Almost 17 years in the making.
De’Aaron Fox lived up to the golden and historic moment on Saturday night, appearing in his playoff debut with a blast as he led the surging Sacramento Kings in a thrilling 126-123 Game 1 win against the Golden State Warriors.
It took a while as Sacramento’s weekend win marked the first time they’ve tallied a postseason home victory since Apr. 30, 2006, and Fox’s 38-point performance electrified the entire GoldenOne Arena in their first-round opener against the defending champions.
Right at postgame, the star point man gave credit to the loyal Sac-town fanbase for sticking with them through the good and bad times.
“Sacramento showed out tonight,” Fox said, per Associated Press. “But doing this for the fans, just knowing the way that they support this team through thick and thin – really thin. It’s just a testament to the way they are.”
Fox didn’t shy away from the big-time game in front of the testing Warriors squad. Casting his shifty demeanor and overwhelming poise, he blazed in crunch time and went off for 29 of his total points right in the second half. He capped off the night registering the second-highest scoring performance of a player in his playoff debut, trailing Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic’s 42 against the L.A. Clippers back in the 2020 Playoff Bubble.
Albeit inexperienced and facing a dynastic Golden State team that won four titles in an eight-year span, the Kings showed why they belong in this league as serious contenders. Malik Monk, who also just appeared in his postseason debut, came up big off the bench to lend Fox a helping hand with his sparkling 32 markers.
Meanwhile, Trey Lyles was also huge with 16 points and six boards while hitting timely three-pointers. Despite struggling, Domantas Sabonis still posted a solid 12-point, 16-board double-double and Harrison Barnes produced 13 markers.
The Kings’ high-octane offense was supplied by their die-hard, jam-packed crowd who serenaded their home squad throughout the match and went on to unleash a roaring “Light the Beam!” chants in the aftermath of the grinding win.
“It was incredible all night,” Barnes said. “When guys ran out for layup lines with how loud it got in there and I think everyone got chills.”
Upon drawing first blood, Sacramento will look to capitalize on their homecourt advantage against Golden State in Game 2 this Monday.
