Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter led a first-half barrage of 3-pointers, De’Aaron Fox scored a team-high 29 points and the Sacramento Kings held the visiting Milwaukee Bucks at arm’s length throughout the final two periods en route to a 129-94 triumph Tuesday night.
Malik Monk chipped in 25 points and Domantas Sabonis 22 for the Kings, who led by 22 in the second period en route to their third win in the last four games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 30 points and added a game-high 13 rebounds for the Bucks, who completed a 1-3 tour of California with their second 35-point loss in seven days.
Barnes and Huerter each hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and Monk went 2-for-4 during a 75-point, first-half explosion that produced a 75-56 lead at the break. Fox had 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting and Sabonis passed off seven of his eight assists during the uprising.
Sacramento shot 66 percent in the half, going 10-for-18 on 3-pointers. Antetokounmpo countered with 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting, but his teammates combined to shoot 10-for-32 overall and 3-for-15 from deep over the first 24 minutes. Lillard had just four points, missing six of his seven shots.
The Bucks, who had put up 143 points in an overtime win at home over Sacramento in January, never made a serious run at the hosts over the final 24 minutes. They finished the night 7-for-39 on 3-pointers in producing their second-lowest point total of the season to last week’s 125-90 loss at Golden State.
Barnes and Fox wound up with four 3-pointers apiece while Huerter and Monk had three each for the Kings, who outscored the visitors 54-21 from beyond the arc on 45 percent shooting (18-for-40).
Sabonis had a team-high 11 rebounds but missed his 23rd triple-double by two assists.
Fox dominated his head-to-head with longtime rival Lillard, outscoring him 29-10 while running up seven assists, six rebounds and two steals. Lillard tallied six assists, five rebounds and one steal.
Barnes wound up with 16 points and Huerter 11 for the Kings, who shot 53.3 percent.
Antetokounmpo’s game-high point total featured 10-for-14 success at the free-throw line. Half of Lillard’s point total came at the line, where he went 5-for-6.
Bobby Portis had 11 points and seven rebounds off the Milwaukee bench, while Malik Beasley also notched 11 points.
–Field Level Media