De’Aaron Fox hit a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to give the Sacramento Kings a 117-114 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
Fox scored 32 points on 12-for-17 shooting, hitting four 3-pointers. The sixth-year guard is on a roll, scoring 2O or more points in 14 of his last 16 games and averaging over 30 in that span.
And his confidence, especially when game is on the line?
‘I think it’s through the roof,’ Fox said ‘I have a whole group of guys and coaching staff who believe in me. They have confidence in me taking the last shot, so the least I can do is go out there and have confidence in myself.’
Fox cooly hit his 25-foot winner before the Bulls could double-team him. The buzzer-beater improved the Kings to 41-27 and moved them a step closer to their first winning record and playoff berth since 2005-06.
Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox celebrates his go-ahead 3-pointer against the Chicago Bulls
Domantas Sabonis had his second straight triple-double and 11th of the season – finishing with 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists – and Sacramento roared back in the second half with hot 3-point shooting.
‘You know Fox is the most clutch player out there,’ Kings coach Mike Brown said. ‘And Domas with his ability to bring to the table triple-double after triple-double after triple-double and we get a win, both those guys should be on an all-NBA team.’
Malik Monk had 19 points, going 5 for 8 on 3s as the Kings overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to win for the fourth time in five and improve to 9-2 in their last 11.
‘We didn’t play well and we found a way to win tonight,’ Brown said. ‘The biggest thing was the unforced turnovers and our spacing wasn’t great.’
The Kings turned the ball over 19 times compared to 14 for Chicago.
Sacramentos’ Fox (5) celebrates his 3-point basket against the Chicago Bulls with Malik Monk
DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with 33 points and hit a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 11.6 seconds left to cut the Kings’ lead to 114-113. He was fouled by Harrison Barnes and completed a four-point play to tie it.
‘We’ve just got to keep pushing, keep fighting,’ DeRozan said. ‘We understand we’ve still got an opportunity. We’re going to play this thing out until we can’t no more and let the chips fall where they may.’
The Bulls fell 1/2 game behind 10th place Washington and the final playoff spot in the East.
Zach LaVine added 25 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Chicago closed it to 113-110 on LaVine´s dunk with 17.8 seconds left. Kessler Edwards hit just one of two free throws after being fouled by DeRozan to give Sacramento a four-point lead with 15.7 to go.
WARRIORS 126-134 CLIPPERS
Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points, Paul George had 24 and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame Stephen Curry’s 50-point night to beat the Golden State Warriors 134-126 on Wednesday night.
The Clippers (37-33) have won four straight to move into fifth place in the Western Conference. The defending NBA champion Warriors (36-34) are a game back as the teams split the four-game season series.
Leonard was 10 of 19 from the field for his fourth 30-point effort in the last eight games. He had eight rebounds and five assists.
Curry tied a season high in points with the 12th 50-point game of his career. He was 20 of 28 from the field and had eight 3-pointers. Curry’s biggest quarter was the third, when he scored 21 points and hit three 3-pointers.
Jordan Poole added 19 for the Warriors. They have lost nine straight road games.
Steph Curry got 50 points for Golden State but they were still beaten by the Clippers
76ERS 108, CAVALIERS 101
Joel Embiid had 36 points and 18 rebounds and played the final 4:12 after initially being called for his sixth foul, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to their sixth straight victory, 118-109 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
James Harden added 28 points and Tyrese Maxey had 23 for the Sixers. They were up 108-101 when Embiid was whistled for an offensive charge on Evan Mobley while making a jumper.
As Cleveland fans began to celebrate Embiid´s apparent disqualification, Sixers coach Doc Rivers immediately challenged the call, which was overturned after a replay review and the superstar was allowed to stay on the floor.
With Embiid in foul trouble, the Cavs attacked the rim and closed to 110-107 before Maxey drained a 3-pointer and the 76ers made five straight free throws in the final 51 seconds to close it out.
Caris LeVert scored 24 points and Donovan Mitchell added 21 for the Cavs, who were playing the second night of a back-to-back. Cleveland was without center Jarrett Allen, who missed his third straight game with a bruised right eye.
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid shoots against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley
ROCKETS 114, LAKERS 110
Kevin Porter Jr. scored 27 points and Houston beat short-handed Los Angeles.
It´s the second straight victory for the Western Conference-worst Rockets, who beat Boston on Monday night.
Already without LeBron James because of an injury, the Lakers were also missing Anthony Davis against Houston. Davis, who had 35 points and 17 rebounds in a win over New Orleans on Tuesday night, isn´t playing both games of back-to-back per doctors´ orders after coming back from a right foot injury.
Austin Reaves had 24 points off the bench for the Lakers.
Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. (3) dunks the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers
HEAT 138, GRIZZLIES 119
Bam Adebayo scored 26 points, Tyler Herro added 24 and Miami enjoyed a rare easy victory, beating Memphis.
Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Max Strus had 12, Caleb Martin 11 and Kevin Love and Gabe Vincent each had 10. The Heat set a season high for points.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 25 for Memphis.
The Grizzlies played their sixth game without star guard Ja Morant, who was given an eight-game suspension by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver earlier Wednesday as the penalty for ‘conduct detrimental to the league’ – in this case, ‘holding a firearm in an intoxicated state while visiting a Denver area nightclub’ and live-streaming it March 4.
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) drives past Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama (7)
CELTICS 104, TIMBERWOLVES 102
Jaylen Brown scored 35 points, Jayson Tatum added 22 and Boston held on to beat Minnesota.
Malcolm Brogdon added 12 points off the bench for Boston, which overcame a tough shooting night to win for the third time in four games.
Anthony Edwards had 28 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota. The Timberwolves have lost three of four.
Boston Celtics Jaylen Brown pulls down a rebound against the Minnesota Timberwolves
MAVERICKS 137, SPURS 128, OT
Christian Wood had 27 points and 13 rebounds and Dallas overcame a series of blunders at the end regulation to beat San Antonio in overtime without injured All-Stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Dwight Powell and Jaden Hardy had 22 points each and Josh Green added 21 points for Dallas, which snapped a three-game skid.
Keldon Johnson had 27 points to lead the short-handed Spurs.
Christian Wood #35 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball against the San Antonio Spurs
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