Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) reacts to a call for the Los Angeles Lakers during the final moments of the NBA basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento .
xmascarenas@sacbee.com
De’Aaron Fox was furious when he walked off the field after a controversial loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Fox had words with an official and threw his sleeve to the ground in disgust after missing a 3-pointer as time expired in a 136-134 loss to the Lakers in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,611 at the Golden 1 Center.
Fox could have felt foul on the last shot. He was no doubt upset with the previous game after being called for a foul that sent Dennis Schroder over the line for the free throws with 3.6 seconds left. Fox left the building without speaking to reporters, but took to social media moments after the game.
“I thought we were supposed to let the players decide the game,” Fox said in a tweet that was later deleted.
Kings coach Mike Brown was frustrated with the officiating throughout the game, but most of his postgame remarks centered on his team’s defense. The Lakers shot 61% from the field and outscored the Kings 70-48 in points in the paint.
“We have to figure out, somehow, how to stop people,” Brown said. Defensively, we are not good at all. … We can score, but we are terrible defensively.
LeBron James had 37 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers (19-21), who won five in a row to move to a three-way tie for 10th in the Western Conference. Thomas Bryant had 29 points and 14 rebounds. Schroder added 27 points while Russell Westbook came off the bench to produce 23 points, five rebounds and 15 assists.
Fox finished with 34 points and nine assists for the Kings (20-18), who squandered another opportunity as heavy home favorites after recent losses to the Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks.
Domantas Sabonis had 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists before committing a foul with 48.1 seconds remaining. Sabonis recorded his 16th straight double-double to break a franchise record held by DeMarcus Cousins, who had 15 in a row since Dec. 21. Jan 31, 2013 21, 2014.
Harrison Barnes scored 18 points, Kevin Huerter scored 17 and Keegan Murray had 16, but Brown was unhappy with the team’s rebound. Barnes grabbed two rebounds in 36 minutes. Murray went 6 of 8 from the field and 4 of 5 from 3-point range, but he didn’t manage a single rebound in 29 minutes.
“Harrison has a load of a guy he’s guarding at LeBron, and LeBron is on the perimeter,” Brown said. We need to get something from Keegan. We can’t have him there for 30 minutes and get zero rebounds.”
Fox scored 17 points in another electric fourth quarter. He went 5 of 8 from the field and 7 of 7 from the free throw line, giving the Kings a chance to earn another late thriller.
“He remains ready,” Sabonis said. He knows we need him in critical times and he can get any shot he wants. He was great again tonight.
The Lakers arrived on the second straight night after beating the Hawks 130-114 Friday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. There was some uncertainty over the status of James, who was listed as doubtful due to pain in his left ankle, but he was cleared to play with Westbrook (foot) and Damian Jones (toe). Anthony Davis, absent since December 11. 17, was still out with a foot injury.
The Kings were missing their top reserve Malik Monk, who was considered questionable due to pain in his left leg. Brown said it was his decision to rest Monk, explaining that he was “a little high right now.”
The Lakers led up to nine while shooting 63.6% in the opening period. The Kings fought back to take a 38-37 lead late in the first quarter. Davion Mitchell provided a spark off the bench, going 3 of 3 from 3-point range for nine points in six minutes.
The Kings were up eight on a 3-pointer from Barnes midway through the second quarter. The Lakers came back to tie the game on a 3-pointer from Westbrook.
The score was tied at 73 after a first-half shootout that featured 11 ties and nine lead changes. The Kings went up 81-75 after beating the Lakers 8-2 to start the third quarter, but the Lakers were able to stay after Sabonis went to the bench with his fourth foul at 9:34.
The game was tied at 109 at the end of the third. The Lakers went on a 13-4 run to go up 122-113 in fourth, but that’s when Fox started to take over. He converted a three-point play, went to the line for two more free throws on the next possession, then hit a pull-up as part of an 11-2 run that tied the game at 124 .
The Lakers went up 133-132 on a three-point play from James with 48.1 seconds left. The Kings committed a costly turnover on an incoming play. Then Westbrook made the second of two free throws to put the Lakers by two.
Fox threw a signature move for a clutch flip jumper in the paint to tie the game with 6.8 seconds remaining, but was then called for a foul on Schroder at the other end of the floor. The Kings challenged the decision, but the appeal was upheld, sending Schroder to the line for what turned out to be the game-winning free throws.
Even Schroder was surprised by the call.
“I mean, normally they don’t call fouls like that,” Schroder said. “I mean, I’ve probably had so many drives where they’ve checked me in the hip and I don’t normally get the foul – too many times. But they called him here.
Asked about Fox’s tweet, Schroder went on to say, “If you foul, you foul. It’s unfortunate, because of course the game is on the line, and it’s like the free throws win the game, I get that point, that’s for sure. But, I mean, at the end of the day, you can’t foul, especially when you’re on a bonus.
This story was originally published January 8, 2023 8:06 a.m.
Jason Anderson is an award-winning sportswriter for The Sacramento Bee. He began his reporting career at The Bee over 20 years ago and returned to cover the Sacramento Kings in September 2018.
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