Harrison Barnes stays hot in Kings win over Spurs

The Sacramento Kings made it four straight wins with a 132-119 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday evening. Veteran forward Harrison Barnes led the way, scoring 29 points on a super-efficient 8-11 shooting from the field.

Barnes was not alone in the win over the Spurs, as De’Aaron Fox finished with 23 points while
Domantas Sabonis added 18 of his own to go along with 18 rebounds and 8 assists. Backup point guard Davion Mitchell had arguably his most robust offensive performance of the season, finishing the game with 19 points on 7-8 shooting.

It was once again a total team effort offensively for the Kings, something that has become pretty common this season. They continue to produce elite offensive numbers because they are getting contributions from so many different sources.

Fox, who is emerging as an elite closer in the NBA, once again did his thing in the fourth quarter of this one. That is where he scored 11 of his 23 points on the night. Mitchell, his backup, poured in 9 of his own in the fourth quarter, helping Fox overwhelm the Spurs and ensure there would be no comeback.

Harrison Barnes remains scorching hot for Sacramento Kings

Harrison Barnes is on an absolute tear offensively right now. This marked the ninth straight game Barnes has reached double digits in the scoring column.

After a somewhat lackluster start to the season, it’s clear Barnes has kicked things up a notch in the last month or so. He is scoring like the efficient and productive veteran Kings fans know he is and it is proving vital to the Kings ability to win games.

In the month of January, the veteran forward is averaging 22.1 points per game on 55.7 percent shooting. He is shooting 51.8 percent from behind the arc this month.

The Kings, who have now won four games in a row, really need this type of consistent performance from their veteran leader. In three of the four recent wins for Sacramento, Barnes has finished with over 25 points scored. He has shot over 50 percent in each of those three games.

For context, Barnes averaged 14 points per game in the month of December. His recent scoring allows Sabonis to focus more on facilitating and owning the glass, two areas where the Kings need him to be at his best night in and night out.

It also allows Kevin Huerter to be asked to do less on his own. He can focus on his strength, which is knocking down shots from behind the arc. Finally, rookie Keegan Murray benefits from Barnes recent offensive efficiency.

Murray can play off the ball more and take what comes to him. The Kings aren’t struggling so mightily when Fox and Sabonis aren’t at their best because they have a certified scorer who can get them points whenever they need recently.

If the Kings are going to continue to have success this season, Barnes will need to play closer to this level than how he played for the first few months of the season. So far, he appears more than capable of doing so.