SACRAMENTO -- The Kings welcomed the shorthanded San Antonio Spurs to Golden 1 Center on Thursday to open a six-game homestand, and for most of the fourth quarter, it looked like Sacramento was going to continue a troubling trend.
But Domantas Sabonis played the role of the hero in the nail-biting 131-129 win, securing the game-winning steal and monster slam that led the Kings to a last-second victory.
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Sabonis was one rebound shy of another triple-double, finishing with 31 points on 14-of-19 shooting, with 17 rebounds and nine assists in 38 minutes.
The Spurs (13-50) were without 7-foot-4 rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama, who was ruled out of the contest with a right ankle sprain.
While an opposing team playing without its star typically would be good news for fans, Sacramento (36-26) has been notorious all season for folding against shorthanded squads.
But big nights from Sabonis, De'Aaron Fox and the bench helped fuel the Kings to a stressful yet sweet victory.
NBA
Here are the takeaways from the Kings’ win.
Domas, Fox come up clutch
The Kings were on the brink of yet another fourth-quarter collapse -- something they’ve been all too familiar with this season.
But Fox, the reigning NBA Clutch Player of the Year, put the team on his back as he often does.
After Sacramento’s 20-point lead became an eight-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter, Kings coach Mike Brown called a much-needed timeout with 7:59 remaining.
Twelve seconds later, Fox immediately got to work and knocked down a jumper. He went on to score 12 points the rest of the way before being fouled out at the 0:57 second mark.
The All-Star point guard finished with a game-high 33 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in 35 minutes.
But the unquestionable hero of the game was Fox’s All-Star teammate Sabonis, whose late-game efforts prevented the Kings from collapsing to yet another lowly team without its star.
Snapping the trend
They did it. Finally.
The Kings defeated the Western Conference first-place Timberwolves in Minnesota last Friday, came home and fell to the Chicago Bulls in a fourth-quarter collapse, and then went to Los Angeles and defeated LeBron James and the Lakers on the road.
That three-game stretch perfectly sums up and represents the theme of this season for Sacramento.
And despite Brown and several players denying and downplaying it, it became a very bizarre yet obvious trend for the team.
Not on Thursday, though.
Playing without Wembanyama, the last-place Spurs brought the energy early to Golden 1 Center. They shot 50 percent from the field (11 of 22) and 3-point range (4 of 8) and were perfect from the charity stripe to take an early 31-30 first-quarter lead.
The Kings responded in the second, outscoring the Spurs 41-28 in the second before the Spurs came out on fire in the second half to put fans at Golden 1 Center on the edge of their seats until the clock hit zero.
And alas, the Kings escaped their demons – finally – and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Bench production
Kings general manager Monte McNair didn’t make any major moves at this year’s NBA trade deadline because he remained confident in the guys already on the roster.
Thursday’s win did that decision well.
Sacramento’s depth stepped up against San Antonio on a night when two of its sharpest shooters had an off-game.
Keegan Murray, who is averaging 14.9 points on 46.5-percent shooting from the field and 36 percent from 3-point range this season, finished with just three points on 1-of-4 shooting from the field and 1 of 3 from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, sharpshooter Kevin Huerter wasn’t just quiet – he was dead silent in the win, going scoreless in 16 minutes after missing all five of his field-goal attempts. Huerter has put up inconsistent numbers all season, finishing with just two points in Wednesday’s win against Los Angeles.
But the Kings’ “next man up” approach was in full effect Thursday, led by NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidate Malik Monk and Kings guard Keon Ellis.
Monk finished with 18 points, including a clutch 3 down the stretch that tied the game with 23.1 seconds left, while Ellis contributed 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and and 3 of 5 from deep, and was a game-high plus-15 in plus/minus rating in 17 minutes. Davion Mitchell and Trey Lyles combined for 18 points off the bench.