NBA Top Five Performances, Feb. 8: De’Aaron Fox’s Clutch Fourth Quarter Closed Out a Wild Victory for the Sacramento Kings

TOP PLAYERS OF THE DAY

The Rockets looked like they were finally going to snap their three-game losing streak behind a 41-point performance by Jalen Green.

De’Aaron Fox had other plans, finishing the night with 31 points, 11 assists and five rebounds. His 13-point fourth quarter helped the Kings overcome a late deficit. Down by five with under a minute left, Fox had a steal and score to cut the lead to three. He then made a jump shot to cut it to one with 42 seconds left. With just under two seconds in the game, Fox drew contact from Eric Gordon to hit three free throws, giving Sacramento the improbable win. Fox scored the Kings’ last seven points, all in the span of one minute.

“He’s an All-Star,” Kings coach Mike Brown said about Fox. “He’s one of our best players. He’s got to be able to make plays for us when we need him to, especially on the road, and that’s what he did. He made some huge plays for us down the stretch.”

OTHERS

- Wizards center Kristaps Porzingis continued his star-caliber season with 36 points and nine rebounds against the Charlotte Hornets.

- Raptors forward Pascal Siakam had a 37-point performance to help Toronto get a comfortable victory against the San Antonio Spurs.

- Damian Lillard’s triple-double helped the Trail Blazers past the Golden State Warriors. Lillard ended the night with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

- Anthony Edwards had another 30-point performance in the Timberwolves’ blowout victory against the Utah Jazz.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.

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