De’Aaron Fox’s comeback to Sacramento’s starting lineup was spoiled on Monday night at Golden 1 Center as the Kings fell to the Chicago Bulls 113-109 despite Domantas Sabonis recording his 43rd straight double-double.
The Kings were up late before losing steam, with a lead of up to 22 points. In the final two minutes, Sacramento made three mistakes, one of which was caused by Fox, who tossed the ball out of bounds during an inbounds play.
After missing two games, Fox returned to the Kings starting lineup and finished with 20 points and 10 assists. Fox, who had been tending to a painful left knee, appeared to be fully recovered from the injury, but he somehow made five errors, including the crucial one in the closing moments.
Before fouling out in the fourth quarter, Sabonis recorded his 43rd consecutive double-double with 18 points and 20 rebounds. In the 70 games the Kings played in the 2023–24 NBA season, it is the 56th time the three-time All-Star has recorded a double-double.
In the 34-26 victory over Chicago (29-32) Keegan Murray contributed 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists for Sacramento.
The Kings began their off-day on a negative note after their late-game collapse, ahead of their back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs later this week.
These are the lessons learned from Monday’s match:
For the most part, Fox shines back.
Fox was welcomed back by the Kings, and his all-around performance helped to stabilize Sacramento’s attack.
Throughout the first half, Fox drove the lane and attacked with aggression while keeping a solid, fluid shooting touch. The Kings finished the first quarter on a 25-7 surge led by their point guard, who shot 8 of 16 from the floor and finished with a brilliant buzzer-beating hook shot.
In addition, he devoted a significant portion of his evening to pursuing and attempting to contain the combined 70 points scored by Coby White and DeMar DeRozan of the Bulls.
Sacramento’s 124-120 overtime victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves last Friday shows that it is a team that can succeed without Fox. But let me be clear. When Fox is leading the charge for the Kings, they are a far superior and more effective squad.
Sabonis does well against the bigs.
Although Sabonis hasn’t always performed well against some of the NBA’s more established big men, the 6-foot-10 center for the Kings held his own against Nikola Vucevic and the Bulls despite getting off to a poor start.
Despite missing his first six attempts and just managing a quick basket late in the second quarter, Sabonis was still busy on the defensive glass, pulling down 11 rebounds prior to intermission.
Although Sabonis spent a large portion of the second half in foul trouble, he was often able to limit Vucevic when the two were on the court together. Vucevic was minus-five for the game after missing eight of his first ten shots.
Monk keeps getting better off the bench.
Monk continued to be a strong candidate for the NBA’s Sixth Man award against the Bulls, proving to be the Kings’ most productive player off the bench this season.
Although he struggled with his deep shooting, Monk was the Kings’ most reliable danger in the first half against the Bulls, coming off an incredible 39-point performance in Sacramento’s victory against the Timberwolves on Friday.
With six more assists, Monk’s total of 309 puts him atop the NBA’s list of backups who have participated in at least 40 games this season.
The Kings’ bench had a relatively strong game overall, leading to a big 38-11 scoring advantage over the Bulls.
