Sweet, Sweet Victory: Fox, Kings Snap Nine-Game Losing Streak
Apr 18, 2021, 7:11 PM | Updated: 7:23 pm
(Photo credit: USATSI)
(Photo credit: USATSI)
For the first time since March 29th, the Sacramento Kings are in the win column
De’Aaron Fox was not going to let the losing-streak reach 10 games.
In a back-and-forth final quarter that featured incredible closing performances from both Fox and Luka Dončić, the Sacramento Kings would use a 30-point effort from their franchise guard to defeat the Dallas Mavericks by a final of 121-107 on Sunday night.
With the win, Sacramento’s dreaded nine-game losing streak has finally reached its end.
After nearly three weeks without a win, the Kings have picked up a victory for the first time since their win on March 29th in San Antonio.
In a shocking turn of events from what viewers of the team have been accustomed to over the past nine game, Sacramento opened up play on Sunday with a 20-8 run in the first quarter to immediately apply pressure on the Mavericks.
De’Aaron Fox would score 16 points on eight-of-12 shooting while also dishing out seven assists to lead all Kings scorers in the first half, while Terence Davis would add 15 points (all in the second quarter) and Harrison Barnes would tally 12 first half points.
An efficient Sacramento offense would score 45 points on a blistering 19-of-24 (79%) shooting from the field and seven-of-15 shooting (46%) from three-point range in the first half to take a 67-50 lead into the halftime break.
The 45 points scored by the Kings in the second period were the most points scored by the team in any quarter this season.
Dallas would struggle from the field in the first half, shooting under 40-percent from the field while also shooting under 30-percent from the three-point line in an overall underwhelming first half of action.
The Dallas offense would wake up in the third quarter, as the Mavs would go on an 18-7 run to cut to end the period and cut Sacramento’s lead to 10 heading into the fourth.
Dončić would erupt in the fourth quarter, scoring 22 of his 37 points in the final period, but Fox and the Kings would extinguish the Dallas runs with baskets down the stretch.
Fox, who also posted his 11th double-double of the season with 12 assists, scored 12 of his 30 points in the final period to lead his team to a much needed victory over a Mavericks team that is currently in 1st place in the Southwest Division.
As a team, Sacramento would out-shoot Dallas from the field (49% to 44%) and the three-point line (45% to 33%) while forcing the Mavs to turn the ball over 14 times, versus their own eight turnovers.
It was an all-around solid showing by the Kings, their strongest in a very long time.
Rounding out the box score
Harrison Barnes topped the 20-point mark for the 20th time this season, scoring 24 points on nine-of-14 from the field in what was a revenge game of sorts.
Barnes, who played in Dallas from 2016-2019, played a pivotal role in Sunday’s win, scoring the ball at an efficient clip while providing solid defense over 36 minutes of playing time.
Terence Davis, who scored 15 of his 23 points in the first half alone, would finish the night nine-of-12 shooting from the field while also dishing out three assists and pulling down three rebounds.
Hassan Whiteside got the start at center for the Kings and did his part in the win. The veteran center tallied his fourth double-double (second consecutive) of the season, scoring 12 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
Delon Wright added 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals off of the bench to round out Sunday’s key contributors.
Coming Up
The Kings will have an off day on Monday before returning home to Golden 1 Center on Tuesday night for the first game of a back-to-back with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In the only meeting between the two teams back on April 5th, the T-Wolves defeated Sacramento by a final of 116-106 at the Target Center.
Tuesday and Wednesday night’s games will feature the return of Sacramento Kings fans to Golden 1 Center for the first time this season.
You can catch all of your Kings vs Timberwolves coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK, starting with pregame at 6:30pm PST prior to a 7:00pm PST tip-off.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule
- April 20 vs Minnesota Timberwolves
- April 21 vs Minnesota Timberwolves
- April 25 @ Golden State Warriors
- April 26 vs Dallas Mavericks
- April 28 vs Utah Jazz
