That’s just what he does.
That phrase — or a similar variation of it — was repeated and echoed by several Kings players describing their teammate DeMar DeRozan after he led Sacramento to a thrilling 123-117 comeback victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center.
Throughout his 16-year NBA career, DeRozan has been recognized for his fourth-quarter and clutch-time surges. But he didn’t wait for the final frame to come alive for his team Wednesday night — he couldn’t.
“It’s kind of a feel,” DeRozan said postgame. “Understanding in those moments what we need. I just try to go out there, be aggressive, just try to get us going and give ourselves an opportunity.
“I know we were down at halftime. We knew we didn’t play our best basketball, so I just tried to take it upon me to be aggressive. And with that came the buckets.”
Golden State led Sacramento 65-48 at the half after going on a 3-point frenzy to open the game. The Kings looked depleted, and the Warriors looked like a team ready to bounce back from a 40-point embarrassment two nights prior.
It sparked the overbearing amount of Warriors fans in Sacramento to outshine Kings fans in their building.
But not for long.
DeRozan, who had eight points entering the second half, added 19 third-quarter points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the field, including 1 of 1 from beyond the arc, and adding four free throws.
“He got it rolling for us,” Kings forward Keegan Murry said postgame. “We were struggling on offense, staggering on offense a little bit, That’s kind of just what he does. That’s what he’s done his whole career. So he’s helped us a lot in that department.”
DeRozan finished with a game-high 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field and 3 of 6 from long range, adding five rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots in 39 minutes. He was a game-best plus-26 in plus/minus rating. The next best plus/minus rating was Domantas Sabonis’ plus-11.
The 35-year-old is now averaging 27.4 points over the last seven games.
DeRozan explained his sense of urgency to utilize his clutch abilities a bit earlier than normal.
“Come the second half of games, I kind of get a feel of how [the opponent is] guarding things, what to look for, where to get my shot, where I could be aggressive, who I could attack,” he explained. “Little things like that. usually, I kind of wait until the fourth quarter for those moments. But we needed it in that third quarter.”
With DeRozan’s rejuvenated second half came the cowbells and life back into the rest of the Golden 1 Center crowd, as fans from both teams began to take turns chanting “Sac-ra-mento” and “Let’s go Warriors!”
Murray said postgame the environment reminded him of Sacrmaento’s first-round playoff series with Golden State during his rookie year two seasons ago. DeRozan, a newbie to the neighborly feud but a competitor from Day 1, weighed in on the budding NorCal rivalry.
“I love it,” DeRozan said. “You want to be a part of any type of hostile environment that brings the energy that you felt tonight. It’s amazing. That’s what sports is all about. As a competitor, you want to be in those moments because it brings the best out of you.”
On a night when Kings star point guard and DeRozan’s partner-in-clutch-crime De’Aaron Fox struggled offensively, shooting just 2 of 11 from the field and missing all three of his 3-point attempts, the six-time NBA All-Star held things down for Sacramento to secure their 10th win in 11 games.
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