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 league'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.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
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.
NBA
DEMAR IS TAKING OVER IN OT 😤 pic.twitter.com/O0RhBFPog4
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 11, 2024
DE'AARON WITH THE DAGGER 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hbbDohZIPd
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 11, 2024
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 at the right time for us."
Fox and DeRozan each finished with eight points apiece in overtime, both outscoring the Suns, who only finished with seven total points in the period.
DeRozan finished with 34 points, while Fox nearly tallied a triple-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in the win.
The duo's electric performance when the lights were the brightest served as a lightning rod of confidence for the rest of the Kings, who now have the utmost belief in their ability to gut out tight games like they did on Sunday night in Phoenix.
"Obviously if the game is close we have a lot of confidence," guard Kevin Huerter said. "Just got to keep it close enough and not let it get too stretched out there and stop teams running late in the fourth. A lot of times we feel like we can get to what we're looking for, and those guys are tough shot makers. Extremely fortunate to have both of them. Fox got going a little later than DeMar, but they were able to play off each other and show up when we needed them."
"If the game is close we have a lot of confidence."
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 11, 2024
Kevin Huerter lauded DeMar DeRozan and De'Aaron Fox's clutch performances in tonight's win pic.twitter.com/h1oMnTptyz
At 5-4, Sacramento still has a long way to go to get where it knows it ultimately belongs. But make no mistake about it, barring injuries, this is a team that should find itself firmly entrenched in the Western Conference playoff picture, where many nail-biting games await the Kings as they attempt to make a deep postseason run for the first time in decades.
When the chips are down in a playoff series, oftentimes the deciding factor favors the team with a player who can get a crucial bucket in a half-court set when the pressure is the highest.
The Kings now have two of them.