It took not one, not two, but three overtimes for the Kings to beat the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers 141-137 on the road Friday night at Staples Center.
It was the first triple-overtime game for the Kings since they beat the Warriors on Jan. 14, 2009, per to SportsRadar
After winning their first game under interim coach Alvin Gentry Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Kings responded by taking down another formidable Western Conference foe in Los Angeles.
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Having always possessed the determination needed to go head-to-head with the best teams in the league, the Kings left it all out on the court Friday night.
“I think we’ve had grit the whole season, I really do," Gentry told reporters postgame. "We haven’t shot the ball and we haven't completed possessions by giving up offensive rebounds and things like that. This team has had grit, and they’ve played hard and played together. Tonight we just found a way to get over the hump. We’ve been battling the whole season, we just haven’t been able to close out games and we haven’t been able to come up with the big play on a big possession. Tonight we were able to do that.”
Finally, things are starting to click for the Kings. What they've been preaching time and time again this season is starting to show up on the court.
“Just getting going at the right time," Tyrese Haliburton said postgame. "Just changing the direction of where the season was headed a couple days ago. Everybody’s making plays, guys are stepping up, working really hard behind the scenes, and it’s helping us.”
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The Kings were able to stave off the three-headed monster of LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis thanks to a 52-minute, 34-point performance from guard De'Aaron Fox and a few clutch 3-pointers from Buddy Hield down the stretch, who was just 3-for-13 from beyond the arc Friday night.
Gentry didn't seem to care about Hield's errant shooting numbers, knowing that sixth-year guard was going to deliver when it mattered most.
“I don’t really look at Buddy’s shooting percentage or anything like that," Gentry said. "With him, you just gotta let him go because at some point in the game he’s going to make a big shot for you. He’s going to put you in a position where you can win the game. We ride with him because we really do feel like there’s going to be a point in the game where he can help us win.”
A focus for the Kings under Gentry has been pace. Everybody from reporters to players has heard the 67-year-old coach preach the importance of maintaining a fast pace.
“He’s been great for us, talking about making sure we’re playing fast," Haliburton said of Gentry postgame. "I’m sure you guys hear (during) every media session when he says ‘pace’ and ‘fast’ a hundred million times. It’s the same way it looks behind the scenes, in the huddle, on the plane. He’s just saying that at all times. He’s on us when we’re not pushing, and I think that helped us a lot tonight.”
RELATED: Fox scores 34 points in 53 minutes in Kings' triple-OT win
"You know, an overtime game, we wanted to keep running," Fox told reporters. "Obviously, there weren’t fresh legs, but young legs. Just keep it up, that’s how we got in that situation. That’s what kept us in the game, getting easy baskets even after they score. Just keeping the pace up, just little things.”
The Kings will look to extend their winning streak to three games with a matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, who are likely to be without star Ja Morant, on Sunday at FedExForum.