The
Sacramento Kings got a huge victory on Wednesday night, defeating the
Denver Nuggets 102-98 at Ball Arena behind a clutch performance by
De'Aaron Fox.
The point guard from Kentucky had himself a night and proved why he is the reigning Clutch Player of the Year, as he scored the final 10 points for the Kings, including a dagger step back jumper with 35 seconds remaining.
Fox finished with 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists tonight.
Domantas Sabonis recorded 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists while Harrison Barnes poured in 20 points.
For Denver, they were without star guard Jamal Murray.
Nikola Jokic struggled, finishing with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists on 35% shooting. Aaron Gordon had a good night, ending with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Michael Porter Jr. scored 19 points while Reggie Jackson got the start and recorded 12 points with 9 assists.
In his postgame press conference, De'Aaron Fox said that this was a huge team victory, especially since it's against the reigning defending champions. Victories against Western Conference teams are huge since the seeding is so competitive and everybody is trying to avoid the play-in tournament.
The 26-year-old said that every game matters and the chance to extend the gap to 1 game with a victory is massive in the grand scheme of things. Fox then spoke about his clutch gene.
He said that he couldn't perform how he does late in games if it wasn't for the trust of his coaches and teammates. Their belief in him allows him to be confident when taking over games. He mentioned that sometimes things don't go his way but tonight they did.