DeRozan flexes clutch gene in Kings’ road win over Hawks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
There’s a reason the Kings bet on six-time NBA All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan – and it showed on the road Friday night.
When push came to shove in the dying minutes of the game, DeRozan and star guard De’Aaron Fox proved their worth, erupting for a combined 58 points in Sacramento’s 123-115 win over the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena.
The Hawks, who trailed by as much as 18 points at one point, trimmed the Kings’ lead to three points with two minutes remaining, prompting two of the NBA’s best fourth-quarter scorers to close out the game in clutch fashion.
For a Sacramento mainstay like Fox, having a teammate like DeRozan to halt opponents’ late-game surges is a breath of fresh air for the organization.
“I mean the way he is able to get to his spot, like, it’s a joke around the league that you get a silly fine if you jump at his pump fakes because he’s going to pump fake, and everyone around the league knows it,” Fox said after Friday’s win. “At some point, he gets you with it.
“Just the way he’s able to make the game look easy. You have to send another guy at him, or at least have two or three sets of eyes on him. We move, we cut, we relocate and we get easy shots from that.”
As Atlanta clawed their way back into the game with 5:18 left in the game, DeRozan – a historic acquisition for general manager Monte McNair and Co. – delivered a crucial basket in trademark fashion.
But it wasn’t just the 35-year-old star forward that paid dividends late.
Fox, who has been the organization’s go-to player in late-game scenarios, demonstrated the competitive edge that Kings possess with two clutch-oriented players, while extending Sacramento’s winning streak to three games.
With Domantas Sabonis fouling out with 2:01 remaining in the fourth quarter, it was on coach Mike Brown to bet on his and McNair’s offseason vision.
It worked – so much so that guard Keon Ellis is confident that the Kings won’t fold late in games this season.
“[You] just can’t really get flustered,” Ellis told reporters. “We know teams are going to make runs. It’s all about the next play to limit that. I mean, we just got to keep our composure. That’s the game of basketball.
“I think we did that tonight. I think they tied it up or whatever, but, like I said, we got veteran guys who are experienced in those types of situations. Definitely good to have them, for sure.”
Surely, the Kings are in for a season full of late-game drama, but one thing is for certain after Friday night’s win: Brown has multiple proven options in the clutch.