De'Aaron Fox becomes latest NBA player to score 60 points in a loss, as Kings fall short vs. Timberwolves

The Sacramento Kings had every reason to roll over after three quarters against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. They trailed by 16 at the start of the fourth. They were playing without key scorers DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk. On an ordinary night, the Timberwolves likely cruise to a comfortable victory.

But Friday was no ordinary night. In their NBA Cup debut, the Kings rallied all the way back thanks to a 14-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter led by All-Star point guard De'Aaron Fox. With no DeRozan or Monk, the offense rested largely in his hands, and he delivered with the first 60-point game of the 2024-25 NBA season. That included a 20-point outburst in the fourth quarter from the former Clutch Player of the Year to help get the game to overtime.

60 POINTS FOR DE'AARON FOX.

Career-high.
Franchise record.
Most in the NBA this season.

He dropped 26 in the 4Q and OT as the Kings lose a THRILLER to Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/imQwLdh0jc

Despite Fox's franchise-record scoring output, however, the Kings fell, 130-126, in overtime. A defeat in a 60-point performance might seem rare from a logical perspective, but they have actually become quite common. In all of NBA history, only 25 teams have lost a game in which one of their players scored 60 points. However, five of those games have now come in the calendar year of 2024 alone. Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Stephen Curry and Jalen Brunson all lost such games between January and March of 2024. Brunson and Curry also did so in overtime. 

So what's at the center of this trend? Well, simply, there are more 60-point games now than ever. In all of NBA history, there have been just 90 of them -- nearly half belonging to Wilt Chamberlain. However, between his final 60-point game in 1969 and the rest of the 20th century, there were only 13 more 60-point games. In the next decade, there were nine. But from 2014 through 2024, there have now been 30. If more players are scoring 60, there are more opportunities for their teams to lose the games in which they've done so. It hasn't helped that just like Fox, both Towns (Mike Conley) and Brunson (Julius Randle and OG Anunoby) were missing key teammates in their 60-point defeats.

Still, the loss stings because the Kings built this season hoping to avoid exactly this scenario. Fox was the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year in 2023, but Sacramento struggled late in close games last season. Re-signing Monk and adding DeRozan was an effort to correct that issue. It's still early in the season, but the Kings are now 3-4 overall in the clutch. That's a tiny sample that isn't especially meaningful, particularly since Fox had to carry the load by himself on Friday night. Sadly, his heroic scoring efforts weren't enough to overcome the Timberwolves, and the Kings have fallen to 7-6 on the season.