Fox scores 30 points as Kings get victory over Nuggets

DENVER (AP) — De’Aaron Fox had 30 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, Domantas Sabonis had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings rallied from a 16-point, second-half deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 102-98 Wednesday night in the final game for both teams before the NBA All-Star break.

The win was the Kings’ second in a five-day stretch against the Nuggets, who they had defeated 135-106 last Friday in Sacramento.

Coming off a 40-point effort in a loss the previous night against the Phoenix Suns, Fox ignited his team’s comeback. He scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, including one stretch in the final 2:02 in which he had a personal 8-0 run that turned a one-point deficit into a seven-point lead. It was Fox’s fifth game this season with at least 15 points in the fourth quarter, tied for the third-highest total in the league.

It was Sabonis’ 37th consecutive game with at least a double-double. Harrison Barnes added 20 points for the Kings while making six of his nine field-goal attempts.

The reigning NBA champion Nuggets entered the game with a 21-4 record at home this season, the second-best mark in the league. The loss was their third in a row, matching their longest skid of the season.

Aaron Gordon had 25 points and season-high 15 rebounds for Denver. Nikola Jokic had an uncharacteristically poor night, missing 11 of his 17 shots and finishing with 15 points, his lowest scoring output in a game since Jan. 7.

Aided by the cold shooting and carelessness of Sacramento, which shot 34.8% from the field and had 11 turnovers in the first half, the Nuggets stormed out to a 62-46 lead in the third quarter. The lead was down to three by the end of the period and Sabonis' layup with 4:56 remaining in the game gave the Kings took their first lead of the night.

Denver was without starting guards Jamal Murray (tibia inflammation) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (hamstring tendinosis). Murray is the team’s second-leading scorer at 20.5 points per game and the team’s top 3-point shooter, making 41.1% of his shots from beyond the arc this season.

UP NEXT

Nuggets: Host the Washington Wizards on Feb. 22

Kings: Host the San Antonio Spurs on Feb. 22

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