Fox sparks 2nd-half rally, Kings beat Bulls 108-89

De'Aaron Fox scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half, and the Sacramento Kings rallied to beat the Chicago Bulls 108-89 on Monday night.

Fox went 8 for 11 from the field after missing each of his first five shots in the first half. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Marvin Bagley III added 16 points apiece as Sacramento closed out a 3-1 road trip.

Chicago led by as many as 14 in its ninth loss in 10 games. The Bulls were coming off a franchise-record 133-77 loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday.

Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley III (35) goes to the basket as Chicago Bulls forward Jabari Parker, left, defends him during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in Chicago. The Kings won 108-89. (AP PhotoDavid Banks)

Zach LaVine led Chicago with 19 points, and Lauri Markkanen had 13.

After falling behind 17-0 on Saturday, the Bulls got off to a better start in this one. They led 33-26 at the end of the first quarter and 56-45 at halftime.

Chicago had a 66-57 lead in the third before Sacramento closed the quarter with a 24-8 run.

The speedy Fox sparked the offense with 15 points during the key stretch, but the Kings also picked up the pressure on defense. The Bulls shot 22 for 41 (53.7 percent) from the field in the first half, but were just 6 for 16 (37.5 percent) in the third.

Sacramento kept up the intensity in the fourth and Chicago never made a serious push.

TIP-INS

Kings: Buddy Hield and Iman Shumpert each scored 14 points. Willie Cauley-Stein had 11 points and 16 rebounds. ... Sacramento improved to 14-12. It's the latest point in a season it has been above .500 since the 2005-06 season. The Kings finished 44-38 that year in their most recent playoff appearance.

Bulls: G Kris Dunn (sprained left knee) and F Bobby Portis (sprained right knee) returned to the lineup after sitting out nearly seven weeks. Dunn finished with nine points in 20 minutes, and Portis had nine points in 19 minutes. ... G Justin Holiday went 1 for 6 on 3-pointers. He has made at least one 3 in 39 consecutive games dating to last season. He's the only NBA player with at least one 3 in every game this season.

TIPPING POINT

Less than a week into his tenure, Bulls coach Jim Boylen faced a crisis over the weekend. Following the loss to the Celtics, Boylen planned to practice on Sunday even though the Bulls had played back-to-back games.

Some players reportedly discussed not showing up. Instead of a practice session, a lengthy team meeting was held.

Before Monday's game, Boylen said everything was fine and he would continue to push hard.

"I expected something like yesterday to happen," he said. "I've been waiting on it, I was prepared for it, I took it head on."

UP NEXT

Kings: Host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

Bulls: Play the Orlando Magic in Mexico City on Thursday night to begin a three-game trip.

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero had 31 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Suggs added 24 points and the Orlando Magic handed Cleveland the worst playoff loss in franchise history, winning 121-83 on Thursday night to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 2-1 in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Franz Wagner finished with 16 points and eight assists for the Magic, who led by 43 points in the fourth quarter on the way to the third-largest margin of victory in a playoff game. They earned their first playoff victory since 2019 and the first on their home floor since April 26, 2011.

They can even the series with a victory at home Sunday.

Jarrett Allen had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who shot 39% from the field and 23.5% from 3-point range. Caris LeVert added 15 points and Donovan Mitchell had 13 points and seven assists.

76ERS 125, KNICKS 114

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 50 points, making all four 3-point attempts and scoring 18 in a potential series-shifting third quarter to lead Philadelphia to a win over New York in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Embiid boldly stated “we’re going to win this series” after the 76ers dropped Game 2.

With one of the finest postseason efforts of his career, Embiid became the third player to ever score 50 points against the Knicks in the postseason and kept the hope of a Philadelphia series comeback very much alive.

The Knicks lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia.

Embiid was 13 of 19 from the floor overall, made 19 of 21 free throws and hit five 3-pointers.

NUGGETS 112, LAKERS 105

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aaron Gordon had 29 points and 15 rebounds, Nikola Jokic added 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, and Denver moved to the brink of the second round with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of their first-round series..

Jamal Murray scored 22 points as the defending NBA champion Nuggets won their 11th consecutive meeting with LeBron James and the Lakers in dominating style.

Michael Porter Jr. added 20 points for Denver, which took control in the third quarter and cruised through the final minutes to its fifth straight road win over Los Angeles, starting with its sweep of last season’s Western Conference finals.

Game 4 is Saturday night in Los Angeles. No NBA team has ever rallied from an 0-3 playoff deficit.

Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony (50) makes a shot as he gets past Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) during the second half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)