The Sacramento Kings left the Lakers as the last winless team in the NBA by defeating the Miami Heat on Saturday afternoon.
The Sacramento Kings have finally snapped their four-game losing streak to open the season, defeating the Miami Heat 119-113 on Saturday afternoon
It was a game where shots finally started to fall for Sacramento’s starting lineup, with each player finishing the game with double-digits in scoring. Domantas Sabonis made his presence felt early in the first half, getting good position on Bam Adebayo and taking advantage of the undersized Cody Martin to score 18 points by the third quarter. Sabonis would foul out by the time the game was over, finishing with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists while shooting 8-9 from the field.
With Sabonis now out of the game it was up to De’Aaron Fox to take over, and take over he did. Fox didn’t have the type of scoring explosion we’ve come to expect from him in the early part of a season where he’s averaging 30 points per game, but this was still hands down his best game of the season. Fox took advantage of every mismatch, getting to the rim and driving with his head up to find the open man or lead to the hockey assist. Fox brought back his “Mr. 4th Quarter” alter ego and finished the game with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. But again, the scoring and assists numbers don’t do his game justice. This was Fox’s best effort thus far this season.
It wasn’t just the Kings’ star duo who carried this team, though, as two other players had excellent nights. Kevin Huerter was spectacular, finishing with a team-high 27 points and 7 assists while also knocking down a career-high seven 3-pointers. Rookie Keegan Murray added a career-high of 22 points to go along with three assists and two blocks while shooting 8-13 from the field (61.6%).
Other notable stats:
Tyler Herro – 34 points and 3 rebounds while knocking down five 3-pointers
Bam Adebayo – 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists
Jimmy Butler – 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists
We still saw a large rotation from coach Mike Brown in this one, and that’s something still to monitor moving forward, as well as the points given up in the second half. The team scored 49 points in the first half and 64 points in the second. That’s a large difference and it almost changed the outcome of this game if it wasn’t for the Fox takeover in the fourth.
But still, the Kings got the win, and so now they get to start their four-game road trip with some momentum. They should be considered favorites to win against an injured Charlotte Hornets team on Monday.
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