Fox Returns To Form As Kings Blowout Clippers
Oct 6, 2021, 9:50 PM | Updated: 10:19 pm
(Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
(Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
Sacramento outscored Los Angeles 38-17 in third quarter en route to a comfortable win on Wednesday
Monday’s preseason opener was not a fun one for De’Aaron Fox.
Wednesday was a different story for the star guard.
Fox scored 23 points over 22 minutes and the Sacramento Kings coasted to a 113-98 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at the STAPLES Center in downtown Los Angeles.
After a rough preseason debut just 48 hours prior to Wednesday’s action, Fox wasted little time getting his offense going against the Clippers.
Fox scored eight points and drilled two of his three attempts from beyond the arc to lead the Kings to a 28-22 lead heading into the second quarter. The 23-year-old looked much more comfortable in the flow of the offense after only scoring six points on three-of-12 from the field during Monday’s win over Phoenix.
Sacramento stretched its lead to 20-9 with 5:59 remaining in the first quarter, but Los Angeles would respond with a 28-16 run to give them its first lead of the night, a 37-36 advantage with less than seven minutes remaining in the first half.
Fox’s 16 first-half points would be enough to keep the Kings even with the Clippers at the half, as both teams would head into the half with 51 points.
The Kings and Clippers would go back and forth for most of the third period until Buddy Hield knocked down back-to-back triples to stretch Sacramento’s lead to double-digits with under three minutes remaining in the quarter.
Rookie guard Davion Mitchell knocked down two long-balls of his own in the final minutes of the third as Sacramento ended the period on a 23-4 run to stretch the lead to 89-68 as play entered the fourth quarter.
The Kings would end this one on cruise control behind the play of the bench as they improved to 2-0 in the preseason with two more tune-up games to go before opening up the 2021-22 regular season in Portland on October 20th.
Rounding out the box score
De’Aaron Fox was the star of the night for Sacramento, as the 23-year-old finished with 23 points on seven-of-10 shooting from the field and three-of-five from downtown to go along with four rebounds and four assists over only 22 minutes.
Terence Davis got his offense going on Wednesday night as well, scoring 15 points over 14 minutes off of the bench.
Davion Mitchell added 13 points while connecting on all three of his three-point attempts, while Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes each chipped in with 11 points in the win.
Quote of the night
Notes
- Sacramento’s starting lineup changed on Wednesday, something that Luke Walton said would happen throughout the preseason. After starting De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Harrison Barnes, Marvin Bagley III and Richaun Holmes on Monday, Walton opted to go with Fox, Haliburton, Barnes, Moe Harkless and Tristan Thompson against Los Angeles.
- Buddy Hield was questionable heading into Wednesday night’s matchup with knee soreness, but Hield would suit up and play 22 minutes–something that Walton stated would be the case due to the guard’s track record of avoiding missing games.
Coming Up
Half of the preseason is in the books as the Kings will travel to Oregon on Monday for a matchup with All-Star guard Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Be sure to get all of your coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK with pregame coverage beginning at 5:30pm PST on Kings Live Pregame prior to a 7:00pm PST tip-off from Moda Center in Portland.
Sacramento Kings upcoming schedule
- October 11th @ Portland Trail Blazers (Preseason)
- October 14th vs Los Angeles Lakers (Preseason)
- October 20th @ Portland Trail Blazers (Regular season opener)
- October 22nd vs Utah Jazz (Home opener)
