De’Aaron Fox scored 16 of his 30 points in the third quarter Monday night as the Sacramento Kings erased a nine-point deficit and pulled away down the stretch for a 110-96 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in New York.
The Nets took their seventh consecutive defeat and saw their home losing streak reach 11 games. The Kings ended a two-game skid.
After shooting 35 percent in his previous seven games following a three-game absence caused by a glute injury, Fox had his first 30-point game since Jan. 1 and his ninth of the season.
Fox made 11 of 19 shots for the Kings, who outscored the Nets 59-36 over the final 22 minutes and improved to 11-4 under interim coach Doug Christie.
Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis logged 21 points, 22 rebounds and 10 assists, his seventh triple-double of the season.
DeMar DeRozan contributed 17 points while Malik Monk chipped in 16 points and nine assists for Sacramento, which outscored the Nets 30-18 in the fourth quarter and finished with 62 points in the paint. The Kings shot 54.9 percent from the field and held Brooklyn to 36.6 percent shooting.
D’Angelo Russell scored 19 for the Nets, who fell to 1-12 in their past 13 games. Tosan Evbuomwan and Jalen Wilson added 15 points apiece for the Nets, who were held under 100 points for the 15th time this season. Day’Ron Sharpe amassed 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Already without Cameron Johnson (ankle), Cam Thomas (hamstring) and Ben Simmons (back), Brooklyn lost Noah Clowney to a sprained left ankle in the first half.
Brooklyn ended the opening quarter with a 17-2 run and held a 30-22 lead through 12 minutes before taking four 10-point leads early in the second. A dunk by Sabonis forged a 38-38 tie at the midpoint of the second period, but the Nets held a 54-47 lead at halftime.
A corner 3-pointer by Keon Johnson gave the Nets a 60-51 lead less than two minutes into the third, but Fox’s big period gave the Kings an 80-78 lead going into the fourth.
The Kings began finishing it off as Fox rested and opened a 97-85 lead on a trey by Keegan Murray with 6:08 left.
–Field Level Media
