All-Star Fox: Kings pull out OT win over Mavs thanks to Fox’s late heroics

In a game that the main storyline was supposed to be the debut of the Dallas Mavericks‘ new duo of Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, De’Aaron Fox put the Sacramento Kings on his back with another incredible closing effort on Saturday night.

Fox, a first-time All-Star, continues to show why he deserves to win the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year Award as the guard scored 26 points during the fourth quarter and overtime periods to lead the Kings to a 133-128 win over the Mavs.

“That’s what All-Stars are supposed to do,” Sacramento head coach Mike Brown said of Fox’s closing performance following the win. “That’s what your top guy is supposed to do. He’s been doing it for us all year.”

The Kings needed a bounce-back performance following a disappointing loss to Dallas on Friday night, and that’s what they got in the rematch as Sacramento (32-24) pushed its lead back to two games over the Mavericks in the Western Conference standings.

De'Aaron can do no wrong right now 🔥 pic.twitter.com/KIQ4cBSzQl

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) February 12, 2023

Not even 24 hours removed from their worst first-quarter performance of the season, the Kings looked much more locked in during the opening period on Saturday.

Thanks to 64 percent shooting from the field and a hot start from Terence Davis, Sacramento took a 34-32 lead into the second quarter. At that point, Davis decided to put an emphatic stamp on the first half by scoring 11 of his 17 first-half points before the halftime buzzer sounded.

Although Davis and the Kings shot 54 percent from the field and outscored Dallas 40-20 in the paint during the first half, the Mavericks erased a 13-point deficit by mounting a 17-2 run to end the half and take a 64-62 lead into the third quarter.

After a neck-and-neck third, the fourth quarter featured a battle between Fox and Kyrie Irving as the All-Star guards traded buckets down the final stretch. Sacramento had a chance to put the game away at the end of regulation, but Fox’s three-point attempt came up empty as a nail-biter would get five more minutes of run time.

If you thought that Fox’s 12-point fourth quarter meant that the 25-year-old would be out of gas in overtime, you would be sorely mistaken.

Fox scored 14 of the Kings’ 19 points in the overtime period–equaling Dallas’ scoring output in OT–as Sacramento’s defense held Dončić to just two points during the final five minutes of play.

Even with Domantas Sabonis out of action after fouling out with 1:27 remaining, Fox gave the Kings a push over the finish line to pick up a big win in front of a sold-out crowd at Golden 1 Center.

“He’s been doing it all year,” Sabonis said of Fox’s late heroics. “When I fouled out, I just said, ‘Fox has got this.'”

Fourth-quarter Fox: Activated pic.twitter.com/PPvc1QRohM

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) February 12, 2023

Fox finished the night with 36 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the field–his third-straight 30-point performance–while scoring 26 of his points during the fourth quarter and overtime.

During Fox’s six-year career, the guard has received criticism for his inconsistent free-throw shooting, but that wasn’t a problem during crunch time. Fox was a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe during the fourth and overtime, including eight-for-eight during the final 1:48 of play.

The speedy guard’s 14 points in overtime—the most by any NBA player in a single overtime this season—are the most points scored in an OT by a Sacramento King since Stathead started collecting data in 1996-97.

In his final showing at home before heading to Salt Lake City for the NBA All-Star Game next weekend, Fox gave fans in attendance a parting gift and a game to remember–one that had a postseason feel and postseason implications against a Mavericks team that is beneath them in the packed Western Conference standings.

As Sacramento heads into its final game before the All-Star break, fans will enjoy this win for two days before looking forward to watching the team’s All-Star duo on a national stage come next Sunday night.

TD Comes Up Big For Sacramento Kings

With Malik Monk sidelined due to an ankle injury, the Kings needed a big performance from their bench on Saturday night.

All eyes turned to Terence Davis, who has suddenly re-emerged in Brown’s rotation, and the guard delivered in a big way on both ends of the floor.

