What we learned as Fox’s Kings record 60 went to waste in the NBA Cup loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO — De’Aaron Fox put on the performance of a lifetime and scored a franchise-record 60 points, but incredibly, it wasn’t enough as the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away in overtime to beat the Kings 130-126 in an NBA Cup Group A game on Friday night. in Ora 1 Center.
Fox, whose previous best was 44 points, shot 22 of 35, made six 3-pointers and had seven assists. He scored 16 points over the final nine and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, including a clutch layup with 38.6 seconds remaining in regulation.
It is the first 50-point game of Fox’s NBA career and the 15thth time he poured in 40 or more. Sacramento’s speedy point guard has scored 20 points or more in his last nine games
Jack Twyman previously held the Kings’ franchise single-scoring record with 59 points in 1960 when the team was known as the Cincinnati Royals.
Domantas Sabonis had 23 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks for Sacramento. Keegan Murray added 14 points.
Fox made a pair of 3-pointers in the extra period but the Wolves rallied to outscore the Kings 16-11 in overtime.
The Kings, who lost to the Wolves at home in the season opener last month, fell to 7-6. Sacramento hasn’t beaten Minnesota at Golden 1 Center since February 9, 2022.
Fox and Sabonis kept the Kings going early despite the Wolves controlling most of the first half. Fox put up nine points in the first quarter and 12 in the second, while Sabonis overcame some turnover problems and nearly had a double-double before halftime.
Here are the rules for Friday’s game:
LEN joins Kings starting lineup
Kings coach Mike Brown had to shuffle his lineup after DeMar DeRozan was ruled out with a lower back strain, an injury that first flared up on Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns.
One of the more interesting changes was the decision to start Alex Len at center moving Sabonis to power forward. Sabonis naturally did most of the scoring while Len had two points and took just two shots in his first NBA start since April 7, 2023.
The Kings’ two big men did a good job limiting the impact of Wolves center Rudy Gobert. The three-time All-Star from Minnesota had 11 points but took just seven shots.
More lineup shuffling
Part of Brown’s lineup shuffle went beyond starting the twin peaks of Sabonis and Len.
Murray, who started at power forward, slid over to DeRozan’s small forward and shot 6 of 15 (2 of 7 behind the arc).
He also made an impact play in the second quarter with a follow-up dunk after Doug McDermott missed a fastbreak layup.
Huerter’s inconsistency continues
Over the past 10 days, Kevin Huerter has been on a streak of alternating good and bad games. Unfortunately for the Kings, Friday’s game against the Wolves fell into the latter category.
Two days after dropping a season-high 22 points on the Suns, Huerter suffered through a brutal night against the Wolves. The 26-year-old missed his first four shots and was scoreless through three quarters before finishing with four points on 2 of 7 shooting.
Sacramento’s offense operates on a different, more efficient level when Huerter’s shooting is on, and the difference when he’s off can be like night and day.
