Zach LaVine poured in 36 points and DeMar DeRozan added 22 as the host Kings spoiled De’Aaron Fox’s return to Sacramento, rolling to a 127-109 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.
The Kings shrugged off a slow start to sweep to a 14-point lead at halftime that they extended to 27 over the first four-plus minutes of the third quarter. San Antonio clawed to within 12 early in the final period before Sacramento pulled away again in Fox’s first game in the California capital since being traded by the Kings in early February.
In the three-team trade involving the Kings, Spurs and Chicago Bulls, the Kings acquired LaVine from the Bulls.
Keegan Murray had 19 points for the Kings while Jonas Valanciunas racked up 15 points and 12 rebounds and Keon Ellis hit for 10 points. Sacramento played without Domantas Sabonis (hamstring) and Malik Monk (right toe sprain) but still won for the fifth time in its past six games.
Stephon Castle led San Antonio with 25 points off the bench. Fox scored 16 (on 6-of-17 shooting from the field), Harrison Barnes had 12, Keldon Johnson tallied 11 and Devin Vassell finished with 10 for the Spurs, who have lost two of their past three contests.
The Spurs were at their best in the opening quarter, taking a 23-15 lead when Castle drove the lane for a layup at the 2:13 mark. DeRozan hit a pair of free throws with 35 seconds left in the period to cull San Antonio’s margin to 26-20 after 12 minutes of play.
Sacramento leapfrogged to the front early in the second quarter when LaVine’s 3-pointer made it 32-31 with eight minutes to play. The Kings continued to pull away, building a 17-point advantage after LaVine canned another shot from beyond the arc, this one with 53 seconds remaining in the half. Sacramento outscored the Spurs 36-16 in the second quarter on the way to a 56-42 lead at the break.
LaVine’s 18 points led all scorers before halftime while Valanciunas added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Kings. Castle scored 12 points to pace the Spurs.
LaVine continued his torrid shooting with eight more points over the first 4:14 of the third quarter as Sacramento expanded the margin to 76-49. The Spurs trimmed their deficit to 16 on Fox’s jumper with 33 seconds to play in the period before a trey from Devin Carter allowed Sacramento to carry a 95-76 advantage into the final quarter.
–Field Level Media
