Clippers, Kings had hot hands on Friday night

We just couldn’t let this stuff go …

There were a couple moments Friday night when Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown wishes he could have enjoyed being a part of the second-highest scoring game in NBA history, writes Joe Reedy of The Associated Press.

Brown and his Kings though were able to savor something that is more important in the long run — a hard-fought victory.

Malik Monk scored a careerhigh 45 points, De’aaron Fox had the go-ahead basket and finished with 42 and Sacramento outlasted the Los Angeles Clippers 176-175 in double overtime.

It is only the second time in the NBA’S 76-year history that both teams have scored at least 170 points. Detroit beat Denver 186-184 in triple overtime on Dec. 13, 1983, in what remains the highest-scoring NBA game.

The Kings are now third on the scoring list with the 176 points and the Clippers fourth. A team has scored 170 points in a regular-season game only seven times.

“From a fan’s standpoint, I can see how this game would have been a lot of fun to watch,” Brown said. “There was unbelievable shot making and great defense. There was high-level talent that was on display. Kudos to the players.

Sacramento and Los Angeles also combined for 44 3-pointers, tied for the most in a game in NBA history.

Both teams also shot at least 58 percent from the field and were 80 percent or better from the foul line.

“I thought it was a great game. A lot of momentum shifts,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.

The Clippers had a 175-169 advantage with 1:57 remaining before the Kings scored the final seven points, including Fox’s jumper with 36.5 seconds remaining. The Clippers had the final shot, but Nicolas Batum missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Kings also overcame a 14-point deficit late in the fourth quarter and six-point deficits in both overtime periods.

“We just stuck with it. We got down 12 at one point but just had our heads up. We knew they were going to let us back in,” said Monk, pictured shooting.

It was the first time in franchise history the Kings have had two players score at least 40 points in a game. It is the second time it has happened in an NBA game this season after Cleveland’s Caris Levert and Donovan Mitchell did it against Boston.

Fox — who also had 12 assists and five steals — is just the 12th player since 1973-74 with 40 points, 10 assists and five steals in a game. The last to do it was James Harden in 2019. Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 44 points for Los Angeles and Paul George added 34. Leonard had 21 points in the third quarter, which tied his career high for points scored in a quarter.

Trivia question

Who was the leading scorer in the Detroit-denver game in 1983?

He said it

From Fox: “We just had to grind this game out. We were on the second night of a back-toback but it is what it is. We have a younger team than them.”

Trivia answer

Denver’s Kiki Vandeweghe had 51 points and teammate Alex English had 47. Isiah Thomas had 47 and John Long 41 for Detroit. The Pistons shot 54.4 percent from the field, while the Nuggets shot 59.1