De’Aaron Fox scores 44 as Kings rally past Lakers to silence crowd at Crypto.com Arena
The Los Angeles Lakers whipped their fans into a frenzy in the early stages of Wednesday’s game, but it didn’t take the Kings long to silence them.
The Kings quickly overcame a 19-point deficit and later led the Lakers by as many as 22 in a 130-120 victory before an unsettled crowd of 18,498 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
De’Aaron Fox scored a career-high-tying 44 points on 19-of-32 shooting with four rebounds, four assists and two steals. He scored 20 points in the first half, 12 in the third quarter and 12 in the fourth to secure a big road win for Sacramento.
“Foxy was amazing,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “I kind of hate using that word because, to me, that’s who he is. Now, it’s hard to score 44 points every single night, especially on the percentage that he did it at, but he is more than capable with his ability, his tenacity, his skillset, his athleticism, quickness, the whole nine yards. Big game for him in a big game environment.”
Malik Monk came off the bench to score 26 points for the Kings (35-26), who will return to Sacramento to play the San Antonio Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back Thursday at Golden 1 Center.
Monk went 10 of 19 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range to help the Kings move within a half-game of the Phoenix Suns for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. Monk said he relished the opportunity to silence a hostile crowd in Los Angeles.
“It’s always great to come into an arena and make the home crowd go quiet,” Monk said. “I think everybody loves that and that’s being a competitor on the basketball court, so we’re thankful we got a win. Can’t celebrate too much. We’ve got a game tomorrow, so we’ll be ready tomorrow.”
Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) reacts after scoring a 3-point basket against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Domantas Sabonis posted his league-leading 22nd triple-double of the season with 16 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists. He also recorded his 44th consecutive double-double.
Davion Mitchell scored 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. Keon Ellis had five points, three rebounds and a plus-17 net rating in 14 minutes. The Kings had a 50-18 advantage in points off the bench.
“Our bench was really, really good tonight,” Brown said. “Our stars did what they’re supposed to do in big games like this, but our bench was a huge factor in us getting the win.”
Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell (15) tries to keep the ball inbound against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half Wednesday ,March 6, 2024, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
LeBron James had 31 points and 13 assists for the Lakers (34-30), who fell to 10th in the West, a half-game behind the Golden State Warriors. Rui Hachimura scored 29 points. Austin Reaves had 18. Anthony Davis had 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting with 11 rebounds.
The Kings have dominated this matchup against their Southern California rivals in recent years. They have now won four in a row, seven of eight and 11 of 15 against the Lakers dating back to 2020 – including all three games this season – but Brown said the Lakers have looked like a different team recently.
Brown specifically pointed to Hachimura, who replaced Taurean Prince in the starting lineup on Feb. 3. At the time, the Lakers were 25-25, but they had won nine of 13 going into Wednesday’s game.
“Defensively, they’re playing a little bit better,” Brown said before the game. “That was evident in their last two wins, and then they’ve moved their lineup around. D-Lo (D’Angelo Russell) is playing at a high level. Austin Reaves is, too, so that’s two guys who can playmake from the 1 and 2 spots.
“And then you have Rui, who poses a problem because he’s an efficient scorer. That’s what he’s done his whole life and he has great size. And, obviously, LeBron and AD are two Hall of Famers, so you still have the same cast of guys on the team, but the lineup is different. They’re playing better defense and they’re bigger because of them starting Rui in that spot, so that poses some problems matchup wise and trying to keep them off the glass and some other things.”
That much was clear in the first quarter. The Lakers shot 54.5% from the field and hit 5 of 9 (.556) from 3-point range while building a 19-point lead before Monk and Keon came off the bench to give Sacramento a spark.
“Keon impacted the game in a lot of different ways that don’t show up in the stat sheet,” Brown said.
The Kings trailed 37-18 when Ellis checked into the game for the first time with 1:40 to play in the opening period. They staged a 10-0 run to end the first quarter and then outscored the Lakers 33-13 to start the second.
Sacramento cut the deficit to three on a dunk by Monk, who lit the Lakers up for 17 points, four rebounds and three assists in his first 12 minutes of action. The Kings tied the game on a 3-pointer by Mitchell and took the lead on a dunk by Trey Lyles.
Those two baskets came as part of a 12-0 run that put the Kings up 52-48. A subsequent 12-1 run gave Sacramento a 64-51 lead with 2:04 to play in the first half.
The Kings led 72-57 at the half after outscoring the Lakers 44-20 in the second quarter. The numbers from the second quarter were stunning. Sacramento made 18 of 23 (.783) from the field and 8 of 10 (.800) from 3-point range. Los Angeles went 5 of 18 (.278) from the field and 1 of 6 (.167) from beyond the arc.
The Kings took their largest lead of the game when Keegan Murray scored to put them up 99-77 with 4:25 to play in the third quarter. The Lakers outscored the Kings 15-5 over the last 3:39 to cut the deficit to 12 going into the fourth quarter.
The Lakers got within 11 with 11:20 remaining and trailed by 12 with 4:49 to go, but the never got within single digits.
“When you have divisional games, those mean a little more, and obviously right now with the way the standings are, if we lose this game, we’re half a game in front of them rather than I think now 2 ½,” Fox said. “So right now, especially when we play teams that are around us in the standings, those games mean a little more.”
