Sacramento Kings guard DeAaron Fox (5) is guarded by the Phoenix Suns forward Josh Okogie (2) and Ryan Dunn (0) at Golden One Center in Sacramento on Wed Nov 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings welcomed in the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. The Kings’ last game was a loss on Monday in San Antonio to the Spurs. The Suns came in on the second night of a back-to-back. The Kings and Suns were set to tip off at 7 PM PST. The Kings defeated the Suns 127-104.

In the first quarter, the Kings got off to a hot start. The Kings pretty much immediately jumped out to a double-digit lead. The Suns picked it up as the quarter came to a close. However, it wasn’t enough to get back even. The Kings outscored the Suns 35-29 in the first quarter. De’Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray both started hot with ten points each. Josh Okogie had nine points in the first.

In the second quarter, the Kings continued to build the lead early on. However, similarly to the first quarter, they relinquished the large spread late. The Kings were outscored in the second quarter 27-26 to take the 61-56 lead.

The Kings couldn’t close out either of the first two quarters with large leads. They would look to defensive intensity and continued good shooting in the second half to secure the win. Keegan Murray led the way in the first half with 15 points for the Kings. The Suns got their best contribution from Okogie in the first half with 16 points.

In the third quarter, the Kings had a solid third quarter in which they built the lead-up. The Kings outscored the Suns 32-24 in the quarter to take a 93-80 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Kings were in a commanding position against the Suns without Bradley Beal or Kevin Durant. The only thing left would be to close it out.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings closed out the game with force. The Kings erupted for 34 points in the fourth compared to only 24 points for the Suns. The Kings emptied their bench with 4:46 left in the game to cruise to a 127-104 victory.

The Kings were led in the win by De’Aaron Fox, who scored 29 points in the game. Worth noting in the game was that Fox only took two shots from beyond the arc. Fox talked about the lack of three-pointers from him postgame, saying, “It’s something Luke and I have been talking about… and just trying to touch the paint.”

Mike Brown was excited postgame at seeing some of the threes go in, to the tune of 53% on Wednesday night. Mike Brown said postgame “The difference really is us getting into the paint and feeling two people defending you then kicking it out.”

Up Next: The Kings will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday at 7 PM PST inside Golden One Center. I asked Fox postgame about his thoughts going into the first game of the tournament. Fox said, “I think it’s dope just being able to see different courts, and I’m judging people’s courts,” Fox said jokingly. He went on to say, “I think the big difference is you could be playing a team, and it could be a blowout… and you are really playing to the final whistle,” referring to the point system in the tournament.