SACRAMENTO, Calif. — De’Aaron Fox finished off a dazzling playoff debut that was years in the making and had one more task to do.
With the home crowd counting down following an exhilarating return to the postseason, Fox pressed the button and lit the ceremonial beam, letting out 17 seasons of frustration for Sacramento.
“Sacramento showed out tonight,” Fox said. “But doing this for the fans, just knowing the way that they support this team through thick and thin — really thin. It’s just a testament to the way they are.”
Fox was the biggest reason why, scoring 38 points to tie for the second highest playoff debut in NBA history to lead the Kings to a 126-123 victory over the defending-champion Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.
Fox scored 29 points in the second half after taking time to adjust to the playoff physicality and hit the 3-pointer that gave Sacramento the lead for good late in the fourth quarter.
Fox took until his sixth season to reach the postseason stage but announced himself as a star as only Luka Doncic scored more points in a playoff debut with 42 against Dallas three years ago.
“You need guys like that on your side because they know everything that we’re throwing at them,” coach Mike Brown said. “There’s no secrets. You have to have guys on your team that can go make plays and Foxy went and made plays tonight.”
The first playoff meeting between the Northern California neighbors lived up to the hype and delighted the raucous crowd that had been waiting for a playoff game since 2006.
The inexperienced Kings closed the game strong against a Warriors team that won four titles in the previous eight seasons.
After Stephen Curry hit a corner 3-pointer to give Golden State a 114-112 lead with about four minutes left, the Kings responded with seven in a row starting with a 3-pointer from Fox.
The Warriors didn’t go away and cut the deficit to one on a layup by Curry in the final minute. But Andrew Wiggins missed a corner 3 for the lead in the closing seconds of his first game in more than two months.
“That last one felt amazing,” Wiggins said of the last shot. “Only up from here. … I’m here to compete and I believe in myself.”
Malik Monk made two free throws to make it 126-123 with 2.9 seconds left. Curry missed a runner from 3 at the buzzer, giving the Kings their first playoff win since April 30, 2006, against San Antonio.
“That first game is kind of a feeling out process,” Curry said. “We responded. That’s what we are capable of doing. It was a high energy game from start to finish.”
Monk finished with 32 points off the bench and Domantas Sabonis had 12 points and 16 rebounds.
Curry led the Warriors with 30 points, Klay Thompson added 21 and Wiggins and Poole scored 18 apiece.
It was a festive environment in success-starved Sacramento where fans gathered outside the arena hours before the start of the Kings first playoff game following an NBA record 16-year drought.
The arena was deafening starting in pregame warmups with some fans even bringing back the cow bells that were so common during their playoff runs two decades ago.
“It was incredible all night,” forward Harrison Barnes said. “When guys ran out for layup lines with how loud it got in there and I think everyone got chills.”
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CELTICS 112, HAWKS 99
BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown had 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Boston capitalized on a woeful shooting performance by Atlanta in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round matchup.
Jayson Tatum scored 25 points, 21 in the first half. Derrick White finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds for Boston, which hosts Game 2 on Tuesday.
The No. 2-seeded Celtics led by as many as 32 points, pouncing on an Atlanta team that missed its first 10 3-point attempts and shot 5 of 29 from beyond the arc for the game.
Dejounte Murray led the Hawks with 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Trae Young added 16 points.
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76ERS 121, NETS 101
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — James Harden hit seven 3-pointers and had 23 points and 13 assists, NBA MVP finalist Joel Embiid scored 26 points and Philadelphia pushed back Mikal Bridges and Brooklyn in Game 1.
Tobias Harris added 21 points and the 76ers hit a postseason team-record 21 3s in the opener of this Eastern Conference playoff series. The Sixers are trying to win their first NBA championship since 1983 and advance past the second round for the first time since 2001.
The No. 3-seeded 76ers host Game 2 on Monday.
Bridges scored 30 points and helped the Nets at least hang around in the first half.
But Brooklyn’s starless roster was no match for Embiid, Harden and a playoff-tested roster expected to make a deep run in the postseason. The Sixers had a sellout crowd of 20,913 in a frenzy from the opening tip, then blew the game open in the fourth.