Davis scored 17 of his 22 points during the first half, but his most significant contributions to the win came late in the fourth and overtime when he took on the daunting task of defending Dončić. The MVP candidate scored just two points on one-of-four shooting during the fourth and OT, with Davis securing Defensive Player of the Game honors due to his efforts on the Mavs’ star.

Over 32 minutes of action, Davis shot 10-of-17 from the field, grabbed six rebounds, and swiped two steals in one of his most outstanding performances in a Sacramento Kings uniform. The 25-year-old was in great spirits following the game, as he entered the press room wearing the DPOG chain and a big smile on his face.

DPOG Terence Davis is in great spirits following the win.

Davis finished with 19 points (10/17 FG), 6 rebounds and 2 steals off the bench, while also doing a solid job defending Luka Doncic late in the game.

Well deserved for TD. pic.twitter.com/k5T4JzPAdO

— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) February 12, 2023

Rounding Out The Box Score

Domantas Sabonis was battling through the soreness of a thigh contusion, but the All-Star center still managed to post his NBA-leading 44th double-double of the season.

Sabonis finished the night with 22 points (10-of-12 shooting) and 14 rebounds over 41 minutes before fouling out with just under 90 seconds to go in overtime.

Like Davis, Trey Lyles was a huge contributor off the bench during the win as the forward scored 14 points (five-of-seven shooting) and pulled down six rebounds over 25 minutes. After scoring just 24 bench points during Friday night’s loss, the Kings’ reserves combined to score 42 points during the win with Davis and Lyles leading the way.

Kevin Huerter grabbed a season-high eight boards and handed out five assists on Saturday, but Red Velvet also found a rhythm from deep during the win as well. After struggling during the recent seven-game road trip, Huerter was three-for-seven from downtown against Dallas–his first game with 3+ made three-point field goals since January 25th.

Three-point woes continued for the Kings on Saturday, as Sacramento shot just eight-of-32 (25%) from beyond the arc, making the win the team’s first this season when shooting under 28 percent from deep.

Entering play against Dallas, the Kings were 0-6 this season when shooting under 28 percent from three-point range.

Notes

• Luka Dončić is now 4-8 against the Sacramento Kings during this NBA career
• The Kings improved to 5-0 this season when facing teams for the second time during a back-to-back or second game of a mini-two-game series.
• Sacramento outscored Dallas 74-46 in the paint during the win
• Ball movement wasn’t as fluid for the Kings on Saturday as they passed out 22 dimes during the win. Sacramento is now 3-9 this season when finishing with less than 22 assists.

Injury Updates

• Malik Monk (ankle sprain) was inactive for Saturday’s game against Dallas and is considered day-to-day.

Next Game

Sacramento will face the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night in the team’s final game before the All-Star break. Recently acquired superstar Kevin Durant (knee) is not expected to return until after the break, meaning the Kings will face a Suns team that will be missing some critical depth.

Be sure to get all of your Kings vs. Suns coverage on Sactown Sports 1140 starting at 4:30 pm PST on Game Night before action tips off at 7:00 pm PST from downtown Phoenix.

Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule

Tuesday, February 14th – Sacramento Kings @ Phoenix Suns – 6:00 PM PST

Friday, February 17th — Sunday, February 19th — NBA All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Thursday, February 23rd – Sacramento Kings @ Portland Trail Blazers – 7:00 PM PST

Friday, February 24th – Sacramento Kings @ Los Angeles Clippers – 7:30 PM PST

Sunday, February 26th – Sacramento Kings @ Oklahoma City Thunder – 4:00 PM PST

Tuesday, February 28th – Sacramento Kings @ Oklahoma City Thunder – 5:00 PM PST

Thank you for reading SactownSports.com. Follow us on Twitter and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Frankie Cartoscelli is the Kings’ beat reporter for SactownSports.com. Follow Frankie on Twitter.”

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