De’Aaron Fox took over the final five minutes, preventing another Sacramento Kings collapse and giving them a home victory over the Boston Celtics, 116-111.
The Kings (42-29) led by 20 in the third quarter but the Celtics cut the deficit to five at 102-98 with under five minutes to go. Fox scored the Kings’ final 14 points to hold off Boston. Fox finished with a team-high 33 points.
Keegan Murray added 20 points, Domantas Sabonis had 18 and Malik Monk scored 16.
Jayson Tatum had a monster game for the Celtics with 44 points. He made all six of his three-point attempts and all 10 of his free throws.
The Kings were outshot 55.0% to 48.9% and made fewer three-pointers (12 to 11) but still won thanks to a +8 on turnovers, a +5 on offensive rebounds and a +12 on free throw attempts.
2022-23 Sacramento Kings Replay Home Page
A back-and-forth first quarter had eight lead changes and ended up in a 27-27 tie. The Kings owned the second quarter, outscoring the Celtics 29-19. Murray gave the Kings their first 10-point lead at 45-35 on a three-pointer. It was 56-46 at halftime.
The lead grew to 20 points at 73-53 with under seven minutes to play in the third quarter. Boston ended the period on a 10-2 run, however, cutting the deficit to nine at 84-75 heading to the final period.
The Celtics opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to make it a six-point game. Sacramento rallied to go back up by 14, last at 102-88 with under eight minutes to go. Boston immediately went on a 9-0 run to make it a five-point game at 102-97. That’s when Fox took over, matching the Celtics down the stretch all by himself. Boston got no closer than five points.
This game was played with Bank Shot Basketball.
