De’Aaron Fox of the Kings broke his finger

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox He has a fractured index finger on his left hand for shooting purposes, league sources said. the athletic on Monday. Here’s what you need to know:

• The injury is believed to have occurred in the fourth quarter of Game 4 against the Warriors on Sunday.
• Fox is expected to be listed as doubtful for Wednesday’s Game 5 in Sacramento. The series is 2-2 with each team winning both of their home games.
• Fox, who has become the star of the high-profile playoff series, had 38 points, nine rebounds and five assists on Sunday.

the athleticInstant analysis of:

Could Sacramento do without Fox?

If the Kings couldn’t get wins in these last two games with Fox playing at this level, then it’s hard to imagine them surviving Game 5 without him entirely. He’s averaging 31.5 points (tied for fourth with Memphis). I dwell among playoff scorers), seven assists, six rebounds and 2.5 steals in this series. Even more impressive, he’s matching an all-time great in steph curry when it comes to the grassroots battle that has been front and center in this matchup.

During the regular season, the Kings went 4-5 in games played without Fox. And for just as impressive as a second-year guard mitchell davion has been against the Warriors, the prospect of him starting alongside the fighters kevin huerter in Sacramento’s backyard is less than ideal, to say the least. — amick

Will Fox try?

We’ll spend the next two days waiting for an answer to that question, but a Kings source framed it this way: There’s internal optimism that Fox will try to play, but doctors are still in the process of determining what’s possible. or what that might look like. The fact that he’s in his shooting hand is obviously a big factor here.

As highlighted by our Anthony Slater, Fox appears to have suffered the injury with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter when he went hands-off with Warriors big man Kevon Looney on a left-side layup. From then on, he hit this tough midrange pull-uptwo free throws and triple with 28.7 seconds to go that drew the Kings within one. Then again, Fox’s ability to perform in the moment while his Game 4 adrenaline was still pumping is entirely different than the notion that he played through the injury three days later. — amick

background

Despite the Kings’ 126-125 loss in Game 4, Fox became the first Kings/Royals player with at least 35 points, five rebounds and five assists in a playoff game since team member Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson did it in 1966. Hall of Famer Jerry Lucas (1965) is the only other player in team playoff history to do so.

Plus, with his pair of 38-point outings in the first-round series, Fox joined Robertson (8), Peja Stojaković (3) and Mike Bibby (2) as the only players in Kings/Royals history with multiple 35-point playoffs. games.

Going into Monday, Fox’s 20 clutch time points lead all nba players (Curry is second with 12). Fox was named the 2023 NBA Clutch Player of the Year last week.

Game 5 begins at 10 pm ET on Wednesday.

required reading

(Photo: Kelley L. Cox/USA Today)