Fox leads Kings to unnecessarily close 123-115 win over Atlanta

Nov 1, 2024, 7:09 PM

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JANUARY 16: Domantas Sabonis #10 of the Sacramento Kings high fives De'Aaron Fox...

Domantas Sabonis #10 of the Sacramento Kings high fives De'Aaron Fox #5 after a turnover against the Phoenix Suns during the first half of the NBA game at Footprint Center on January 16, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

BY BRENDEN NUNES

Sactown Sports writer

Despite spending two nights in Atlanta before their first matchup against the Hawks, the Sacramento Kings came out of the gates hot en route to a 123-115 victory.

Atlanta was coming off consecutive losses to the Washington Wizards, causing them to have the second-worst defensive rating (118.7). Their recent slew of injuries has largely improved their perimeter defense to the point where Trae Young was assigned to guarding De’Aaron Fox instead of the usual Dyson Daniels.

As would be expected with those numbers, Sacramento’s offense had minimal struggles, but their defensive lulls kept the margin tighter than seemed necessarily into the closing moments.

The injuries going into Friday’s match were as follows:

Kings vs. Hawks Injury Report

Sacramento

Devin Carter – OUT (left shoulder surgery)
Orlando Robinson – OUT (left MCL sprain)
Mason Jones – OUT (G-League)
Isaiah Crawford – OUT (G-League)

Atlanta

Bogdan Bogdanovic – OUT (right hamstring tendinopathy)
De’Andre Hunter – OUT (right knee injury management)
Dyson Daniels – OUT (hip flexor strain)
Kobe Bufkin – OUT (right shoulder subluxation)
Vit Krejci – OUT (right adductior strain)
Cody Zeller – OUT (not with team)

Sure enough, a dynamic offense led by Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and DeMar DeRozan excelled in quickly picking apart their opponent’s shortcomings. They made their first five attempts from the field before finishing the first quarter 5/11 from beyond the arc.

Keon Ellis, who seems to be back into the nightly rotation, rallied off 10 points in those 12 minutes, which his team concluded with a 33-26 advantage.

Keon cashes a trey 💰 pic.twitter.com/1w6XMG9ovj

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 2, 2024

It’s warmin’ up on Ellis Island 🏝 pic.twitter.com/y6Ifmi2ncD

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 2, 2024

To put the Hawks’ limited availability in perspective, Keaton Wallace (brother of Oklahoma City’s Cason) and David Roddy both saw the floor in the first. But, the Kings still had to handle business.

The beginning of the second (and fourth) periods have become crucial for Sacramento as its offensive production tends to plummet when Sabonis rests. That wasn’t an issue Friday in State Farm Arena. The Kings put together a 10-0 run without their new Netflix star on the floor.

Atlanta was able to get rolling a bit more in the next frame, where Young scored his first points at the 6:24 mark. Unfortunately, turnovers became an issue as Sacramento conceded a run of their own.

The once 17-point advantage had shrunk to three with careless mistakes leading to far too easy buckets for Atlanta. Backdoor cuts and easy paint touches leading to layups and/or triples were suddenly easy for the home squad to come by. After tallying 26 in the first quarter, the Hawks managed 33 in the second. Luckily, the Kings’ offense continued cooking with grease.

They assisted on 19 of their 23 made field goals and were on pace for nearly 140 points by the midway mark.

By halftime, Sacramento held a 69-59 lead with Fox (14 points, four rebounds, two assists), DeRozan (13 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals), and Ellis (10 points, two assists) leading their scoring efforts.

As the third quarter began, the team from California’s capital had an opportunity to try to gain some distance and earn a lower workload before tomorrow’s back-to-back in Toronto. They excelled in the third in their previous two showings against Portland and Utah, and it was no different against Atlanta.

The Kings started the quarter with a 19-11 advantage, securing their new largest lead of the night, 18 points.

Keegs powers in the and-1 bucket 😤 pic.twitter.com/Oe5JURcSM3

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 2, 2024

Huerter dish ➡ Domas jam pic.twitter.com/WgYzmo0Oy4

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 2, 2024

As Atlanta’s depleted bench began to enter the second half, their deficit increased. Sabonis suffered his fourth foul about five minutes into the third, causing him to get a longer rest than usual. This allowed extended small ball play with Trey Lyles as the center in their five-out layout.

The scoreboard displayed a 12-point advantage with one quarter remaining as the non-Sabonis run continued. A double-digit margin of error can seem slim in the modern NBA, and they were reminded of that reality.

Garrison Matthews caught fire, converting seven of his 13 three-point attempts on the night, with most coming later. His teammates weren’t far behind either,

Coach Mike Brown stuck to his typical eight-man rotation, with Alex Len on the outside looking in. Some of his guys seemed sluggish at times, evidenced by a 20-5 Hawks run midway through the fourth that gave them their first lead.

Did I mention the impact of Garrison Matthews? Yeah, his floor spacing continued to present issues.

But part of the benefit of adding DeRozan this offseason was the late-game optionality on the roster between him and Fox. Well, on Friday, it was Fox’s turn.

Just Foxin’ around in the clutch 😤 pic.twitter.com/xUecYOvlQX

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 2, 2024

Every time the Hawks gained momentum in the fourth, Sacramento’s guard settled everything down and rallied his troops.

Unfortunately, their third star teammate, Sabonis, fouled out with 2:01 remaining, while the Kings owned a narrow six-point lead. Brown elected to return to their smaller Lyles unit.

Fortunately, DeRozan started his closing shift right on time with four big free throws in the final two minutes to keep the Young-led Hawks at a manageable distance.

The Kings improved to 2-0 on their road trip, with Toronto (tomorrow, Saturday) and Miami (Monday) remaining after defeating Atlanta 123-115 in a much closer game than seemed necessary.

Now it’s off to Toronto for the second night of a back-to-back against the Raptors tomorrow night after DeRozan (38), Murray (38), Fox (36), and Sabonis (33) played notable minutes.

Notable Final Statistics:

Sacramento:

Field Goal Percentage: 43/89 (48.3%)
Three-Point Percentage: 11/33 (33.3%)
Free-Throw Percentage: 26/30 (86.7%)
Offensive Rebounds: 10
De’Aaron Fox: 31 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals on 11/16 FG, 4/6 3P, 5/6 FT
DeMar DeRozan: 27 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, on 9/16 FG, 1/1 3P, 8/10 FT
Domantas Sabonis: 15 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists on 5/11 FG, 0/0 3P, 5/5 FT

Atlanta:

Field Goal Percentage: 41/92 (44.6%)
Three-Point Percentage: 19/50 (38.0%)
Free-Throw Percentage: 14/18 (77.8%)
Offensive Rebounds: 8
Trae Young: 25 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds on 8/21 FG, 3/9 3P, 6/7 FT
Garrison Matthews: 23 points, 2 assists, 1 rebounds, 2 steals on 8/15 FG, 7/13 3P, 0/0 FT