Mar 7, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine (8) takes a three point shot over San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox (4) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images
The Sacramento Kings welcomed back De’Aaron Fox to the Golden 1 Center for the first time since the trade that sent the once face of the franchise to the San Antonio Spurs just last month, but it probably wasn’t the return he hoped for as the Kings dominated for most of the game and beat the Spurs 127-109. Zach LaVine, the primary return for Fox, scored a game-high 36 points in the victory.
Despite the final score, it wasn’t an end to end performance for the Kings, who actually started off quite slow. Fox, greeted by a smattering of boos every time he brought up the ball (although he did get a nice ovation during his video tribute at the first dead ball), got the scoring started with a patented midrange jumper right off the bat. Fortunately, this wasn’t a portent of things to come as Fox struggled for much of the rest of the quarter and game, scoring just 16 points on 6-17 shooting, including 0-6 from three. But the Kings also got off to a slow start in the first quarter, looking rusty and discombobulated. After the 1st quarter, the Spurs were up 26 to 20.
The second quarter was wholly different however. LaVine, who scored just two points in the opening period, came out aggressive, scoring 13 points halfway through the period, including a trio of three pointers. Sacramento’s defense also ramped up as the Spurs struggled to score. In the end the Kings outscored the Spurs 36 to 16 in that 2nd period, setting the tone for the rest of the game. LaVine ended up with 18 points at the end of the first half after his slow start.
Sacramento’s defense wasn’t nearly as robust coming out of the break in the 3rd quarter as the Spurs put up 34 points, but the Kings were even better, scoring 39 of their own. DeMar DeRozan came alive in this quarter, scoring 11 points. DeRozan put the Kings up by as much as 24 points with 4 minutes left in the quarter before the Spurs started making a little comeback, but the Kings managed to keep them at bay enough. Rookie Devin Carter also had his best minutes in a while, scoring five points in quick succession at the end of the quarter to build Sacramento’s lead to 19 heading into the final frame.
San Antonio started off the fourth period with three straight triples, cutting Sacramento’s lead to just 12 points with 10:04 remaining, setting off alarm bells all around Sacramento. Thankfully, LaVine was still there to calm the Kings down, and Keegan Murray also showcased some aggressiveness with some nice drives. The Spurs never really went away, with rookie Stephon Castle and Jeremy Sochan in particular causing some havoc on both ends of the floor, but the Kings scored enough to stem the bleeding and prevent San Antonio from getting any real life. The Spurs never got closer than that initial 12 points, and both teams were able to clear their benches with a couple of minutes left. This gave Skal Labissiere the opportunity to score his first NBA points since December 26th, 2019, and he delivered with 5 quick points, including a top of the key three pointer.
It was a much needed win for the Kings, particularly in how they did it. This was a dominant victory against an inferior and injury plagued team, and a much needed one after a tough loss against Denver the other night. Sacramento’s best players stepped up after a slow start, and every starter finished in double digits. Without Domantas Sabonis and Malik Monk, the Kings needed others to step up. Jonas Valanciunas once again filled in admirably, scoring 15 points to go with 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a block in 27 minutes, while Keon Ellis was his normal active self on both ends of the floor with 10 points, 4 assists, 4 steals, 3 rebounds and a block. It was also really nice to see an aggressive Keegan Murray. Murray scored 19 points to go with 9 rebounds, and had a couple of very strong takes to the rim that resulted in And-1 opportunities.
The Kings as a team did a great job sharing the ball despite playing without a true point guard for most of the night, totaling 31 assists on 49 made field goals. DeMar DeRozan led the way with 7 but 8 players tallied assists, including 5 from Trey Lyles, which feels like it has to be a career-high (it’s not, he had 6 a couple games ago against Dallas). In every category that mattered, the Kings beat the Spurs. The Kings won the battle in the paint (50 to 36), 2nd chance points (30 to 16), and rebounds (51 to 36). Neither team turned the ball over all that much (8 for each team) either.
Sacramento executed their gameplan well and took care of business on the home floor. Now they’re back on the road to face a Clippers team on Sunday that they’ll be looking to leapfrog in the standings. The stretch run is going to be a gauntlet but if the Kings keep playing like this an hopefully get Sabonis and Monk back sooner rather than later, they should have a good chance at getting to the postseason.