As is the case in seemingly every game involving the Kings, Sacramento’s visit to Chicago was decided in the final seconds.
The cardiac Kings can’t help but find themselves in close games late this season, but the good news for them is that has become the time where De’Aaron Fox is at his best. Fox entered Wednesday with the most points in clutch moments in the league (inside five minutes of a game that’s inside five points), and he added to his growing legend as a clutch shotmaker in Chicago.
The reason Fox’s heroics were needed was due to DeMar DeRozan getting a four-point play down 114-110 with just under 12 seconds to play, as he got fouled on a bit of a questionable call at the top of the key as he buried a three.
That four-point play tied the game and meant the Kings would need to make a shot rather than simply icing things with free throws, and naturally they turned to Fox, who pulled up for three just before the buzzer to give Sacramento its 41st win of the season in style.
Fox finished the night with 32 points to lead the way for Sacramento, as their balanced attack otherwise was enough to topple a Bulls team that got 33 from DeRozan, 25 from Zach LaVine, and 20 from Nikola Vucevic in the loss. With the win and a Grizzlies loss earlier in the evening, Sacramento pulled back even with Memphis for the 2-seed in the West, while Chicago slipped back a half-game behind Washington in the race for the final play-in spot in the East with the loss.
