What we learned after the late collapse dooms the Kings to a heartbreaking loss

On By Littum

What we learned after the late collapse dooms the Kings to a heartbreaking loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SACRAMENTO – De’Aaron Fox’s foul on Jaden Ivey led to a four-point play with 3.1 seconds left and the Kings saw their the losing streak is extended to five games after Thursday’s 114-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons at Golden 1 Center.

Fox had a solid game going all night before running to try to block Ivey’s 3-point shot in the right corner. Instead, Ivey sank the shot and was fouled. He made the ensuing free throw and the Kings were unable to get a realistic shot off at the end as boos from the home crowd poured down.

Fox finished with 26 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. He was also the 12thth player in franchise history and fourth in the Sacramento era to play in 500 games for the team.

Trey Lyles came off the bench and scored 20 points on the season. DeMar DeRzan scored 19 points, while Keegan Murray added a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Playing without Domantas Sabonis (illness) for the third time this season, the Kings led most of the way but couldn’t hold off the Pistons’ late surge.

Kevin Huerter’s two free throws with 10.8 seconds left appeared to be just enough, but the Kings once again couldn’t close the deal.

Here are the takeaways from Thursday’s game:

Deebo’s Drive is back

With Sabonis unavailable, the Kings needed someone to step up and provide some offense. DeRozan did just that with his highest scoring game in two weeks.

DeRozan was much more aggressive with his offense, driving more and attacking than he had been in recent games. His shooting dipped a bit in the second half as he settled for perimeter shots, but he finished the night 7-of-13 from the floor — significantly better than four days earlier, when DeRoza suffered a season-worst shooting performance and six of seven shots he attempted against the Indiana Pacers.

3 To make up for 1

It’s nearly impossible to replace the double-double machine that Sabonis is with just one player, so the Kings relied on a trio of big men – Alex Len, Isaac Jones and Trey Lyles. The combination of the three worked quite well.

Lyles did his best to make up for some of the offense, scoring 15 points in the second quarter while Len and Jones handled the defensive side of things. Len got going, and while he was limited offensively (four points), he made an impact on defense and did a good job of using his 7-foot frame to alter shots at the rim.

Bench crowd

For one of the few times this season, the Kings got plenty of production from their bench. A big part of that was how well Lyles played in his extended minutes, but he wasn’t the only one giving Sacramento quality backup minutes.

Keon Ellis, Kevin Huerter, Isaac Jones and Colby Jones combined for 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

The Kings entered the night with the third-best scoring bench in the NBA, averaging 25.5.

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