The Sacramento Kings rise before our eyes. On Tuesday night, the Kings thanked the Denver Nuggets 125-115 for most of the production as they pulled out of their promising back court tandem with D’Aron Fox and Tyriss Haliburton.
Starting a disappointing streak against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, Fox was at the center of all that the Kings did aggressively on Tuesday, scoring 24 points on efficient 8-of-15 shooting from the field and helping the team out of the top nine matches. If you can trust him, Harrison Barnes had eight assists, which is a career high for him.
Fox had nice state lines before, but this one looks different because of the way he handled the position in the fourth quarter. The stakes were high, or as high as they could have been for any game earlier this season, and he delivered. That’s what you want out of the face of your suffrage.
The same was true of Tyris Halliburton, who made it to Tuesday night, who quickly asked people how he fell to No. 12 in the 2020 NBA Draft. He is also making people wonder if he is really interested.
In 24:54, Heliberton did little for the Kings, including 13 points, six assists, three rebounds and three steels. Anyone who doesn’t have the luxury of playing in the NBA Summer League understands the pace of the NBA game as well as anyone. That’s fine, and if he continues this, he’ll be considered a rookie of the year sooner rather than later.
In total, seven Kings finished the night with double figures, with Richaun Holmes and Marvin Bagel finishing with 38 points on Tuesday night, including a third. It is no small feat against the likes of Nicola Jokic and Paul Millssep. They were great, and they’ll just get better – especially the armpits.
The Kings still have some areas that need to be cleared. Eventually, they led the Nuggets to a 17-0 lead in the quarter, allowing the game to almost slip away from them. But they are proving that they are talented enough to keep the games close, and oblique enough to win. It makes things fun, young team.
