Sacramento Kings star DeMar DeRozan reveled in a memorable moment when he achieved another extraordinary feat in the city where his NBA career began.
DeRozan passed Dominique Wilkins for 17th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list while helping the Kings conclude a five-game road trip with a 123-115 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.
“We’re over there and Woody (assistant coach Mike Woodson) looks at me and goes, ‘Man, he just passed Dominque Wilkins,’” Kings coach Doug Christie said. “I said, ‘Well, if you pass Dominique Wilkins on the freeway or in line at the grocery store you’re doing something.’
“He just continues to move up the ladder. Super proud of and for him. It couldn’t happen to a better person and a better pro. He’s a pro’s pro and to watch him have this type of success is exciting for all of us.”
The Raptors cut a 12-point deficit to two with less than two minutes remaining, but DeRozan made a reverse layup and a clutch 3-pointer to help the Kings hold on for the win. Winning games at this stage could hurt Sacramento’s chances of securing one of the top picks in June’s NBA draft, but Christie and his players were happy to get a win on a night on a special night for DeRozan.
Precious Achiuwa posted a monster double-double with 28 points and 19 rebounds for the Kings (20-57), who had lost four in a row and six of their last seven. DeRozan had 26 of his 28 points in the second half, scoring 12 in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth.
Malik Monk came off the bench to score 18 points. Devin Carter had 13 points and Daeqwon Plowden added 11.
RJ Barrett and Collin Murray-Boyles scored 20 points apiece for the Raptors (42-34), who are fighting for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. Jakob Poeltl scored 18 points, Sandro Mamukelashvili had 17 and Jamal Shead had 16.
DeRozan, 36, spent the first nine years of his career in Toronto after the Raptors selected him out of USC with the ninth pick in the 2009 NBA draft. The 17-year veteran went into the game with 26,660 points, needing just nine points to surpass Wilkins.
DeRozan went 0 of 8 from the field in the first half. His only points of the half came on a pair of free throws with 4:20 to play in the second period.
The Kings led 27-22 at the end of the first quarter and 61-56 at the halftime break thanks to a huge first half from Achiuwa, who had 18 points and 15 rebounds in 20 minutes. Sacramento amassed a 31-18 rebounding advantage with 14 offensive rebounds while outscoring Toronto 20-4 on second-chance points.
DeRozan made five more free throws early in the third quarter to help the Kings maintain a slight lead. He passed Wilkins on the career scoring list when he hit a 3-pointer on an assist from Carter to put Sacramento up 74-67 with 7:43 to play in the third period.
The Kings went up by 11 in the third and led 90-81 going into the fourth. They went up by as many as 12 when Monk made a 3-pointer with 7:10 to play. The Raptors responded with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to three with 5:25 remaining.
Toronto got within two on a basket by Scottie Barnes with 1:40 to go, but the Kings withstood the charge after getting big baskets from DeRozan and Achiuwa.
Up next
The Kings will play their first home game since March 22 when they play host to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday at Golden 1 Center.
The Pelicans (25-51) have lost five in a row going into Thursday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. They will be coming to Sacramento on the second night of a back-to-back.
Related Stories from Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Bee
Jason Anderson is The Sacramento Bee’s Kings beat writer. He is a Sacramento native and a graduate of Fresno State, where he studied journalism and college basketball under the late Jerry Tarkanian.