National Basketball Association
Sacramento 102, Denver 98
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Officials: #54 Ray Acosta, #65 Nate Green, #16 David Guthrie
Attendance: 19617

De'Aaron Fox had 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Domantas Sabonis finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds and the visiting Sacramento Kings beat the Denver Nuggets 102-98 on Wednesday night.

Harrison Barnes also scored 20 points for Sacramento, which has won all three games against Denver this season.

Aaron Gordon had 25 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. finished with 19 points, Nikola Jokic added 15 points and Reggie Jackson contributed 12 points for the Nuggets. Denver has dropped three straight.

The Nuggets played without Jamal Murray (bilateral tibia inflammation) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (right hamstring tendinosis).

Denver led by seven early in the fourth, a Fox 3-pointer tied it at 82-82 with 6:59 to go and the teams then traded buckets from deep before Sabonis made a layup to give Sacramento an 87-85 lead with 4:56 left, the Kings' first advantage of the game.

Gordon hit four straight free throws to put Denver back in front, Fox missed a 3-pointer and Jackson beat the shot clock to make it 91-87.

Malik Monk and Jokic traded buckets to keep it a four-point game, but Barnes hit a corner 3-pointer to spark 11 straight points by the Kings to give them a 100-93 lead with 58.7 seconds left.

Gordon hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 102-98, and the Nuggets had three chances to get within one but missed a trio of 3-pointers on the same possession, and Sacramento held on.

Denver led by as many as 15 in the first half. The Kings used a 10-0 run to get within 35-30 but trailed 53-41 at halftime.

The Nuggets increased their lead to 16 early in the second half on a turnaround hook from Jokic, but Sacramento chipped away. Barnes and Kevin Huerter hit 3-pointers, Jokic and Denver coach Michael Malone were hit with technical fouls and Barnes hit both ensuing free throws to make it 67-60.

Peyton Watson drained one from deep to stretch the lead to 72-63, but the Kings used an 8-2 run to close the third and pull within 74-71 heading into the fourth.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Sacramento   Denver
De'Aaron Fox 30 Scoring Aaron Gordon 25
De'Aaron Fox 8 Assists Reggie Jackson 9
Domantas Sabonis 13 Rebounds Aaron Gordon 15
Harrison Barnes 5 Free Throws Made Aaron Gordon 8
Domantas Sabonis 3 Steals Collin Gillespie 2
Kevin Huerter 2 Blocks Zeke Nnaji 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Sacramento 102 43.8 9-33 15-19 21 48 5 7 15
Denver 98 39.3 9-26 19-22 27 45 5 6 12
Upcoming Games
  • Denver will play their next game at home against Washington. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .649 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Sacramento will play their next game at home against San Antonio. The Kings have a W/L % of .548 after a win and .609 after a loss.