Fox, Monk and Sabonis help Kings hold off Denver Nuggets despite triple-double from Jokic
The defending NBA champions kept coming back to close the gap behind two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, but the Kings had an answer every time.
De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Domantas Sabonis turned in impressive performances to lead the Kings to a 123-117 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 17,829 at Golden 1 Center.
Fox had 26 points and a career-high 16 assists with one turnover for the Kings (11-7), who overcame a triple-double from Jokic to earn another win over a top Western Conference team after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves eight days earlier.
“In life, no matter what you do, if you don’t believe, you’re in trouble,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “So, the more situations you can be in where there’s some adversity, there’s a tough opponent in front of you, the more times you’re in those types of situations and you can overcome it, get a win, walk away feeling pretty good about yourself, it only adds to the belief that you already have. We’re still learning. We’re still growing. We’re still trying to find our way, so for us to get a win against a team like this should help our confidence and our belief that we’re pretty freaking good.”
Monk came off the bench to match Fox’s total with 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Fox, the NBA’s reigning Clutch Player of the Year, had 10 points and five assists in the fourth quarter. Monk scored 11 points in the fourth, making four of his five field-goal attempts, including a clutch 3-pointer.
“They can’t stop both of us when we out there,” Monk said. “It’s just pick your poison. Sometimes he’s on. Sometimes I’m on, but most of the time he’s on.”
Sabonis finished with 17 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists for the Kings, who outrebounded the Nuggets 47-46 and amassed a 19-9 advantage in fastbreak points. JaVale McGee was awarded the defensive player of the game crown after posting eight points, four rebounds and three blocked shots.
Jokic recorded his eighth triple-double of the season with 36 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists for the Nuggets (14-7), who had won four in a row.
Kings forward Keegan Murray returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous four games with a back injury. Murray finished with eight points and five rebounds in 23 minutes.
The Kings trailed 30-25 after shooting 39.1% in the first period. They staged a 15-2 run with Jokic on the bench to take a 42-34 lead with 7:17 to play in the second quarter.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone called a timeout to get Jokic back in the game, but by then the Kings were cooking. They went up 55-44 on a turnaround jumper by Harrison Barnes and carried a 64-50 lead into the halftime break.
Murray went scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting in the first half, but he hit back-to-back 3-pointers and a midrange jumper early in the third quarter to put Sacramento up 74-58. The Nuggets battled back to cut a 17-point deficit to five late in the third.
The Kings were up by 10 going into the fourth. The Nuggets got within two on a 3-pointer by Jokic with 3:06 remaining, but Fox hit a pullup jumper and Monk buried a 3-pointer to help the Kings hold on for the win.
Mutual respect
Brown and Malone expressed admiration for each other during their pregame news conferences. They worked closely together after Brown hired Malone as an assistant when he was head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005-10.
“I have a lot of respect for him,” Brown said. “One of the hardest workers I’ve been around, extremely detailed, knows his stuff. He’s intense, wants to win.”
Malone, who coached the Kings from 2013-14, won his first NBA championship with the Nuggets last season.
“I owe so much to Mike Brown,” Malone said. “I was with the New York Knicks (as an assistant) for four years and they were bringing in a new coach. I had gone on a trip to South America and hung out with Gregg Popovich. I asked him for some help and he put a call in to Mike Brown. I didn’t know Mike. When coaches hire their staff, most times there is some kind of a connection, a relationship there. I remember interviewing with Mike, and I said listen, ‘I can have Lenny Wilkens give you a call, Jeff Van Gundy give you a call,’ and he said, ‘Hey, listen, Pop called. Pop is God. You’re good.’
More from Malone
Malone went on explain what impressed him most about Brown during those years in Cleveland.
“I spent five years working for Mike and the thing I always marvel about when I think about those five years working in Cleveland, Mike was a first-time head coach with no ego,” Malone said.”He allowed you to do your job. He just wanted to win. If that meant me sitting down in a timeout huddle and sitting in that chair and drawing up a play, he wasn’t worried about it. He just wanted to win the game and he allowed his coaches to coach. That’s something I learned from him and I’ve tried to do myself, empower my coaching staff, give them a voice, let them grow.”
Malone said he’s happy to see Brown succeeding in Sacramento after leading the Kings to the playoffs last season for the first time since 2006.
“He’s the reigning Coach of the Year in the NBA,” Malone said. “He’s done a hell of a job here in Sacramento and they’re lucky to have him.”
Up next
The Kings will play host to the New Orleans Pelicans (11-10) in an in-season tournament quarterfinal Monday at Golden 1 Center with a chance to advance to the Final Four in Las Vegas. The Pelicans are coming off a 124-118 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
The Kings suffered back-to-back losses to the Pelicans in New Orleans during their last road trip, falling 129-93 on Nov. 20 and 117-112 on Nov. 22. Zion Williamson proved to be a matchup problem for Sacramento. The 6-foot-6, 284-pound forward averaged 25.5 points while making 22 of 32 (.688) field-goal attempts in those two games.
Upcoming schedule
Dec. 4 vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Dec. 7-9 TBD
Dec. 11 vs. Brooklyn Nets
Dec. 12 at Los Angeles Clippers
Dec. 14 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
