BBNBA: Fox, Monk combine for 70 in Game 1 win over defending champs

Kentucky’s trio of Kings just took down the defending champions in unforgettable fashion.

On Saturday night, the three-seeded Sacramento Kings held off the six-seeded Golden State Warriors in a semi-upset despite being the home team with a better overall record. Fueled by a combined 86 points from Sacramento’s three former Wildcats — De’Aaron Fox (38), Malik Monk (32), and Trey Lyles (16) — the Kings scored seven straight points in the closing minutes to lock up a huge 126-123 Game 1 victory.

This game was all about Fox, who finished with 38 points in his first-ever NBA Playoffs game. The All-Star point guard shot 13-27 from the field (4-8 from deep) to go along with five assists and three steals in 40 minutes. Only Luka Doncic scored more points in a postseason debut when he dropped 42 for the Dallas Mavericks back in 2019.

Sacramento hadn’t played in a postseason game since 2006. Saturday’s win was a long time coming for an entire city of basketball fans.

“Sacramento showed out tonight,” Fox said. “But doing this for the fans, just knowing the way that they support this team through thick and thin — really thin. It’s just a testament to the way they are.”

Fox was the star, but he couldn’t beat the defending champions all by himself. He needed some assistance from the Kentucky Connection. Malik Monk, who was also playing in his first NBA Playoffs contest, dropped in 32 points for the Kings. He finished 8-13 from the floor and just 2-4 from distance, but he was a perfect 14-14 from the free-throw line — all of it coming off the bench in 29 minutes.

Monk hit the two biggest shots of the entire game, drilling a pair of freebies with 2.9 seconds left that gave us the final score of 126-123. Trey Lyles made sure to make an impact, too, adding 16 points and six rebounds on 6-8 shooting (4-6 from deep) in just 18 minutes. Lyles scored 10 of his points in the third quarter to fuel a critical 15-4 run by the Kings. Steph Curry, who paced the Warriors with 30 points, missed the potential game-tying shot at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.

The craziest part about this game though? The run that Fox and Monk put together in the fourth quarter for Sacramento. The Wildcat duo scored 28 points of the Kings’ 35 total in the final period. Talk about clutch.

Game 2 is set for Monday, April 17 at 10:00 p.m. EST on TNT.

Randle, Quickley earn Game 1 road win

The lowest-scoring game of Saturday was easily one of the most exciting. Powered by 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 33 minutes from Julius Randle, the five-seeded New York Knicks outlasted the four-seeded Cavaliers in Cleveland to steal Game 1 on the road. Randle’s double-double was key in New York’s victory, but he did shoot just 7-20 from the field and 3-10 from deep while turning the ball over five turnovers. Luckily, he and the rest of the Knicks were saved by point guard Jalen Brunson, who popped off for 27 points — 21 coming in the second half after he was limited with foul trouble in the first two quarters.

This game marked the return of Randle — and a timely one at that — after he’d been sidelined with a sprained left ankle since March 29. He was clearly a bit rusty after missing the last two-plus weeks but fought through the fatigue down the stretch.

“You see me breathing out there today?” Randle said postgame. “I was tired as hell. But it was just about winning at that point.”

Meanwhile, Immanuel Quickley will look to immediately forget his performance from Saturday. The former Wildcat finished with just three points, three rebounds, and two assists on 0-5 shooting in 23 minutes. This is just the second postseason series appearance for IQ with the Knicks, who admittedly struggled as a rookie back in 2021 when New York lost to the Atlanta Hawks in five games.

Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 38 points for the Cavaliers — 14 in the fourth period alone — in what was the franchise’s first NBA Playoffs game since LeBron James was taking Cleveland to its fourth straight NBA Finals back in 2018.

Game 2 is set for Tuesday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

Other BBNBA notes

• It wasn’t a perfect showing from Tyrese Maxey for the three-seeded Philadelphia 76ers, but it was more than enough to secure a first-round win over the seven-seeded Brooklyn Nets. Maxey finished with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals with zero turnovers in 32 minutes of action. He shot 3-8 from the field overall, with all three of his makes coming from long range. In total, Philly hit 21 three-pointers. James Harden added 23 points and 13 assists for the 76ers while MVP finalist Joel Embiid chipped in 26 points. Mikal Bridges dropped 30 points for the Nets, but it wasn’t nearly enough to stop Philly, which outscored Brooklyn by at least three in all four quarters. Game 2 is set for Monday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

4/15/23 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
De’Aaron Fox (SAC)	126-123 W vs. GSW	38	13-27 (4-8)	1	5	3	0	3	4	40
Malik Monk (SAC)	126-123 W vs. GSW	32	8-13 (2-4)	3	2	0	0	2	10	29
Julius Randle (NYK)	107-97 W @ CLE	19	7-20 (3-10)	10	4	2	0	5	-8	33
Trey Lyles (SAC)	126-123 W vs. GSW	16	6-8 (4-6)	6	1	0	0	0	7	18
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)	121-101 W vs. BKN	13	3-8 (3-5)	6	3	3	0	0	14	32
Immanuel Quickley (NYK)	107-97 W @ CLE	3	0-5 (0-2)	3	2	0	0	3	8	23

Today in the NBA

3:00 (ABC): No. 7 Lakers (Davis, Gabriel, Vanderbilt) @ No. 2 Grizzlies
5:30 (TNT): No. 8 Heat (Adebayo, Herro) @ No. 1 Bucks
8:00 (TNT): No. 5 Clippers (Boston Jr.) @ No. 4 Suns (Booker)
10:30 (TNT): No. 8 Timberwolves (Towns) @ No. 1 Nuggets (Murray)