Fox blossoming into two-way star as defensive heroics secure Kings win

Fox blossoming into two-way star as defensive heroics secure Kings win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO — Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox is no stranger to big fourth-quarter plays.

The reigning NBA Clutch Player of the Year thrives in the final moments of games and even more so under pressure.

But his latest heroics came on the other side of the floor in the Kings’ 127-122 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday at Golden 1 Center, making an unthinkable defensive play with the game potentially on the line and then topping it off with a midrange dagger the other way.

Down by three with less than 50 seconds remaining in the fourth, the Spurs looked to shrink their deficit and shrink it fast. Jeremy Sochan controlled the ball at the top of the key and gave it to the guy who had been dominating all night. Sochan found Devin Vassell, who finished with a game-high 32 points on 72-percent shooting, cutting to the basket after blowing by Fox in what was expected to be an easy throw-down dunk.

But Fox said Swipa no swiping.

Fox came from behind and — with all his might — blocked Vassell’s shot to what felt like all the way to the Chipotle across Golden 1 Center but in all actuality landed in the hands of Domantas Sabonis.

About 15 seconds later, Fox drained a 17-foot jump shot to extend Sacramento’s lead to five.

De’Aaron Fox came up huge down the stretch.

First the block to protect the lead, then hits the middy on the other end 🔥

11 PTS in the 4th, 28 PTS total 🦊 pic.twitter.com/hCODZ41PFN

— NBA (@NBA) February 23, 2024

That one defensive play made all the difference for the Kings. What was seconds (and centimeters) away from being a 1-point game became a 5-point game.

Fox shared his point of view on the game-changing play following the win.

“Devin had some tough shots and he was great all night long from the beginning of the game to the end of the game,” Fox explained. “And for me, I was trying to deny, and he’s a good cutter, so he got backdoor and it was just not giving up on the play. It was either you do that or you try to foul him and don’t let him get his arms…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/fox-blossoming-two-way-star-074447951.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-02-23 08:26:35

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.