SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — De’Aaron Fox had 28 points and eight assists and the Sacramento Kings beat the San Antonio Spurs 130-112 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory.
“He’s playing hard," Monk said about Fox. “He usually takes a couple plays off, but Mike (Brown) won’t let him do that.”
Sacramento’s last five-game win streak came during the 2020-21 season. The fifth win of that streak also came against the Spurs.
The Kings haven’t had a six-game winning streak since the 2004-05 season. Sacramento has won eight of 10 games after opening 0-4.
Malik Monk added 26 points and Trey Lyles had 14. Both came off the bench. Harrison Barnes had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Domantas Sabonis finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
“Malik is a guy that can start or come off the bench,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “He’s so talented ... he's changed a lot of games for us. He was big for us during crunch time."
Devin Vassell scored 29 points for San Antonio. The Spurs have lost nine of 10 after starting the season 5-2.
Keita Bates-Diop scored 16 for San Antonio, and Tre Jones had 15.
After tying it at 82 with 1:36 left in the third quarter, Sacramento went on a 24-7 run to close the third and start the fourth.
“We turned it over,” Bates-Diop said. “It went from a close game to kind of getting away from us.”
The Kings never trailed for the second time this season. Sacramento also led the entire game against Miami.
“They were just a better basketball team,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They’re really buying in.”
TIP-INS
Spurs: F Keldon Johnson was a late scratch with an ankle injury. Johnson is the Spurs' leading scorer, averaging 22.7 points. … Doug McDermott was ruled out before the game with left calf tightness.
Kings: F Keegan Murray didn’t play because of back soreness The rookie from Iowa left Tuesday against the Nets in the first half with the same injury. … Richaun Holmes didn’t play because of a non-COVID illness... Sacramento have scored over 120 points every game during the five-game win streak.
UP NEXT
Spurs: At Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.
Kings: Host Detroit on Sunday night.
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Cameron Salerno, The Associated Press
