, the Kings upgraded its roster for the final 28 games of the season.
After defeating the Warriors on Thursday, Sacramento sits just two games behind the 10th spot in the Western Conference standings with plenty of time left to make a run.
By holding onto his rotational pieces and adding Wright, Moe Harkless and Terrence Davis to the fold, the Kings are in a position to make a final push at the 10th seed play-in spot.
Barring injury to any key contributors, it’s the only option this team has with the chance to sell in the rearview mirror.
Coming Up
Sacramento will enjoy a much needed off-day on Friday before returning to Golden 1 Center on Saturday night to face the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Just four days ago, the Kings defeated the Cavs by a final of 119-105 in Ohio thanks to big performances from De’Aaron Fox (30 points) and Tyrese Haliburton (career-high 28 points).
Be sure to get all of your Kings vs Cavs coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK, starting with Game Night at 6:30pm PST prior to a 7:00pm PST tip-off from Golden 1 Center.
Upcoming Kings Schedule
- March 27 vs Cleveland Cavaliers
- March 29 @ San Antonio Spurs
- March 31 @ San Antonio Spurs
- April 2 vs Los Angeles Lakers
- April 3 vs Milwaukee Bucks
