Why Ellis’ ‘special’ impact key to Kings’ continued success

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Why Ellis’ ‘special’ impact key to Kings’ continued success originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – Winning basketball is more than just making shots.

Winning basketball is Keon Ellis, and what the young Kings guard did for nearly 50 minutes on the second night of a back-to-back in Sacramento’s 123-118 double-overtime win against the Miami Heat on Monday night at Golden 1 Center.

Ellis made, what felt like, 150 winning plays Monday night.

The Kings led the way for most of the first half, with a 50-47 lead entering the midway break. But Miami outscored Sacramento 31-18 in the third quarter and took a 78-68 lead into the final frame.

Ellis had five points and was a minus-12 in plus/minus rating entering the final frame of regulation. And with Miami up by as many as 17 in the fourth, Ellis was doing everything he possibly could to help revive his team.

In about 11 minutes, Ellis had nine points on three made 3-pointers, including two huge back-to-back treys that forced Miami to call a timeout, along with two kick-ball violations, three assists, two rebounds (one offensive) and one steal.

His energy sparked a 24-7 Kings run to end the fourth and ultimately force overtime.

“Young kid, man. He’s amazing,” Kings veteran star DeMar DeRozan said postgame. “The knack that he has defensively is incredible. A lot of things he do, I kind of just look at him. He don’t even realize how much better he’s going to get at the things he’s already great at.

“So it’s fun to see it – how incredible he is, the confidence he had when he shoots, when he’s shooting 3s and now making plays. We encourage him just to go out there and play. So it’s big. He’s a key part, especially in our success these last five games.”

In the first overtime, the Kings were 0.2 seconds away from ending their win streak down by one point against the Heat. But Ellis drew a foul on Miami big man Bam Adebayo for a trip to the free-throw line.

Ellis had an opportunity to win the game for his team, but he missed the first free throw. He made the second to tie the game and ultimately send it to, yes, a second overtime.

The impact…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-ellis-special-impact-key-151906896.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2025-01-07 15:19:00

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