De’Aaron Fox bombed in a desperation 31-footer to beat the final horn of overtime as part of a 37-point performance, and the visiting Sacramento Kings survived a frantic finish Saturday night to outlast the Orlando Magic 126-123.
The Kings spoiled a season-best 33 points by Magic rookie Paolo Banchero.
The Kings seemed to be in good shape to win for a second time on their three-game Eastern swing when Malik Monk’s two free throws gave the visitors a 123-119 lead with just 14.1 seconds remaining in overtime.
But Jalen Suggs hit two foul shots of his own with still 11.7 seconds to play. When Chuma Okeke turned a Monk turnover into a dunk, all of a sudden the score was tied at 123-all with just 2.5 seconds left.
The Kings then rushed the ball to Fox, who barely got past half court before rising and drilling his game-winner.
Fox had forced overtime with a short jumper to tie the game with 25.4 seconds left in regulation.
The Magic had the final two shots of regulation, but Franz Wagner misfired on a 3-pointer and, after grabbing the offensive rebound, Suggs couldn’t connect on a buzzer-beating 3, prompting the extra five minutes in a 106-all tie.
Down by as many as 20 in the third quarter, the Kings went up 92-82 when Monk nailed a 3-pointer with 9:55 to go. But Banchero and Bol Bol did all the scoring in a 12-0 Magic flurry that helped them regain a 94-92 lead with 6:09 left and set up the tight finish.
The late tension belied a dramatically uneven first three quarters. The Magic ran off to a 65-47 halftime advantage before the Kings used 14-2 and 16-4 flurries in the third period to reverse things and go up 83-77.
Domantas Sabonis backed Fox in the scoring column with 25 points as part of a double-double with a team-high 11 rebounds. He also found time for a team-high six assists.
Monk and Trey Lyles added 15 points apiece for the Kings, who outscored the Magic 45-12 on 3-pointers.
Banchero complemented his 33 points with a season-high 16 rebounds, while Wagner finished with 31 points, Bol 23 and Wendell Carter Jr. 17.
–Field Level Media
