Doug Christie's strong Kings declaration after second win since Mike Brown's firing

01/02/2025 08:11 AM

Sacramento Kings interim head coach Doug Christie guided his team to its second win since the organization relieved former coach Mike Brown of his duties last week. De’Aaron Fox scored 14 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 113-107. After trailing by nine points (103-94) with under five minutes left, the Kings closed out their win on a 15-0 run before Christie issued a strong take about his team’s effort.

The former assistant coach discussed the mindset his team put forth for his team to win two against the Dallas Mavericks and Sixers, per SacTown1140’s Branden Nunes.

“Super proud of our guys. That is the type of fight that we expect on a night-to-night basis,” Christie said.

Fox’s game-high 35 points led five Kings players in double figures, including Malik Monk (20), DeMar DeRozan (18), and Domantas Sabonis’ impressive near triple-double (17 points, 21 rebounds, seven assists). The Kings out-rebounded the 76ers, 45-34, and drained 22-of-24 free throws.

Perhaps the sudden shakeup has forced the Kings to focus on their late-game execution. Christie’s comments allude to the effort it takes to close out a win, especially when Sacramento faced a nine-point deficit. In the final three minutes of the final frame, Christie challenged Fox and Sabonis to take the lead before a ripple effect occurred, per ABC10’s Matt George.

– Doug Christie calls Fox & Sabonis over for a chat and challenges them to lead.
– Kings force shot clock violation.
– DeRozan steals ball from Maxey and ties game.
– Fox clamps Maxey, and Monk takes the lead.
– Doug Christie fires up team coming out a timeout up 2 with 33 seconds left.
– Monk steals ball from Paul George, who then fouls out.
– Monk hits clutch free throws.
– DeRozan steals inbound. 76ers don’t even get chance at 4-point play to tie.
– Kings end the game on a 15-0 run & Light the Beam.

Amid Christie replacing Mike Brown on an interim basis, Fox and the Kings are off to a good start in Sacramento.

De’Aaron Fox leads Kings to victory with feat not seen since 2008

De’Aaron Fox’s 35 points on 13-of-16 shooting marked the first time a Kings player scored 35+ points at a plus 80% clip in franchise history. Fox has scored 26+ points in four consecutive games for the Kings, entering the new calendar year averaging 26.8 points per game. He’s now fifth in the NBA in scoring and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

The Kings will look to go for their third consecutive win when they host the Grizzlies on Friday.

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