DeRozan, Fox flex clutch muscles in Kings’ OT win vs. Suns

DeRozan, Fox flex clutch muscles in Kings’ OT win vs. Suns originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Kings knew they needed to get De’Aaron Fox some help, but instead of acquiring a Robin for the All-Star point guard, Sacramento swung for the fences and added a second Batman.

Enter DeMar DeRozan, a six-time NBA All-Star who’s widely viewed as one of the NBA’s most reliable players in crunch time. Together with Fox, the league’s first winner of the Kia Clutch Player of the Year Award, the Kings now boast one of the NBA’s most dynamic late-game duos.

That tandem flexed its muscle in a major way Sunday, powering Sacramento to an improbable 127-118 overtime win over the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center.

After DeRozan kept the Kings afloat in the fourth quarter, Fox took the reins in the extra period, putting the finishing touches on a win that provides a glimpse of what Sacramento now is capable of in tight games due to its deadly duo.

“Yeah, I mean obviously we want to be able to put full games together and be as consistent as possible, both at the same time,” Fox told reporters. “It’s not necessarily like a taking turns thing, but like he did three or four in a row. Obviously that stuff gets tiring, so he’s like, ‘Yo, you take it here.’ We were able to execute down the stretch, whatever play we wanted, whatever matchup we wanted … I think it was a full-team effort, but everybody will look at the big buckets DeMar had, or the big buckets I had, but the game isn’t just won there.”

Fox and DeRozan accounted for all of the Kings’ 16 points in overtime, taking control of a game that appeared to be heading another direction when Sacramento trailed by double-digits in the fourth quarter.

DeRozan began the final frame with a pair of and-1s, before Fox delivered the dagger that sealed the Kings’ win in the desert.

DeRozan detailed how much he’s enjoying starring alongside Fox, while revealing what he told his teammate before their late-game surge.

“It’s amazing,” DeRozan said. “He missed a lot of easy shots, I just told him, ‘Keep going, never get discouraged about a miss.’ He could heat up at any time, and he heated up…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/derozan-fox-flex-clutch-muscles-054921659.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-11-11 05:49:00

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