SACRAMENTO – Kings’ fans have grown accustomed to seeing De’Aaron Fox take over in the fourth quarter. Over the last two-plus seasons no one in the NBA has scored more in the final 12 minutes of a game than the 1,360 points that Fox poured in heading into Thursday.
The only other player to even come close to those numbers was DeMar DeRozan (1,249) and the six-time All-Star showed why with one of his most clutch performances in a Kings’ uniform.
DeRozan scored 16 of his game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Kings hold off a pesky and very good Houston Rockets squad 132-127 at Golden 1 Center and on national television.
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“That was part of the conversation even before I came here, just being able to take the load off one another. Over the years, having him carry the load so much solely every single night," DeRozan said. "Now having two guys that’s familiar being in that position, you can kind of read and understand what’s rolling, who’s rolling. A lot of times it’s a feel, it’s an understanding.”
The Kings are feeling and looking a lot more cohesive since they made a coaching change three weeks ago. They quickly put together a seven-game winning streak that was their longest since 2022 then bounced back from a tough loss Tuesday in Milwaukee to end the Rockets’ five-game winning streak.
Several Kings players had it going against Houston but it was DeRozan who stood out the most. He knocked down all five shots that he took, made good on all five free throws he attempted (Sacramento was 13-for-13 from the line in the fourth quarter) and had three rebounds and two assists.
Fox also had a strong fourth quarter with seven of his 19 points, giving the Kings a powerful 1-2 punch down the stretch.
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“I just knew it was a matter of time where we’d be able to kind of catch the rhythm of understanding of when and who’s got it rolling, and how to take advantage of those moments,” DeRozan said.