Fox sets Sacramento franchise record; Sabonis posts triple-double in Kings’ win over Suns

De’Aaron Fox set a franchise record and Domantas Sabonis posted a triple-double to help the Kings bounce back from an ugly loss with a resounding win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

Sabonis had 28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Kings to a 120-105 victory over the Suns before another sellout crowd of 17,794 at Golden 1 Center.

Sabonis recorded the 36^th triple-double of his career and his fourth of the season. He now has six 20-point triple-doubles since coming to Sacramento in February 2022, tying Maurice Stokes and Norm Van Lier for the third-most in franchise history.

“When great players do stuff like this consistently, I think it’s natural for people to think, ‘OK, great game,’ but not get excited about it just because that’s what he does,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “So, to be able to recognize it, to highlight it when he does it from time to time is big, and it’s up to all of us to highlight it because it’s hard. It’s almost impossible to be a center and get a triple-double. There’s only a couple guys out there. Domas is one of them and (Nikola) Jokic might be the other one.”

Fox had 23 points, six rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocked shots for the Kings (17-10), who responded nicely after suffering a 144-119 loss to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. Fox received a big ovation and chants of “MVP” when he broke Mike Bibby’s Sacramento-era franchise record of 2,580 assists.

“He’s just getting started,” Brown said. “I think the guy is 25, 26, something like that, and he’s already broken that record. There’s going to be a lot of records that go down during his time here.”

Keegan Murray added 21 points and five rebounds. Harrison Barnes had 19 points, going 5 of 10 from the field, 4 of 8 from 3-point range and 5 of 6 at the free-throw line. Barnes has scored in double figures in the past four games, averaging 16.0 points while making 22 of 37 (.595) from the field and 11 of 19 (.579) from 3-point range.

Kevin Durant had 28 points and seven rebounds for the Suns (14-14). Devin Booker had 24 points and seven assists.

Durant had high praise for Murray, a second-year forward who scored a career-high 47 points in a Dec. 16 win over the Washington Wizards.

“He’s getting more confident each game, shooting the basketball at a high clip,” Durant said. “Long, athletic (and) he’s playing with more intensity on the defensive side of the ball as well. You can tell they trust him with those matchups. Like, just watching him play. He’s into the ball. He’s playing hard. He might get some fouls, but he’s playing aggressively on the defensive side of the ball, and I think that’s what’s getting his shot going to be honest. He’s going to be an all-around threat for them going forward for years and he’s a key part of what they’re doing right now.”

Booker talked about Sabonis’ ability to dominate a game.

“He’s smart,” Booker said. “He uses his body well even though he’s not the most athletic guy out here, but pivots and angles is his specialty, and making plays for his teammates. Averages around seven assists, which is impressive for a big. He’s just a force.”

The Suns were missing Jusuf Nurkic, a 7-foot-tall, 290-pound center who was ruled out due to personal reasons. In his place, the Suns started Drew Eubanks, a 6-10, 245-pound power forward.

Sabonis finished 12 of 15 from the field and 12 of 12 in the paint. The Kings had 56 points in the paint on 28-of-36 shooting.

Sabonis attacked Eubanks in the post on the first three possessions, scoring seven points in the first two minutes. Fox followed up by knocking down a pair of 3-pointers to help Sacramento build an early nine-point lead.

The Kings led 35-30 at the end of a lengthy first quarter that lasted 37 minutes with 16 foul calls and 25 free-throw attempts. The pace of play wasn’t much better in the second quarter, which included one stoppage when Durant and Booker were whistled for technical fouls and another when Suns coach Frank Vogel was called for a technical.

The Kings went up by as many as 12 in the second quarter. They led 65-54 at the end of the first half, which was highlighted by a hellacious dunk from Malik Monk.

Sacramento started the second half with a 9-0 run to take a 74-54 lead. They went up by 26 points when Barnes knocked down a 3-pointer on the record-breaking assist from Fox.

“I think it’s a testament to everything he’s been through since he’s been here, and his ability to grow as a player and put his name in the history books,” Barnes said.

The Kings led by as many as 29 points in the third and were never threatened in the fourth.

“We just stayed aggressive,” Murray said. “We were up by 11 at the half and we just wanted to keep our foot on the gas in the third quarter and keep the pace up. I feel like we did a good job of that.”

Fox’s 3-point shooting

Fox went into the game shooting a career-best 40% from 3-point range on a career-high 8.3 attempts per game.

Brown said his son, Cameron, a defensive quality control coach for the San Francisco 49ers, sent him a stat Friday showing Fox is one of six players shooting at least 40% on eight or more attempts per game. The other players on that list are Stephen Curry, Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Paul George.

Nice to Metu

Chimezie Metu made his return to Sacramento after signing a one-year, $2.3 million contract with the Suns over the summer. He finished with 10 points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.

Metu, a 26-year-old forward who spent three seasons with the Kings, is averaging 4.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game for the Suns. He had 10 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots in a 114-106 loss to the Kings on Dec. 8 in Phoenix.

“Mezie played in our last game a ton and he did a good job for them,” Brown said. “He’s long. He’s athletic. He can defend a lot of positions. He can rebound. He can get out and run. He can score on different levels for them, so he’s a great utility guy that they were able to pick up, I think, for the minimum. He really, in my opinion, can help their team because of what I think their payroll is, and getting him for that price is a good deal for them.”

Up next

The Kings will conclude their six-game homestand when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday at Golden 1 Center. Sacramento is 0-3 this season when playing on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Timberwolves (21-6) have the best record in the Western Conference. They are four games ahead of the Kings, who are fourth in the West. Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has been ruled out due to left knee soreness.

This is the second of three meetings between the Kings and Timberwolves this season. Fox scored 36 points to lead the Kings to a 124-111 victory over the Timberwolves in an in-season tournament game Nov. 24 in Minneapolis.

Upcoming schedule

Dec. 23 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

Dec. 26 at Portland Trail Blazers

Dec. 29 at Atlanta Hawks

Dec. 31 at Memphis Grizzlies

Jan. 2 vs. Charlotte Hornets