Fox, Kings send perfect message in thrilling win vs. Rockets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO – After the Kings’ thrilling 120-111 win over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night, De’Aaron Fox sat at his postgame press conference podium and essentially was asked the same question three different times.
The first time, he was asked about how he felt his team responded to the second-quarter skirmish with Dillon Brooks and other Rockets players.
“I think we responded well,” Fox said. “Like you said, people don’t usually do it to me – for good reason. I wasn’t spoken to after that, though. But as a team, we definitely responded well.”
Straightforward and to the point.
A few moments later, he was asked how fun that game was to him.
“Like I said, people don’t talk s–t to me all the time,” Fox responded. “So not much to say after that.”
Finally, Fox was asked once more about whether he enjoys those moments when tensions rise and he thrives.
Another short, blunt and potentially cryptic response ensued.
“You say something to me, come along for the ride,” Fox said.
That ride began late in the second quarter when Brooks, a self-proclaimed NBA villain, displayed his typical antics with Domantas Sabonis. The Kings star center was unbothered by it all, responding the only way he knew how – on the court with his play. A 5-foot hook shot to be exact.
Moments later, Fox was called for a personal foul on Jabari Smith Jr., and the two began to exchange words as other players from both teams got involved. After several minutes of back-and-forth, and players having to be separated and escorted back to their respective benches, Brooks, Smith Jr. and Malik Monk were assessed a technical foul.
After the chatter finally died down, the energy didn’t – at least for Sacramento.
The Kings responded with an 11-1 run to close the first half. Eight of those points came from Fox. He had 10 total since the heated altercation occurred at the 4:19 mark of the second.
“I thought our guys competed,” Kings coach Mike Brown said postgame. “When s–t got going and they got up in our face, or…
..
