A Royal Pain
Fansided

De’Aaron Fox leads Sacramento Kings to 131-120 win over Thunder in Oklahoma City

By Jonathan Roberts

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- OCTOBER 21: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings handles the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 21, 2018 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- OCTOBER 21: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings handles the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 21, 2018 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – OCTOBER 21: Willie Cauley-Stein #00 of the Sacramento Kings dunks two points against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of a NBA game at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on October 21, 2018 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by J Pat Carter/Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – OCTOBER 21: Willie Cauley-Stein #00 of the Sacramento Kings dunks two points against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of a NBA game at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on October 21, 2018 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by J Pat Carter/Getty Images) /

Takeaways

De’Aaron Fox balled out tonight, posting his first double-double of the season on 7/12 shooting to go with four rebounds, one steal and a block. Through three games this season, Fox is averaging 20.3 points and 7.7 assists on a stellar 50.0 percent from the field. As noted by Sactown Royalty’s Tim Maxwell, only four players were able to match those numbers through all of last season: Westbrook, John Wall, LeBron James and James Harden. Safe to say Fox is on the right track.

Iman Shumpert had one of the best games of his career tonight after receiving his first start of the season. In 30 minutes of play, Shumpert poured in 26 points (16 in the first quarter) on 9/13 (4/7 3PT, 4/5 FT) shooting to go with three rebounds, four  assists, three steals and two blocks. Despite many Kings fans and writers calling for Shumpert to a small or no place in the rotation (including myself) Shumpert proved us all wrong, at least for tonight.

Offense was plentiful in this one with the Kings starters combining for 90 points and 22 assists. It was an all-around strong performance from this team and that’s with the teams 6th leading scorer, Frank Mason III, getting a DNP-Coaches Decision.

The Kings rookies were again impactful, albeit in limited minutes tonight. Neither Bagley (24 mins) or Harry Giles (17 mins) saw more than 25 minutes on the floor but they scored 13 points and eight points, respectively. Bagley also added seven rebounds and a steal, while Giles contributed six rebounds, two assists, a steal and two blocks.

Sacramento Kings: 3 bold predictions for Willie Cauley-Stein. light. Related Story

Head Coach Dave Joerger’s rotation continues to change based on matchups and game flow, playing 11 players tonight with nine playing more than 15 minutes in this one. Things should settle down once Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee) returns from injury, but for now it’s a mess.

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