SACRAMENTO, Calif. — De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points and surpassed 10,000 for his career, DeMar DeRozan added 23 points and the Sacramento Kings beat the Portland Trail Blazers 111-98 on Monday night for their first win of the season.
Fox became the fifth player in franchise history to reach the 10,000 mark when he made a 3-pointer in the third quarter. The Kings never trailed, expanding a 60-58 lead midway through the third quarter to 26 points in the fourth.
“Not a lot of people get to do that,” Fox said. “Obviously, the average span of an NBA career is like 3 1/2 (years), like literally one contract. So being able be to be blessed to be in the league that long, and being able to put the ball in the basket that many times — definitely a blessing.”
DeAndre Ayton had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers, joining Bill Walton as the only players in franchise history to start a season with four straight double-doubles.
DeRozan had 19 points at the half, making 9 of 10 three throws and hitting a contested jumper at the buzzer to give the Kings a 51-43 lead.
Sacramento made 23 of its 25 free throw attempts.
Domantas Sabonis had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Kings, and Kevin Huerter added 18 points.
Fox joined Mitch Richmond (12,070) as the only other player in the Sacramento era to reach 10,000 points. Oscar Robertson (22,009), Jack Twyman (15,840) and Nate “Tiny” Archibald (10,894) are the other players to reach the mark in franchise history.
The Kings moved to Sacramento in 1985.
Fox is also five games away from passing Mike Bibby for the fourth-most games played in Kings history. He ranks fifth in franchise history in points, fourth in assists and fourth in steals.
Fox, the fifth overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Kings, averaged 21.5 points and 10.5 assists last season. He was an All-Star in 2023.
“What a career,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “What he’s done for city of Sacramento and for the organization, at such a young age to score his 10,000 point tonight — that should definitely be celebrated.”
Takeaways
Trail Blazers: The Blazers had shot 39% from 3-point range over their last two games, and coach Chauncey Billups praised his team before the game for creating good drive-and-kick looks. But Portland, the league’s worst 3-point shooting team last season, was just 4 of 22 from deep on Monday.
Kings: The Kings lost their first two games by a combined six points.
Key moment
After a sluggish first half, the Kings closed the third quarter on a 29-13 run to take an 18-point lead into the fourth. Malik Monk and Sabonis combined for a 9-0 spurt during that stretch.
Key stat
The Kings held the Blazers without a fast-break point until late in the fourth quarter.
Up next
Trail Blazers are at the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
————
KINGS 111, BLAZERS 98
PORTLAND (98) — Camara 1-3 0-0 2, Grant 3-12 0-0 7, Ayton 10-17 0-0 20, Avdija 2-7 5-6 9, Simons 4-12 3-4 12, Kr.Murray 2-6 2-2 7, Walker 5-9 5-5 15, Clingan 1-2 0-0 2, Reath 0-0 0-0 0, Banton 1-1 0-3 2, Henderson 5-12 7-8 18, Rupert 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 35-83 24-30 98.
SACRAMENTO (111) — DeRozan 7-14 9-10 23, Ke.Murray 2-9 2-2 6, Sabonis 5-8 5-6 16, Fox 9-20 4-4 24, Huerter 7-12 0-0 18, I.Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Lyles 1-4 0-0 3, McDermott 2-3 0-0 6, Len 0-1 0-0 0, C.Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Ellis 1-3 0-0 3, McLaughlin 0-1 0-0 0, Monk 3-6 3-3 12. Totals 37-81 23-25 111.
| Portland |
20 |
23 |
28 |
27 |
— |
98 |
| Sacramento |
25 |
26 |
38 |
22 |
— |
111 |
3-Point Goals—Portland 4-22 (Henderson 1-2, Grant 1-3, Kr.Murray 1-3, Simons 1-7, Camara 0-1, Walker 0-2, Avdija 0-4), Sacramento 14-35 (Huerter 4-9, Monk 3-5, McDermott 2-2, Fox 2-8, Ellis 1-2, Sabonis 1-2, Lyles 1-3, DeRozan 0-1, Ke.Murray 0-3). Rebounds—Portland 46 (Ayton 11), Sacramento 40 (Sabonis 13). Assists—Portland 16 (Henderson 5), Sacramento 25 (Sabonis 7). Total Fouls—Portland 22, Sacramento 27. A—16,426 (17,608)
