De’Aaron Fox has finally returned after missing 5 games with an ankle sprain. He wasted no time in helping lead the Kings to a 132-120 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Fox instantly revived a struggling offense. In his absence, the Kings went 2-3, scoring more than 105 points in only one of those games.
Once on the floor, it only took Fox seven seconds to score, stealing the ball off the jump ball from the Cavs and getting a layup. He played great, finishing with a +17 rating and scoring 28 points and dished 6 assists.
The team shot 59% from the field, and 48% from three. The offense was humming the whole night and everyone seemed to be feeling the energy Fox brings with his presence and leadership on the court.
There were four Kings players that scored at least 20 points. Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis, Kevin Huerter, and, of course, De’Aaron Fox. The whole team seemed to play with more pace and urgency with Fox back on the court. The ball movement was superb, the shooting was the best it has been all year, and the confidence seemed to be restored to this team.
The Cavaliers deserve some credit. Despite an increasing Kings lead, the Cavs never completely folded or went away. Early in the game they kept the game close, despite the Kings shooting lights out. But, the Kings’ elite shooting eventually was too much as the Cavs got outscored 42 to 29 points in the 3rd quarter, pretty much sealing the deal as the Kings took a 110-89 point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Keegan Murray was probably the most impressive player of the night.
He scored 25 points, and also grabbed 8 rebounds. But, the most impressive improvement from Keegan this year has been his defense. Keegan held Cavs star Donovan Mitchell to 22 points on an abysmal 7/21 shooting– insanely impressive when you figure that Mitchell was averaging 30 ppg and normally shoots around 50% from the field.
When asked how he attacks the challenge of defending the best player on the opposing team every night, Keegan simply said, “I love it.”
The Kings are 3-1 when De’Aaron Fox plays, which is not really surprising when you see he averages 30 points per game on the season with good efficiency. The fans can expect the offense to go back to normal now that Fox is back to light the flame to this offense.
