NBA: De’Aaron Fox clutch anew, Kings edge Bulls

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

De’Aaron Fox scored 15 fourth-quarter points as part of his team-high 32 and sank the game-winning 3-pointer just before the buzzer, and the Sacramento Kings kicked off a four-game road swing with a 117-114 defeat of the host Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.

Fox’s big closing stretch began at the 6:25 mark of the fourth when he hit a 3-pointer off a Domantas Sabonis assist. The pass gave Sabonis his second triple-double in as many games and 11th of the season, as he finished with 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists.

Beginning with that triple, Fox scored 12 points in the final 6:25, including a pull-up jumper with 41.1 seconds remaining that proved crucial down the stretch.

Domantas and De'Aaron showed out as the Kings won in Chicago 👀

Fox:
32 PTS, 4 3PM, Game-Winner

Sabonis:
14 PTS, 17 REB, 10 AST pic.twitter.com/z085DKw5Cq

— NBA (@NBA) March 16, 2023

The basket gave Sacramento a six-point lead, and the Kings needed every bit of it as Chicago went on an 8-2 tear in response.

Zach LaVine scored four points, part of his 25 for the contest, while DeMar DeRozan scored on a four-point play with 12.5 seconds remaining to tie the game at 114.

Fox’s fourth-quarter heroics overshadowed a big closing period for DeRozan, who made three of his four 3-pointers for the game in the period and finished with 16 of his game-high 33 points over the last 12 minutes.

Ice. Cold.

De'Aaron Fox is CLUTCH 🥶 https://t.co/ScW6SjsspC pic.twitter.com/XMUbs2wP8n

— NBA (@NBA) March 16, 2023

Chicago led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter before Sacramento battled back. The second half was hotly contested, and the two teams finished the night with 20 lead changes and 13 ties.

Along with Fox and Sabonis, Sacramento got double-figure scoring performances from reserve Malik Monk (19 points), Harrison Barnes (17) and Kevin Huerter (15). Monk did most of his work from beyond the arc, sinking 5 of 8 3-point attempts.

Nikola Vucevic scored 20 points and grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds for Chicago. Patrick Beverley grabbed 11 rebounds to go with three points and two blocked shots.

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