Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox twirled into the paint, hesitated for an instant, then glided to the basket with a move that left Zion Williamson and Lonzo Ball wondering what happened.
Fox put on a dazzling display in the final minutes, leading the visiting Kings to a 119-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Fox scored 14 points in the final 5:22 to help his team overcome a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit despite the absence of Marvin Bagley III, who was ejected early in the second half.
Fox finished with 38 points and 12 assists for the Kings (9-11), who have won four of their last five games. He made 14 of 24 from the field and all seven of his free-throw attempts after going into the game shooting 67.2% from the stripe.
“De’Aaron was big time down the stretch of that game and it’s good to see that growth from him,” Kings coach Luke Walton said.
Harrison Barnes added 24 points and eight rebounds for Sacramento. Richaun Holmes recorded a double-double, posting 17 points and 10 rebounds. Buddy Hield added 16 points and eight rebounds.
Brandon Ingram had 20 points on 6-of-20 shooting for the Pelicans (7-12). Williamson had 17 points and eight rebounds with three blocked shots.
Bagley received a technical foul after being whistled for a personal foul against Williamson with 0.1 seconds remaining in the first quarter. In response to questions from The Sacramento Bee, crew chief James Capers told pool reporter Andrew Lopez of ESPN that Bagley cursed at an official.
“The Sacramento team bench had been warned about continually complaining and then he resented a foul call and had a profanity laced statement directed towards the official which caused him to get the first technical foul,” Capers said.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker made the technical free throw and Williamson made his free throws to give the Pelicans a 33-30 lead at the end of the opening period. The Kings trailed by seven with under a minute remaining in the first half, but they closed the second quarter with a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to two on a 3-pointer by rookie Tyrese Haliburton with 3.1 seconds to go.
Bagley picked up his second technical after being called for another personal foul on Williamson with 10:18 to play in the third quarter. Bagley, clearly frustrated by the call, was much more demonstrative in his objection this time. He was immediately slapped with a second technical foul and ejected from the game.
“There was a personal foul called against him, he had an overt reaction that went beyond the heat of the moment and because he had one technical the second technical was an automatic ejection” Capers said.
Bagley finished with 10 points, four rebounds and one blocked shot in 22 minutes.
“I didn’t think Marvin deserved to be tossed,” Walton said. “Look, I like young players kind of letting their emotion out a little bit, so I have no problem with Marvin getting a technical, but that hurt when we lost him because he was doing a heck of a job again out there tonight.”
The Kings briefly gained the lead midway through the third quarter, but they trailed by 10 early in the fourth before staging a 16-3 run to take control of the game. Barnes and Hield knocked down a couple of 3-pointers, Holmes converted a three-point play and then Fox took over to deliver the closing act.
He started the barrage with a 3-pointer and then hit a step-back jumper to put the Kings up 103-102. He followed with a series of driving layups, proving to be unstoppable down the stretch.
“(Number) five is special. He’s very special,” Haliburton said. “… I think he’s proving that he’s taking that next step and I think he’s been an All-Star this year. He’s playing like one, no question.”
