Sacramento Kings star De'Aaron Fox had a playoffs debut to remember.
The Kings enjoyed a winning return in their first playoffs appearance since 2006 following a thrilling 126-123 Game 1 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.
Fox, in particular, stood out as he scored 38 points — tying the record tie for the second-highest scoring playoff debut.
Of his 38 points, 29 notably came in the second half as the Kings ended the third quarter strong before a back-and-forth run in the final quarter — that saw Fox bag seven shots in a row in the last four minutes — all but sealed the win.
The atmosphere at the Golden 1 Center was raucous and electric going into the game and it only further intensified after their Game 1 win with Fox lighting the beam to release 17 seasons of playoff frustration.
And Fox could only heap praise on the Kings fans for showing out in a big way.
“Sacramento showed out tonight,” Fox said after the game (via ESPN). “But doing this for the fans, just knowing the way that they support this team through thick and thin — really thin. It's just a testament to the way they are.”
The crowd was so loud that at one point in the game, Fox was unable to hear plays from head coach Mike Brown. But overall, the Kings certainly benefited from having home-court advantage against the defending champions.
“Our fans were off the charts,” Brown said. “It was deafening in there, extremely loud. So you have to take off your hat to them because they brought it.”
The Kings will be hoping for a repeat of Saturday night when Game 2 takes place in Sacramento on Monday.
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