De’Aaron Fox left it all on the floor in one of the finest performances of his professional career, but even that wasn’t enough for the struggling Kings.
Fox had a career-high 43 points and 13 assists, but Zion Williamson walked away victorious after the New Orleans Pelicans held on for a 128-123 win over the Kings on Sunday night at Golden 1 Center.
Williamson scored 31 points on 13-of-15 shooting for the Pelicans (5-7), who snapped a five-game losing streak. Brandon Ingram scored 22 points and Eric Bledsoe added 21 for New Orleans. Steven Adams recorded a double-double, posting 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Marvin Bagley III had 26 points and 10 rebounds to complement Fox’s performance for the Kings (5-9), who have lost three in a row and eight of 10 since going 3-1 to start the season. Fox made 17 of 27 field-goal attempts and 3 of 9 from 3-point range to surpass his previous career high of 39 points against the San Antonio Spurs on July 31. Bagley was 11 of 19 from the field with two 3-pointers.
Buddy Hield added 18 points for the Kings. Richaun Holmes had 16 points and seven rebounds.
The Kings went into the game with an emphasis on defense after allowing an average of 131.7 points over the past seven games, but the outcome only emphasized their deficiencies. The Kings shot 54.5% in the opening half, but they went 5 of 18 from 3-point range and couldn’t get a stop at the defensive end. The Pelicans shot a sizzling 61.9% from the field and made 5 of 11 (.455) from beyond the arc while amassing a 23-10 rebounding advantage.
New Orleans outscored Sacramento 14-6 over the final 2:15 of the first quarter to take a 34-25 lead. The Pelicans paraded to the rim for an assortment of layups, dunks and kick-out 3-pointers to extend their lead to 19 before the Kings battled back to cut the deficit to nine at the half.
Sacramento got within six when Fox sank a 3-pointer early in the third quarter, but New Orleans quickly pushed the lead back to double digits. The Pelicans went up 78-65 on a 3-pointer by Bledsoe and took a 93-76 lead on another 3 by Bledsoe, but the Kings finished the third with an 18-4 run to get within three on a 3-pointer by Harrison Barnes. Fox ended the third quarter with 33 points and 11 assists, becoming the first Kings player to post at least 30 points and 10 assists through three quarters since Mike Bibby did it against the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 27, 2005.
The Pelicans led 110-100 with 9:02 remaining and still had a nine-point lead with 6:23 to play. The Kings got within three following 3-pointers from Hield and Bagley and cut the deficit to one when Fox threw down an emphatic dunk to tie his career high with 39 points.
The Kings had a chance to tie the game in the final minute, but Bagley missed a 3-pointer and the Pelicans made their free throws down the stretch.
