Kings guard De’Aaron Fox beats his defender and throws down a one-handed dunk in traffic in the final moments of Sacramento’s 127-122 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday.
SACRAMENTO -- Luke Walton had seen enough from the Kings 64 seconds into Monday night's game against the Indiana Pacers. Sacramento had turned the ball over twice and trailed by six points.
The Kings didn't look ready for the Pacers' physicality, and Walton needed a reset.
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In a highly entertaining battle at Golden 1 Center, the Kings shook off a rough start and put on a show for an arena of cardboard cutouts. De’Aaron Fox's hammer dunk in traffic during the final minutes sealed Sacramento's 127-122 win.
Here are three takeaways from the Kings improving to 5-6 after a battle with one of the NBA's toughest teams.
The Vet
Fox is the face of the franchise and Tyrese Haliburton is the talk of Sacramento and well beyond, but who has been the Kings’ best player this season? The answer is Harrison Barnes, and it might not even be close.
Barnes averaged 16.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game heading into Monday. He had reached or surpassed most of those numbers before the third quarter could expire.
In 37:31, Barnes became the first King to score more than 24 points this season, dropping in 30 (on 10-of-14 shooting) in the win. He added eight rebounds and two assists, bullying his way through Indiana's defense all night.
Put it in
Richaun Holmes talked about how much he worked on his 3-point shooting during the offseason, but the Kings' starting center had attempted just one shot from behind the arc coming into Monday.
With just 0.7 seconds on the shot clock in the Kings’ first possession of the fourth quarter, Haliburton found Holmes at the top of the key and the big man let it fly with his patented push shot.
Holmes struggled with foul trouble, but he still did it all for the Kings. He ended the night with 16 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks and three assists.
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Hot and cold
NBA
Against the Pacers' stout defense, Fox recorded 21 points and nine assists. Those totals don't tell the whole story, though.
Fox had a rough shooting night, hitting just 7-of-19 from the field. He also turned the ball over five times in 38:26 of action.
While he didn’t have an efficient night, Fox was engaged defensively and pushed the tempo for the Kings. He also hit this haymaker to end the first half.
