No De'Aaron Fox? No problem.
The Kings took the court without their MVP-candidate point guard, clearing the way for an extraordinary scoring outburst from Keegan Murray in Sacramento's 125 - 104 win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night at Golden 1 Center.
The second-year forward was sensational, erupting for a career-high 47 points on one of the most incredible shooting displays the NBA has ever seen. Murray's near-flawless evening included a stretch of 11 consecutive makes from beyond the arc, setting an NBA record for consecutive 3-pointers made in a single game. The 23-year-old also became the youngest player in NBA history to make 12 3-pointers in a game.
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Murray's career night came on the heels of Yahoo! Sports NBA's Jake Fischer reporting that Murray would be among the expected return for the Toronto Raptors in any potential trade for All-Star forward Pascal Siakam or O.G. Anunoby.
The Sacramento Bee's Jason Anderson reported Saturday, citing league sources, that the Kings view Murray as a foundational piece and would be unwilling to include the young talent in any trade packages.
Murray joined "Kings Postgame Live" following the win, where the sharpshooter revealed he wasn't concerned with chasing the NBA record for 3-pointers made in a game, but rather remained focused solely on getting a win for his team.
NBA
"Nah, I mean I had no idea. I don't really care about records and stuff like that," Murray told Kyle Draper and Mike Bibby. "They're cool and all, we got the team win which was the biggest thing. They just kept feeding me the ball because I had the hot hand, so kudos to my teammates, they were big in everything I did tonight."
The 12 3-pointers Murray made against the Jazz set a Kings franchise record, and after the game, the 23-year-old reflected on what it meant for him to etch his name into team history.
"I mean it's big, there's a lot of great players who have played and put on this Sacramento uniform. So just being able to just put my name with those is a great feeling," Murray said. "I know that later on, I'll realize how special it is, and in the moment I know it's special. So just being able to be with those names is big."
Murray finished his historic night shooting 16 for 23 from the field, 12 of 15 beyond the arc, with eight rebounds and two assists to accompany his game-high 47 points.
If there were doubts about Murray's place within the long-term foundation of an ascending Sacramento roster, the young forward's dazzling performance on Saturday night sent a loud message that his name will be synonymous with Kings basketball for years to come.
