What we learned as new Kings duo Fox, DeRozan fuel first win of season

What we learned as new Kings duo Fox, DeRozan fuel first win of season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SACRAMENTO – De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points to become the fifth player in Kings franchise history to reach the 10,000-point scoring plateau, and Sacramento picked up its first victory of the 2024-25 NBA season after beating the Portland Trail Blazers 111-98 on Monday night.

DeMar DeRozan added 23 points, three assists and three steals as the Kings lit the beam at Golden 1 Center for the first time this season. Domantas Sabonis had another double-double – the 355^th of his career – with 16 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Kevin Huerter scored 18 and Malik Monk had 12.

The Kings led from start to finish while showing a lot more muscle and physicality than they did when they lost to the Blazers two weeks ago in the preseason.

Sabonis provided the spark early and effectively attacked the rim while helping Sacramento build an early lead, but it was Fox’s night to celebrate.

The veteran point guard – who had double-doubles in each of Sacramento’s first two games – shot 9 of 20 from the floor and scored his milestone points in the third quarter. Fox joins Oscar Robertson, Jack Twyman, Mitch Richmond and Tiny Archibald as the only players in Kings history with 10,000 points or more.

While Fox was doing his thing, the rest of the Kings were taking care of the small details. Sacramento snatched 47 rebounds and dished out 25 assists.

The only real issue for Kings coach Mike Brown has to be how poorly his team played and defended the post. Sacramento had done a good job down low in losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers but didn’t have the same success against Portland, getting outscored 52-28 in the paint.

Now it’s on to Utah, where the Kings look to get their first road victory on Tuesday against the Jazz.

Here are the takeaways from Monday’s game:

Getting To The Line

DeRozan’s ability to attack the rim and draw contact was a definite factor in the Kings signing him in the offseason, and we’re seeing why.

After taking making 50 of 60 free-throw attempts in the first two games, Sacramento did another solid job of getting to the line Monday against Portland. The Kings finished 23 of 25 from the stripe, with DeRozan leading the way going 9 of 10 on free throws.

Sacramento went into the night leading the NBA in free throw percentage and have a success rate of 85.8 percent now.

Another Game, Another Big Run For Opponent

In each of their first three games, the Kings have allowed opponents to go on big runs that changed the momentum of the contest. Monday’s affair with the Blazers was no different.

Sacramento built a seemingly comfortable 10-point lead midway through the first quarter, then allowed Portland to trim the gap to one point following a 19-19 run.

It’s a troubling pattern that needs to be resolved soon. The Kings were outscored 20-7 at one point during their season-opening loss to the Timberwolves, then got blitzed 21-0 by the Lakers last Saturday.

Good Challenge

The Kings caught a break in the second quarter when Brown challenged a foul call on Monk while Sacramento’s sixth man was defending Jerami Grant.

Replays appeared to show Monk’s left hand touching Grant’s forearm as the Portland forward was going up, but officials ruled it was a legal play on the ball and therefore the call was overturned.

That’s the third successful challenge in four tries for Brown this season. During the 2023-24 season, Brown had a .500 (28-28) record in challenges.

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