BBNBA: Fox, Monk combine for 70 points in Kings win over Anthony Davis, Lakers
Two of Sacramento’s three Kentucky Kings dazzled on the West Coast last night. In a 130-120 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, former Wildcat teammates De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk combined for 70 points on impressive efficiency in a big dub for the Kings.
Fox finished with 44 points, which tied his career-high, in addition to four rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 39 minutes. Meanwhile, Monk came off the bench to chip in 26 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and two steals in his 32 minutes. He is currently the odds-on favorite to win Sixth Man of the Year, according to FanDuel.
Fox and Monk shot 29-51 (56.9 percent) from the field as a pair, including a 5-11 clip from beyond the arc. Trey Lyles also contributed seven points and six rebounds for the Kings. This game marked Fox’s seventh game this season with at least 40 points, fourth-most in the entire league.
“(Fox) was amazing. I hate using that word because to me that’s who he is,” Kings head coach Mike Brown said. “It’s hard to score 44 points every single night, especially on the percentage that he did it at, but he is more than capable with his ability. It was a big game for him in a big-game environment.”
With the win, Sacramento is now 35-26 on the season and sits comfortably in the Western Conference’s seven-seed — the final Play-In spot. The Kings came to Los Angeles having lost three of its last four outings. This was a significant win for Fox and company.
But not all former Kentucky players could come out with the win. Anthony Davis was held to just 14 points on 5-13 shooting, although he did grab 11 rebounds and dish out three assists in 34 minutes. Sacramento led by as many as 22 points as the Lakers could never cut the deficit to single-digits in the second half. Los Angeles is now 34-30 on the season and just barely hanging on to the final Play-In spot.
Other BBNBA notes
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went for 37 points, three rebounds, and five assists in Oklahoma City’s 128-120 win over the Shaedon Sharpe-less Portland Trail Blazers. Cason Wallace finished with two points, two rebounds, and one block in 17 minutes for the Thunder. Sharpe has not played since Jan. 11 as he recovers from a core muscle surgery. Per Fanduel, SGA is firmly in second place in the MVP race behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic
- Johnny Juzang played in just his fifth game of the season on Wednesday night for the Utah Jazz, logging 20 points in a 119-117 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Juzang recorded two points (1-5 FG), three rebounds, and one assist. He also saw 20 minutes of action earlier this week after not playing more than five minutes in any of his three previous appearances.
- Karl-Anthony Towns is going to miss a significant chunk of time for the West-leading Minnesota Timberwolves (43-19). ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported this morning that Towns has suffered a left meniscus injury that could require him to sit out for several weeks, if not longer. The first round of the playoffs is still a ways away (April 20), but the timing of this could not be worse for KAT and the Wolves.
BBNBA statistics 3/6/24
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | +/- | MIN |
| De’Aaron Fox (SAC) | 130-120 W @ LAL | 44 | 19-32 (2-6) | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 39 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) | 128-120 W @ POR | 37 | 13-23 (0-3) | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 36 |
| Malik Monk (SAC) | 130-120 W @ LAL | 26 | 10-19 (3-5) | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 32 |
| Anthony Davis (LAL) | 130-120 L vs. SAC | 14 | 5-13 (0-1) | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -6 | 34 |
| Trey Lyles (SAC) | 130-120 W @ LAL | 7 | 3-5 (0-2) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 30 |
| Johnny Juzang (UTA) | 119-117 L vs. CHI | 2 | 1-5 (0-3) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 20 |
| Cason Wallace (OKC) | 128-120 W @ POR | 2 | 1-3 (0-1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 17 |
| Chris Livingston (MIL) | 125-90 L @ GSW | DNP-G League | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| TyTy Washington (MIL) | 125-90 L @ GSW | DNP-G League | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jarred Vanderbilt (LAL) | 130-120 L vs. SAC | DNP-Foot | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tyrese Maxey (PHI) | 115-109 L vs. MEM | DNP-Concussion | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC) | 122-116 W @ HOU | DNP-CD | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Olivier Sarr (OKC) | 128-120 W @ POR | DNP-CD | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Shaedon Sharpe (POR) | 128-120 L vs. OKC | DNP-Abdominal | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Tonight in the NBA
- 7:00 | Timberwolves (Towns: out) @ Pacers (Jackson, Tshiebwe: 2-Way)
- 7:00 | Nets @ Pistons
- 7:30 (TNT) | Heat (Adebayo, Herro: out) @ Mavericks (PJ Washington)
- 9:00 | Raptors (Quickley) @ Suns (Booker)
- 10:00 | Spurs (Johnson) @ Kings (Fox, Lyles, Monk)
- 10:00 | Bulls @ Warriors
- 10:00 (TNT) | Celtics @ Nuggets (Murray)
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