Taking care of business.
After picking up their first win of the season on Friday, the Sacramento Kings dropped the hammer on the New York Knicks Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The boo birds came out in the Big Apple and “Fire Fizdale” chants filled the building as the Kings pounded the Knicks for a 113-92 victory.
Sacramento outshot, outrebounded and outhustled the home team on their way to their first road win of the season.
Here are three takeaways as the Kings made it two wins in a row to improve to 2-5 on the season.
The Backcourt
De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield are heating up.
Fox put on the jets and attacked the teeth of the Knicks’ defense. He struggled to hit his shots early, but once the ball started to fall, New York had no chance. In 34 minutes of action, Fox posted 24 points, six assists and one huge highlight reel block.
Hield found his long range stroke, knocking down 5-of-11 from 3-point range on his way to 22 points in 30 minutes.
Team Rebounding
NBA
The Knicks came into the evening leading the league in offensive rebounds at 13.5 per game. The Kings came in as the league’s 24th best defensive rebounding team. This should have been an area for New York to exploit.
It was clear from the opening tip that coach Luke Walton had placed an emphasis on his team boxing out and hitting the glass as a squad. It worked to perfection and helped the Kings jump all over the Knicks on their home court.
Sacramento outrebounded New York by a final tally of 48-37 and they limited the Knicks to just eight offensive rebounds.
Quiet Impact
Harrison Barnes isn’t putting up gaudy stats, but the Kings’ starting small forward is making an impact on the floor.
Against New York, Barnes finished with 19 points, four rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in 39 minutes.
With Marvin Bagley out of the lineup, Barnes has played major minutes at both forward positions for Walton. He ran a team-high +28 in the win.