There were a few moments on Friday night when Sacramento head coach Mike Brown wished he could have been a part of the second-highest scoring game in NBA history.
Brown and his kings, though, got to savor something that’s more important in the long run – a hard-fought victory.
Malik Monk scored a career-high 45 points, De’Aaron Fox had the go-ahead and finished with 42 as Sacramento outlasted the Los Angeles Clippers 176-175 in double overtime.
It is only the second time in the NBA’s 76-year history that both teams have scored at least 170 points. Detroit beat Denver 186-184 in triple overtime on December 13, 1983, in what remains the highest scoring game in the NBA.
The Kings are third on the scoring list with 176 points and the Clippers are fourth. One team scored 170 points in a regular season game just seven times.
“From a fan perspective, I can see how this game would have been a lot of fun to watch,” said Brown. “There was an unbelievable take and great save. There was top-notch talent that was on display. Congratulations to the players.
Sacramento and Los Angeles also combined for 44 three-pointers, the most tied in a game in NBA history.
Both teams also shot at least 58% from the field and shot 80% or more from the foul line.
“I thought it was a great game. Lots of momentum changes,” said Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue.
The Clippers held a 175-169 lead with 1:57 left before the Kings scored the final seven points, including Fox’s jumper with 36.5 seconds left. The Clippers had the final chance, but Nico Batum missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.
The Kings also overcame a 14-point deficit late in the fourth quarter and six-point deficits in both overtime periods.
“We just stick with it. We lost 12 at one point but just kept our heads up. We knew they would let us go back,” Monk said.
It was the first time in franchise history that the Kings had two players score at least 40 points in a game. It’s the second time this has happened in an NBA game this season, after Cleveland’s Caris LeVert and Donovan Mitchell did it against Boston.
Fox – who also had 12 assists and five steals – is just the 12th player since 1973-74 to score 40 points, 10 assists and five steals in a game. The last to do so was James Harden in 2019.
“We just had to grind this game. We were on the second night in a row, but it is what it is. We have a younger team than them,” said Fox.
Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 44 points for Los Angeles and Paul George added 34. Leonard had 21 points in the third quarter, which tied his career high for points scored in a quarter.
“I thought he did a great job getting to the point with the three-pointers and attacking the basket,” Lue said of Leonard.
Russell Westbrook started and made his Clippers debut after releasing waivers on Wednesday. He had 17 points, 14 assists and five rebounds in 39 minutes before being fouled with 1:49 left in the second overtime period.