Fox scores 30 points, rallies Kings from 16 down for 102-98 victory over Nuggets

By CRAIG MEYER

DENVER (AP) De’Aaron Fox had 30 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, Domantas Sabonis had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings rallied from a 16-point, second-half deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 102-98 Wednesday night in the final game for both teams before the NBA All-Star break.

The win was the Kings’ second in a five-day stretch against the Nuggets, who they had defeated 135-106 last Friday in Sacramento.

Coming off a 40-point effort in a loss the previous night against the Phoenix Suns, Fox ignited his team’s comeback. He scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, including one stretch in the final 2:02 in which he had a personal 8-0 run that turned a one-point deficit into a seven-point lead. It was Fox’s fifth game this season with at least 15 points in the fourth quarter, tied for the third-highest total in the league.

It was Sabonis’ 37th consecutive game with at least a double-double. Harrison Barnes added 20 points for the Kings while making six of his nine field-goal attempts.

The reigning NBA champion Nuggets entered the game with a 21-4 record at home this season, the second-best mark in the league. The loss was their third in a row, matching their longest skid of the season.

Aaron Gordon had 25 points and season-high 15 rebounds for Denver. Nikola Jokic had an uncharacteristically poor night, missing 11 of his 17 shots and finishing with 15 points, his lowest scoring output in a game since Jan. 7.

Aided by the cold shooting and carelessness of Sacramento, which shot 34.8% from the field and had 11 turnovers in the first half, the Nuggets stormed out to a 62-46 lead in the third quarter. The lead was down to three by the end of the period and Sabonis' layup with 4:56 remaining in the game gave the Kings took their first lead of the night.

Denver was without starting guards Jamal Murray (tibia inflammation) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (hamstring tendinosis). Murray is the team’s second-leading scorer at 20.5 points per game and the team’s top 3-point shooter, making 41.1% of his shots from beyond the arc this season.

UP NEXT

Nuggets: Host the Washington Wizards on Feb. 22

Kings: Host the San Antonio Spurs on Feb. 22

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