De’Aaron Fox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander both score 40+ points in Kings’ win over Thunder

Two of the NBA’s best young point guards went toe-to-toe in a duel for the ages Thursday night in Sacramento.

De’Aaron Fox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did not disappoint in their first head-to-head matchup of the season. The 25-year-old former Kentucky stars both produced 40-point games, but it was Fox who prevailed in the end.

Fox had 41 points and seven assists to lead the Kings to a 128-123 victory over the Thunder before a sellout crowd of 17,794 at Golden 1 Center. Fox delivered his third 40-point performance of the season and the ninth of his career, tying DeMarcus Cousins for the fourth-most in franchise history.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 43 points, six rebounds and nine assists for the Thunder. It was his fourth 40-point game of the season and the 11^th of his career.

Kings coach Mike Brown described Fox and Gilgeous-Alexander as players who “have some responsibility to bear the torch going forward” as a new generation of NBA superstars emerge, saying: “They’re both very, very explosive, young, talented, fun players to watch.”

Brown had only one regret after the game.

“It would have been nice if I had some popcorn and I was sitting in y’all’s seat or something like that,” Brown said. “Because (as a coach) you get a chance to watch it, but you don’t get a chance to appreciate it probably like you guys do and the fans do all the time.”

Domantas Sabonis recorded his 19^th double-double of the season with 18 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists for the Kings (14-9), who moved up to fifth in the Western Conference. Sixth Man of the Year candidate Malik Monk had 18 points and nine assists. Undrafted two-way player Keon Ellis came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points, going 6 of 8 from the field and 5 of 7 from 3-point range. He had six rebounds, three assists, one steal, one blocked shot and zero turnovers.

Ellis also spent a lot of time guarding Gilgeous-Alexander, who went 13 of 27 from the field and 1 of 5 from 3-point range.

“(Ellis) was big for us tonight,” Fox said. “Obviously, it’s hard guarding Shai, just trying to keep his chest in front of him. He’s a tough cover. … I don’t know how many deflections Keon had, but he was active defensively and I think he’s done that ever since he’s gotten in the rotation. I think all the work that he does behind the scenes showed tonight. He’s one of our best shooters in some of the drills that we keep track of and he showed that tonight.”

Josh Giddey had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder (15-8), which fell to third in the West. Luguentz Dort added 17 points.

Oklahoma City led 30-29 at the end of the first period. Sacramento went up by as many as 10 in the second quarter and carried a 59-53 lead into the halftime break. The Kings shot 52.3% in the opening half while holding the Thunder to 34.8%, but Oklahoma City went 15 of 17 at the free-throw line while Sacramento went 5 of 7.

There were four ties and four lead changes in the third quarter. Monk, Sabonis and Fox combined for four 3-pointers in the final 1:21, fueling a 12-5 run that sent the Kings into the fourth quarter with a 100-92 lead.

Sacramento went up by 13 on a 3-pointer by Sasha Vezenkov early in the fourth and extended the lead to 14 on a 3-pointer by Ellis. Oklahoma City came back to cut the deficit to two on a 3-pointer by Giddey with 3:00 remaining, but big baskets from Fox and Keegan Murray helped the Kings hold on for the win.

Fox and Gilgeous-Alexander were a year apart at Kentucky. Fox came out as the No. 5 pick in the 2017 NBA draft. Gilgeous-Alexander was the No. 11 pick in the 2018 draft.

Fox had high praise for Gilgeous-Alexander when asked about their relationship after the game.

“I wouldn’t say it’s super close, but we talk here and there,” Fox said. “And it’s funny. When me, Bam (Adebayo) and Malik went back after we got drafted, the guys were there and Shai was kind of the — not necessarily the unknown guy, but I don’t think he was a McDonald’s All-American, and they had a couple.

“I think he was like the lowest-ranked out of all the guys. I think he was still like top 50 or whatever, but he was like the lowest-ranked out of all the guys. We go and play pickup and I’m like, ‘Yo, I think he’s going to be the best player on the team.’ I truly believed that at the time, and then like midway through the season he ends up taking the starting spot, and now he’s an MVP candidate.”

Gilgeous-Alexander had high praise for the Kings.

“They’re a really good basketball team,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They have a lot of weapons offensively. They play together. They have really talented guys. They are a great team for us to play against because we get to test how good we’ve gotten and how good we want to be. They are a playoff team. I’m sure they’ll be there again this year, but playing teams like that is what we lace up our shoes for.”

More on Ellis

Ellis logged 28 minutes against Oklahoma City on Thursday, but that wasn’t his season-high.

The 23-year-old guard from Alabama played 31 minutes in a 105-98 win over the Thunder on Nov. 10 when Fox was out with an ankle injury. In that game, Ellis finished with eight points, four rebounds, two assists and three blocked shots.

Fox’s shoulder

Fox, the NBA’s reigning Clutch Player of the Year, scored 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the fourth quarter despite being pained by some kind of injury to his right shoulder.

There was no immediate diagnosis after the game, but Fox shrugged it off following a gutsy performance.

“I’m all right,” he said. “It hurt a little bit, but can’t do anything about it. Just get treatment and get ready for the next one.”

Huerter and Barnes

The Kings have won three of their last four games and six of nine despite some recent struggles by starters Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes.

Huerter had four points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field and 0-of-3 shooting from 3-point range with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot in 20 minutes against Oklahoma City. Over the past four games, Huerter has gone 5 of 26 (.192) from the field and 3 of 15 (.200) from 3-point range.

Barnes had five points on 2-of-7 shooting, going 1 of 4 from beyond the arc, with three rebounds and two assists against the Thunder. Over the past five games, Barnes has gone 12 of 31 (.387) from the field and 6 of 17 (.353) from long distance.

Booing Giddey

Kings fans didn’t try to hide their contempt for Giddey.

Giddey was greeted with a loud chorus of boos during pregame introductions. The booing continued every time Giddey touched the ball.

The 21-year-old guard from Australia has continued to play while Newport Beach police investigate an alleged inappropriate relationship with a minor in Southern California. The NBA and Newport Beach police opened separate investigations in November after photos and a video surfaced on social media, purportedly showing Giddey with an underage female.

Cleared to play

Brown wasn’t sure about Trey Lyles’ status when he came out for his pregame news conference less than two hours before Thursday’s game.

Lyles missed the morning shootaround and was listed as questionable due to illness. Brown said Lyles wanted to play, but he didn’t know if the team’s medical staff had made a decision. Lyles went through a late pregame warmup and was cleared to play about 30 minutes before tipoff.

Lyles finished with five points, seven rebounds and one blocked shot in 19 minutes.

Up next

The Kings will continue their homestand when they face the Utah Jazz on Saturday.

The Jazz (8-16) beat the New York Knicks 117-113 on Wednesday at home before going on the road to play the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

This will be the second of three games the Kings will play against the Jazz this season. The Kings handed the Jazz a 130-114 loss in the season opener Oct. 25 in Salt Lake City.

Upcoming schedule

Dec. 16 vs. Utah Jazz

Dec. 18 vs. Washington Wizards

Dec. 20 vs. Boston Celtics

Dec. 22 vs. Phoenix Suns

Dec. 23 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves