SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — When De'Aaron Fox saw that he had 48 points in the fourth quarter in Friday’s 130-126 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, teammate Malik Monk told him, “You might as well go get 60.”
The Kings’ guard had 26 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to finish with a franchise-record 60 points, besting Jack Twyman’s 59 points in 1960 and DeMarcus Cousins’ 56-point performance in 2016, which was the most since the franchise moved to Sacramento in 1985.
“I knew I was nice already, so I wouldn’t really say so,” Fox said when asked if he learned anything about himself.
Fox shot 22 of 35 from the field, made 6 of 10 from distance and was 10 of 11 on free throws. He had 21 points at halftime and willed the Kings back from a 20-point second-half deficit as he spurred a 14-0 run to start the fourth quarter.
“I wanted this game to end in the fourth quarter, so I don’t even want to have the opportunity to (get 60 points), but my teammates wanted me to keep going, obviously,” Fox said.
Kings coach Mike Brown said that Fox took it upon himself with Monk and DeMar DeRozan both injured.
“He knew we needed help and he put us on his back, and he almost carried us to the finish line,” Brown said. “He did everything in his power, and it was a spectacular performance by him.”
Fox had the first 60-point game in the NBA this season. Keegan Murray said that it was a little difficult to balance between getting Fox the ball and running the team’s offense, but he thought the Kings “did a solid job of figuring out how to play when he was hot today.”
“When he’s aggressive all the time, he’s extremely tough to stop,” Murray said. “I think that was just a representation of him being aggressive the entire game. And that’s what he’s capable of.”
Fox went shot-for-shot with the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards down the stretch, with Edwards’ 36 points leading Minnesota to a resilient win.
“I’ve always felt like he was underrated, underappreciated by everybody,” Edwards said on the Timberwolves television broadcast. “And he showed us today who he is. To me, he’s one of the best point guards in the league, and he showed it.”
“That’s what you love about the game, the best two players on the floor going at each other, so that was fun.”
Fox, who has only made one All-Star team despite averaging over 21 points per game in eight seasons, said he still relishes in his performance even in a loss.
“Obviously, at the end of the day, that type of performance, that type of accomplishment, is nothing to just breathe over and let go,” Fox said. “It’s definitely cool.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (5) makes a jump shot over Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (9) during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edward, left, talks with Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox after an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox calls out plays to his team during a free throw shot during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2 a.m. local time Saturday in the capital, Caracas.
The Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.
People in various neighborhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.
“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party. “We felt like the air was hitting us.”
Venezuela’s government, in the statement, called on its supporters to take to the streets.
“People to the streets!” the statement said. “The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”
The statement added that President Nicolás Maduro had “ordered all national defense plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance.”
This comes as the U.S. military has been targeting, in recent days, alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the U.S. to combat drug trafficking.
Maduro also said in a pretaped interview aired Thursday that the U.S. wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.
Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the U.S. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes on boats in September.
U.S. President Donald Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. The U.S. has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.
The U.S. military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.
They followed a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.
Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. and asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.
Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported on the explosions in Caracas on Saturday, showing images of the Venezuelan capital. Iran has been close to Venezuela for years, in part due to their shared enmity of the U.S.
Pedestrians walk past the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Residents evacuate a building near the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
