FILE – De’Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings in action against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on February 08, 2023 in Houston, Texas. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
Harrison Barnes scored 19 points and the Sacramento Kings took another step in their conversion into a playoff-caliber team by posting a 128-119 road victory over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night.
De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk added 18 points apiece as Sacramento won for the eighth time in the past nine games. Domantas Sabonis registered 17 points and eight rebounds, Trey Lyles and Davion Mitchell added 13 points apiece, and Kessler Edwards contributed 12 points and seven boards for the Kings.
Sacramento has reached the 40-win mark for the first time since the 2005-06 season. That season also represents the most recent playoff appearance for a franchise that is tied for second place in the Western Conference with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Under 2-mins of the game 😬
Sir Clutch 🦊 has enter the chat 😏@swipathefox pic.twitter.com/ByTd9JlhpA
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 12, 2023
Devin Booker recorded 28 points and eight assists, and Deandre Ayton added 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns, who had a four-game winning streak halted and lost for just the sixth time in the past 22 games.
Terrence Ross scored 18 points and Chris Paul had 16 points and 16 assists for Phoenix. Josh Okogie added 15 points for the Suns.
The Kings closed the game with a decisive 13-4 run.
⚫️ Patience
⚫️ Precision
⚫️ Perfection @Dsabonis11 👑 pic.twitter.com/n6JnOqN9rd— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 12, 2023
Back-to-back baskets by Sabonis gave the Kings a 119-115 lead with 2:25 remaining. Ayton converted a three-point play to bring Phoenix within one with 1:22 to play.
Fox knocked down a 17-footer to make it 121-118 with 1:09 left and Edwards drained a trey to make it a six-point margin with 45.1 seconds left as the Kings closed it out.
Sacramento shot 48.2 percent from the field, including 15 of 35 from 3-point range.
The Suns made 49.4 percent of their attempts and were 13 of 44 from behind the arc.
Chimezie Metu’s steal and dunk capped a 9-2 run that gave the Kings a 112-107 lead with 5:40 left to play. But Booker scored five points during an 8-3 spurt as the Suns knotted the score at 115 with 3:39 remaining.
Lyles scored 11 first-half points as the Kings led 67-59 at the break. Booker had 17 in the half for Phoenix.
Sacramento led 74-64 after Barnes’ basket with 9:42 left in the third quarter. The Kings later held an eight-point lead before Phoenix rattled off 12 straight points, capped by Paul’s 3-pointer, to take an 85-81 lead with 4:03 remaining.
Monk drained a 3-pointer to give Sacramento a 93-91 lead with 1:25 and added another trey with 38.1 seconds to go for a three-point lead. The Kings led 96-95 entering the final stanza.