LOS ANGELES — Malik Monk scored 45 points. NBA history on Friday.
Dec. 13, 1983 in a high-scoring NBA game when Detroit beat Denver 186-184 in triple overtime. The Kings are third with 176 points and the Clippers are fourth.
The Clippers took a 175-169 advantage with 1:57 left before the Kings scored the final seven points, including Fox’s jumper with 36.5 seconds left. The Clippers got the final shot, but Nicholas Badum missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Kings overcame a 14-point deficit late in the fourth quarter and a six-point deficit in two overtime periods.
The teams combined for 44 3-pointers, tied for the most in an NBA game.
“It was fun. The atmosphere was crazy,” Monk said. “Seeing all the Kings fans out here — it was loud. Even the Kings side, we stuck with it, man. We got down like 10 or 12 at one point in the fourth and came back. We just held our heads up and knew they were going to let us back in it.”
Kawhi Leonard scored 44 points for Los Angeles, and Paul George added 34 points.
Russell Westbrook made his Clippers debut after being cleared on Wednesday. He had 17 points, 14 assists and five rebounds in 39 minutes before going into the second overtime with 1:49 remaining. According to ESPN Stats and Information Research, 14 assists have been recorded since a player made his team debut.
“I thought he was great,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said. “Still learning the offense, still learning men’s basketball, running plays and things like that. I thought he did a good job.”
Los Angeles led 145-131 with 4:25 remaining before the Kings came back with a 22-8 run to force overtime. Monk forced the extra session with a 3-pointer from the corner with 1.1 seconds left.
Sacramento’s key spurt was 10 straight points to pull within 147-146 with 1:22 left.
The Clippers led 162-156 with 3:04 remaining in overtime before the Kings hit six straight. Monk hit a pair of free throws with 20.4 seconds left to tie the score again at 164. Los Angeles had a chance to win it, but Leonard couldn’t tip-in at the buzzer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
