SACRAMENTO KINGS

Kings win seventh straight in Fox’s return, 124-119 over Chicago

Jan 12, 2025, 3:03 PM | Updated: 3:14 pm

It was a hectic matinee game for the Sacramento Kings against the Bulls, but they’re leaving Chicago with a 124-119 win, their seventh straight.

De’Aaron Fox returned to the lineup after missing three straight with a right glute contusion and contributed 26 points, nine rebounds, and three assists on 9/16 from the field and 4/8 from three.

He, Sabonis (22), and DeRozan (21) all added twenty or more points to survive Zach LaVine’s 36-point performance.

Their ball and player movement was crisp, ending the night with 33 assists on 47 field goals. They did so while committing just eight turnovers, too.

With nearly 30 lead changes and neither team ever holding a double-digit lead, it came down to the wire, where Sacramento executed in the clutch.

Positive momentum continues to build for this Kings’ team under interim head coach Doug Christie.

Kings at Bulls Game Notes

Riding a six-game win streak, the Kings went into the Windy City trying to make it seven. Fox returned to the lineup in place of Keon Ellis.

It was the first time the Kings had a fully healthy roster all season.

Interim head coach Doug Christie went with their typical starting unit, including Fox, Malik Monk, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, and Domantas Sabonis.

DeRozan returned to the United Center, where he spent three seasons with Chicago before joining the Kings last offseason.

The Bulls played a tribute video, which was followed by a standing ovation from the crowd.

Conversely, Bulls’ head coach Billy Donovan started Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine, Josh Giddey, Patrick Williams, and Nikola Vucevic.

The first half featured back-and-forth action with ten ties and 11 lead changes during the two starting frames.

With Ellis performing well as a starter in Fox’s absence, the Kings changed their rotation slightly. Typically, Fox and DeRozan would come out around the six-minute mark, but the first substitute in Chicago was Ellis for Fox. DeRozan remained in the game.

Sacramento’s ball movement was apparent, touching the paint to either score or spray to shooters. Unfortunately, not many triples were falling for the Kings.

With 12 minutes down, the Kings held a narrow 32-30 advantage. Sabonis, who played 10 minutes in the opening frame, had already tallied six points, five rebounds, and four assists.

It was more of the same in the second. Both teams looked notably more effective in transition after stops, while LaVine, Ball, and Vucevic carried the most extensive offensive responsibility for the opposition.

The aforementioned lead changes continued. Chicago got an eight-point lead at one point, but the Kings quickly nullified that deficit. Christie’s bench rotation consisted of Ellis, Kevin Huerter, Trey Lyles, and rookie Devin Carter.

Trailing 61-63 at the midway point, Sacramento had 18 assists on 24 makes, while the Bulls had 16 on 23 conversions.

Three-point shooting wasn’t a highlight, with the Kings being 4/18 from three, while Chicago was 8/18. It was a stark difference from their 18/47 shooting in last game’s win over the defending champion Boston Celtics.

LaVine, who had scored 30 or more points in five straight showing, the longest consecutive stretch of such production in his career, started to get rolling. He and Ball were knocking down triples, re-extending their lead to eight. But Sacramento responded.

Their pace returned as the third quarter continued, most notably the lineup of Fox. Carter, DeRozan, Murray, and Lyles. It helps when threes start to fall, too.

The Kings went 6/13 from three in the third, including back-to-back triples from Murray and Fox, who gave his team a 97-95 lead as time ran out.

Christie mixed in some 2-3 and 3-2 zone to sputter Chicago’s offense with mixed results. Ties, lead changes, and momentum swings continued.

Points in the paint were key in the first half, but it started raining in the second. LaVine knocked down tough threes, securing his sixth straight game of 30+ points by halfway through the fourth quarter.

Fox, Murray, and Ellis knocked down long-distance looks for their own to maintain the narrow margin as clutch time approached.

With two minutes remaining, there was a one-point Kings advantage on the scoreboard: 120-119.

Ellis, who was assigned to slowing down LaVine, was on the floor in place of Murray to close out.

DeRozan, Fox, and Monk attacked mismatches against Chicago’s switching schemes while Sabonis feasted on the glass.

Chicago called a timeout down three with 14 seconds remaining. The Kings forced them into a five-second violation in the inbound, an enormous difference from the game-losing four-point play they allowed Jaden Ivey to convert just over two weeks ago.

Sabonis knocked down the free throw to send them home with a win and blocked a last-second LaVine layup for a final cherry on top of the night.

After losing their previous six, it’s now seven straight wins for the Kings, finding ways to emerge victorious in sticky situations.

The starters excelled, but Ellis, Carter, and Lyles came up big off the bench, taking care of the crucial, sometimes overlooked details that led to winning.DeRozan had 21 points and three assists on 9/20 from the field.

On the postgame broadcast, the former Bull was asked if he feels like this group has turned a corner.

“Yeah, but we got a long way to go, especially in the Western Conference,” DeRozan said on the postgame broadcast. “We’ve got to stay with this every single game and try to get ourselves out this hole.”

Sacramento is back to above .500 and climbing up the highly competitive standings. Now they’re onto Milwaukee to take on the Bucks on Tuesday night as the conclusion of their three-game road trip.

We’ll see if they can go 3-0 on the trip and extend their win streak to nine consecutive.

Sacramento Kings 2024-25 Schedule

  • Sunday, January 12th – @ Chicago Bulls – 12:30 PM PT
  • Tuesday, January 14th – @ Milwaukee Bucks – 5:00 PM PT
  • Thursday, January 16th – vs. Houston Rockets – 7:00 PM PT
  • Sunday, January 19th – vs. Washington Wizards – 6:00 PM PT
  • Wednesday, January 22nd – vs. Golden State Warriors – 7:00 PM PT

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