What we learned as Fox’s Kings record 60 wasted in NBA Cup loss

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What we learned as Fox’s Kings record 60 wasted in NBA Cup loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SACRAMENTO — De’Aaron Fox had the performance of his life and scored a franchise-record 60 points, but incredibly, it wasn’t enough as the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away in overtime to beat the Kings 130-126 in an NBA Cup Group A game on Friday night. at Golden 1 Center.

Fox, whose previous best was 44 points, shot 22 of 35, made six 3-pointers and had seven assists. He scored 16 points over the final nine and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, including a clutch layup with 38.6 seconds left in regulation.

It’s the first 50-point game of Fox’s NBA career and the 15thth once he is poured for 40 or more. Sacramento’s speedy point guard has scored 20 or more points in his last nine games

Jack Twyman previously held the Kings’ franchise scoring record with 59 points in 1960 when the team was known as the Cincinnati Royals.

Domantas Sabonis had 23 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks for Sacramento. Keegan Murray added 14 points.

Fox made a pair of 3-pointers in the overtime period, but the Wolves rallied and outscored the Kings 16-11 in overtime.

The Kings, who lost to the Wolves at home in the season opener last month, fell to 7-6. Sacramento has not beaten Minnesota at Golden 1 Center since February 9, 2022.

Fox and Sabonis kept the Kings going early despite the Wolves controlling most of the first half. Fox put up nine points in the first quarter and 12 in the second, while Sabonis overcame a few turnover issues and nearly had a double-double at halftime.

Here are the takeaways from Friday’s game:

Len joins the Kings’ starting lineup

Kings coach Mike Brown had to shuffle his lineup after DeMar DeRozan was ruled out with lower back tightness, an injury that first flared up Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns.

One of the more intriguing changes was the decision to start Alex Len at center while moving Sabonis over to power forward. Sabonis, of course, did the bulk of the scoring, while Len had two points and took just two shots in his first NBA start since April 7, 2023.

The Kings’ two big men did a good job of limiting the impact of Wolves’ center Rudy Gobert. Minnesota’s three-time All-Star had 11 points but took just seven shots.

More lineup shuffles

Part of the Browns lineup shuffle went beyond starting twin tops of Sabonis and Len.

Murray, who had started at power forward, slid over to DeRozan’s small forward spot and shot 6 of 15 (2 of 7 from behind the arc).

He also made a breakthrough play in the second quarter with a follow-up dunk after Doug McDermott missed a fastbreak layup.

Huerter’s inconsistency continues

Over the past 10 days, Kevin Huerter has been on a streak of alternating good and bad games. Unfortunately for the Kings, Friday’s game against the Wolves fell into the latter category.

Two days after dropping a season-high 22 points on the Suns, Huerter suffered a brutal night against the Wolves. The 26-year-old missed his first four shots and was scoreless through three quarters before finishing with four points on 2-of-7 shooting.

Sacramento’s offense operates at a different, more efficient level when Huerter’s shooting is on, and the difference when he’s off can be like night and day.

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