The Sacramento Kings and Clippers are both deep in the Western Conference race, and when they met in Los Angeles on Friday night, no one was expecting such a high-scoring affair.
The result was a 176-175 double overtime win for Sacramento, third in the Western Conference rankings. The total of 351 was the second-highest in NBA history.
Malik Monk had a career-high 45 points, De’Aaron Fox had 42 points, 12 assists and five steals, while Kawhi Leonard had 44 points in a loss for Los Angeles.
The Kings came back from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, overcoming a six-point deficit in both overtime periods.
What is the NBA record for combined points?
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The Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime on December 13, 1983, for a combined record 370 points.
Ole’ defense
Friday’s game was the first in Kings history when two teammates scored 40 or more points. It’s only happened once more this season when the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Caris LeVert and Donovan Mitchell pulled off the feat against Boston.
There were 44 3-pointers in Friday’s game in 86 attempts. In the 1983 game, there were only four attempts with two marks. Nuggets reserve Richard Anderson made a 3-pointer and Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas made the other, finishing with 47 points. Kiki Vandeweghe led the Nuggets with 51.
In a layup line for Friday’s game, the Kings shot 59% while the Clippers hit 60% of their shots.
It was a tie after the first quarter and Los Angeles led 80-76 at halftime. The score was 153 after regulation and 164 after the first overtime.
Russell Westbrook’s Clippers debut
The nine-time All-Star made his Clippers debut on Friday after transferring from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Utah Jazz. The Jazz bought out his contract, allowing Westbrook to join the Clippers.
Westbrook played 39 minutes and had 17 points with 14 assists.
You said so
“From a fan’s perspective, I can see how fun it would have been to watch this game,” said Kings head coach Mike Brown. “There was incredible shooting performance and great defense. There was high caliber talent on display. Kudos to the players.”
“We just had to grind this game. We stayed on the second night of a back to back but it is what it is. We have a younger team than them,” Fox said.
