Sacramento Kings star De’Aaron Fox made sure to speak with Keegan Murray prior to the Kings’ matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. Luka Donic was fresh off a 73-point performance, with the next team on the schedule being Sacramento. Murray had the assignment to guard Donic for much of the contest.
“I said Keegan, don’t let him get 70 tonight. I mean, he’s a difficult player to guard. He’s the entire focal point of their offense, especially with Kai [Kyrie Irving] out… The way that we scored the ball, I think that we did a good job, but we have to be able to keep him off the free-throw line,” said Fox, per ClutchPoints on X.
Murray also spoke on the challenge of guarding Donic. The Mavericks star has turned into one of the best scorers in the league, despite being young in his NBA career. Donic is the epitome of the modern-day NBA, and Murray was tasked with attempting to at least slow him down.
“It’s exciting, just to be able to kind of have that challenge… Fox was joking with me… That was my goal, to keep him under 70 and I think we did that well,” said Murray.
Donic ended the matchup with 28 points, 17 assists, and 10 rebounds. He’s a player that you simply can’t stop, but containing him for a few plays will help you win the game. Murray did just enough to help the Kings earn a 120-115 victory, despite Donic having another monstrous game, this time with a massive triple-double.
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