Malik Monk scored 45 points off the bench and De’Aaron Fox added 42 points ad 12 assists as the visiting Sacramento Kings pulled off a 176-175 double-overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.
Both teams set franchise records for points in a game while producing the second-highest scoring game in NBA history. The Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime on Dec. 13, 1983.
The Kings prevailed in the marathon even though they were playing on the second night of a back-to-back while the Clippers had the previous seven days off.
Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis had 20 points and 10 rebounds despite committing his fifth foul in the third quarter and fouling out with 3:09 remaining in the first overtime.
Kawhi Leonard scored 44 points and Paul George added 34 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers. Russell Westbrook scored 17 points and dished out 14 assists in his debut with the team.
Westbrook, who signed with the Clippers following a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers and then a buyout from the Utah Jazz, became the first Clippers player to log double-digit assists in his team debut since Sam Cassell in 2005.
The Clippers scored a season-high 80 points in the first half and shot 60.2 percent from the field in the game. The Kings shot 58.6 percent from the floor on the night.
The Clippers appeared in control while up 147-136 with 3:18 remaining in regulation, but a 10-0 run by the Kings, fueled by four Los Angeles turnovers, cut the advantage to one point with 1:22 left. Westbrook put Los Angeles up 151-148 with 15.2 seconds remaining on a driving layup.
After a Fox layup for the Kings, George made two free throws with 8.5 seconds remaining for a 153-150 Clippers lead. Monk made a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
George had a chance to win the game at the buzzer of the first overtime, but his contested jumper hit off the rim, sending the game into the second extra period tied 164-164.
Fox put the Kings up for good with 36.5 seconds remaining in the second overtime on a 19-foot jumper. Leonard and Nicolas Batum each missed shots that would have given the Clippers the lead in the last 30 seconds. Batum’s off-target 3-point attempt came with 2.4 seconds remaining.
–Field Level Media