De’Aaron Fox returns from injury to lead Sacramento Kings’ win over Cleveland Cavaliers

All-NBA point guard De’Aaron Fox returned to the lineup and the Kings returned to full strength, blowing out the Cleveland Cavaliers to conclude a three-game homestand.

Fox scored 28 points to lead the Kings to a 132-120 victory over the Cavaliers on Monday night before a sellout crowd of 17,829 at Golden 1 Center.

“I feel good,” Fox said. “If felt good just to be able to go out there and contribute. When you’re hurt and you’re not playing and you’re just watching, you want to be out there to help your team.”

Four starters scored 20 points or more for the Kings (5-4), who have won three in a row. Keegan Murray had 25 points and eight rebounds. Domantas Sabonis just missed another triple-double, finishing with 23 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. Kevin Huerter added 20 points, going 7 of 11 from the field and 6 of 9 from 3-point range.

Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points on 7-of-21 shooting for the Cavaliers (4-5). Caris LeVert came off the bench to score 21 points. Evan Mobley had 16 points and 11 rebounds.

With the win, Kings coach Mike Brown earned his 400^th career regular-season victory, becoming one of eight current head coaches with 400 wins. Brown reached the milestone against the team that gave him his first head coaching job in 2005.

“You feel blessed, lucky, fortunate to be around quality people and people who obviously play at a high level, perform at a high level, and are good people, too,” Brown said.

Fox missed five games after going down with a sprained right ankle in an overtime win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 29. During his pregame news conference, Brown confirmed Fox would return for Monday’s game against the Cavaliers with no minutes restriction.

“He’s playing,” Brown said.

And with those words, Fox was back, running, gunning and revving the engine for a team that averaged 102.6 points per game while he was out of the lineup.

Fox received a huge ovation during pregame introductions and needed only seven seconds to score his first basket. He scored 10 points in the opening period to help Sacramento jump out to an 11-point lead. The Kings led 33-25 at the end of the first quarter and 68-60 at the halftime break.

The Kings broke the game open in the second half after getting a huge spark from Huerter, who scored 14 points in the third quarter before going to the bench with his fourth foul. Fox was serenaded with M-V-P chants when he stepped to the free-throw line late in the third. The Kings carried a 110-89 lead into the fourth.

The Cavaliers cut the deficit to 11 with 2:09 remaining, but a three-point play by Fox helped Sacramento secure the victory.

The Kings shot 59% from the field and made 20 of 42 (.476) from 3-point range, hitting the 130-point mark for the third time in four games with Fox this season.

Brown defends Barnes

During his pregame news conference, Brown was asked about veteran forward Harrison Barnes, who has been under some scrutiny in Sacramento following an up-and-down start to the season.

Barnes scored 33 points in the season opener against the Utah Jazz, but he had three points and zero rebounds in a Nov. 6 loss to the Houston Rockets and was held to four points on 1-of-8 shooting in Friday’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Barnes went into Monday’s game shooting 40.5% from 3-point range, but he was averaging 12.1 points (down from 15.0 ppg last season) and a career-low 2.9 rebounds. He had another quiet night against the Cavaliers, scoring four points on four field-goal attempts, but he grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists.

“HB has been great,” Brown said. “He allows us a lot of versatility, especially defensively. He had to step up and guard Lauri Markkanen one game and he had to turn around and guard LeBron James the next game, so to have a veteran guy who gives us somebody to put on those types of guys at their size is very beneficial for us. We need it because we’re a young team (and) we’re not that big.

“HB can shoot the 3, he can take it off the dribble, he can finish at the rim and he’s a good free-throw shooter, so I like what I’ve seen so far. It’s early in the season. Last year I think he struggled at the beginning of the season, too, and so for me, as long as he continues to show consistency, especially defensively, I’m fine with it. He’s taking the right shots and all that other stuff, so I kind of like where he is knowing — and I’m sure he feels the same — that he can play much better, especially offensively, and he will.”

Len goes down

Backup big man Alex Len went down after rolling his right ankle early in the second quarter. Len left the floor hopping on one foot and headed straight to the locker room for treatment from the team’s medical staff.

The Kings later announced Len would not return. He finished with two points and three assists in six minutes. With Len out, Brown turned to JaVale McGee for backup minutes at the center position.

Up next

The Kings will start a six-game road trip when they visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.

The 11-day trip will take the Kings from Los Angeles to Texas for an NBA Cup in-season tournament game against No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. The Kings will visit the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, the New Orleans Pelicans on Nov. 20 and Nov. 22, and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 24 before returning to Sacramento to face the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 28.

Upcoming schedule

Nov. 15 at Los Angeles Lakers

Nov. 17 at San Antonio Spurs

Nov. 19 at Dallas Mavericks

Nov. 20 at New Orleans Pelicans

Nov. 22 at New Orleans Pelicans