Domantas Sabonis made a driving dunk with 7.7 seconds left, and the Sacramento Kings beat the San Antonio Spurs 131-129.
The Spurs had the ball in a tie game with 23 seconds left, but Sabonis stole the ball from Malaki Branham. A basket would have put the Spurs ahead. They had the ball down 2 after a timeout, but Jeremy Sochan missed a 9-foot fadeaway at the buzzer that would have tied it.
During clutch time, the Kings outscored the Spurs 15-11. De'Aaron Fox (Clutch Player of the Year, 2022-23) scored 6 of the Kings’ 15 on 3 for 6 shooting.
Fox had 33 points and 3 steals, and Sabonis added 31 points, 17 rebounds and 9 assists on 14 for 19 shooting. Fox scored 17 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter. The Kings had 2 30-point scorers. Sabonis and Malik Monk set each other up for 7 baskets and 14 points.
For the Spurs, Devin Vassell had 30 points and 9 assists, and Branham added a season-high 23 points with 5 3-pointers off the bench. Keldon Johnson scored 22 points (10 in the fourth quarter) off the bench. Zach Collins scored 22 points (12 in the paint). The Spurs had 4 20-point scorers.
The Spurs gave up 14 offensive rebounds, about 4 more than usual for the shots the Kings missed. The Kings outscored the Spurs 76-52 in the paint. The Kings’ starters were outscored 35-23 in 12 minutes together. Fox fouled out.