Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown does not want to keep referring to De'Aaron Fox as "amazing", but he has little choice.

Fox tied his career-best points haul on Wednesday, with his haul of 44 helping the Kings to a 130-120 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The victory saw the Kings move two-and-a-half games ahead of the Lakers in the Western Conference, while it also marked the seventh time this season that Fox has scored over 40 points.

And Brown is running out of ways to describe the Kings' talisman.

"He was amazing. I hate using that word because to me that’s who he is," Brown said.

"It's hard to score 44 points every single night, especially on the percentage that he did it at, but he is more than capable with his ability.

"It was a big game for him in a big-game environment."

Fox stressed how important it is for the Kings to pick up wins against the teams around them.

"Right now where the standings are, if we lose this game, we're half a game in front of them rather than two and a half like it is now," Fox said.

"So right now especially to play teams that are around us in the standings, those games mean a little more."

The frustration from Lakers coach Darvin Ham was evident.

Ham said: "They got a few easy opportunities in transition and they were able to get inside and make some tough shots.

"The sense of urgency we have to be able to maintain that.

"We talk about forcing our will on the game. We obviously initiated it, but we didn’t sustain it and we damn sure didn't finish it."

LeBron James led the Lakers with 31 points, though he exited midway through the fourth quarter due to ankle soreness.

"Some games it's better than others. I didn't feel it during the Oklahoma City Thunder game [on Monday] and I didn't feel it tonight until the fourth quarter," James said. "Some days are better than others."

Keegan Murray scored a career-high 47 points as the Sacramento Kings continued their good form with a 125-104 win over the Utah Jazz, but the forward's coach Mike Brown thinks he is "barely scratching the surface" of his potential. 

The Kings eased to a fourth win in their last five games on Saturday, with the Jazz unable to respond after allowing 44 points in the third quarter.

Murray scored a franchise-best 26 points in the third period, while his 12 three-pointers across the course of the contest were also a record for a Sacramento player.

Murray had Klay Thompson's single-game league record of 14 three-pointers in his sights until he missed with two late attempts, meaning he had to settle for becoming just the seventh player to make a dozen or more threes in one outing.

Brown, however, believes there is still more to come from last year's fourth overall draft pick.

"I thought Keegan was playing the right way," Brown said. "Nothing was really forced. Our guys didn't really force anything to him. They just hit him when he was open.

"He's just barely scratching the surface because he's been asked to do something that he's never been asked to do at the highest level.

"With his work ethic, his determination, his skill set and all that other stuff, he's got a chance to be a high-level player in a lot of different areas. 

"Everybody's just seeing a little bit of it now, so there's a ton of room to grow, for sure."

Saturday's win saw Sacramento improve to 15-9 for the season, with Domantas Sabonis adding 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, registering his 20th double-double of the season.

The Jazz, meanwhile, saw their winning streak snapped at two games, and coach Will Hardy accepted there was little they could do to stop Murray in that vein of form.

"Keegan never let us off the hook," he said. "Every time you make a mistake, he makes the shot. 

"The percentages will tell you that's not necessarily realistic either, but it was one of those nights. He's obviously a very good young player, so hats off to him."

The Sacramento Kings can be "dangerous" after ensuring their first winning season since 2005-06 with a 101-96 triumph over the Brooklyn Nets, believes coach Mike Brown.

Domantas Sabonis starred with 24 points, 21 rebounds, five assists and four blocks as the Kings took control of the Western Conference's second seed with Thursday's win.

No team in the NBA has a better record over their last 10 games than the Kings' 8-2 mark, and their 42nd win of the campaign ensures they will snap a 17-year run without a winning season – an NBA record.

"It means a lot for the fans and the organisation," Brown said after the game. "Sacramento, it's a proud fan base and they don't get a lot of love around the nation or even in the state of California. 

"So to be able to pound their chest and be able to walk with their heads high and talk with their friends to have a little bit of bragging rights, it's great."

With the 42-27 Kings now 4.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets and 5.5 clear of the play-in tournament placings, Brown believes they should be aiming high.

"It's been pretty easy. The guys understand what my messaging has been all along, and they understand how passionate I am about it," Brown said. 

"I do feel that this group believes in themselves. Not just because I'm telling them they're good, but because they've gone out and proven it time after time after time, whether it's individually in certain situations, or collectively as a team.

"When you have a team that believes, they can be dangerous. When you've got a collected team that believes, that can be a very dangerous team. That's what our group is right now."

The Kings continue their road stretch against the Washington Wizards on Saturday and the Utah Jazz on Monday, before returning home to face the Boston Celtics.

Luka Doncic had fun linking up with Kyrie Irving for the first time in spite of the Dallas Mavericks going down 133-128 in overtime at the Sacramento Kings.

In his third game since being traded from the Brooklyn Nets, Irving scored 28 points with seven rebounds and seven assists, but it was not enough to beat the Kings at Golden 1 Center again, as the Mavs did on Friday.

Doncic did not play in that game, but he returned on Saturday for the second of a double-header against Sacramento, and linked up well with Irving as he finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

"Amazing, only our first game together, but I think it's so fun to play with this guy," the Slovenian said about lining up with Irving. "He's an amazing basketball player and I think it's going to be really fun and today, first game, it was really fun, too."

Mavs coach Jason Kidd was equally enthused by his new star partnership despite the loss, saying: "I thought it was good. It was just natural. Nothing forced.

"It's going to make us that much better. They did an incredible job."

De'Aaron Fox managed to outshine Doncic and Irving in Sacramento, scoring 36 points for the hosts, 26 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime, while Domantas Sabonis and Terence Davis also put up 22 points each, with the former recording 14 rebounds for a league-leading 44th double-double of the season.

Kings coach Mike Brown was understandably pleased with his team's work, saying: "Heck of a job by our guys. Defensively, we did a pretty good job in both second halves.

"We had a lot of great individual performances."

Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown is concerned that his side's strong start has them playing complacently after getting crushed 136-104 by the undermanned New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.

The Pelicans, who were without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, were 1-10 in their previous 11 games heading into Sunday, but they made light work of a Kings side who were also missing De'Aaron Fox.

It was Sacramento's fourth loss from their past six games, and while they still sit third in the West, the tightly bunched nature of the conference has them in a precarious position.

At 29-23 the Kings are one game ahead of the fourth-placed Los Angeles Clippers (30-26), but are also only three games ahead of the 10th-seeded Utah Jazz (27-27).

A losing streak now could see the Kings plummet in the standings, and with the potential to break 16-season playoff drought, coach Brown wants to see his team figure things out quickly.

"We’ve had a pretty good year so far and we've experienced a lot of highs," he said. "Now we've hit a little adversity.

"I don't know if we're all-in like we talked about at the beginning of the year, and how we've been, because things are flowing and we're winning and in third-place or whatever.

"I'm going to watch and see how we all handle this. It's tough to go through, but it's a great thing for this team to experience. 

"Because if we expect to make the playoffs – and we do expect to advance in the playoffs – we'll have to deal with adversity... and, right now, I don't think we're doing a great job with it."

For the Pelicans, who are now on a two-game winning streak following a dismal 10-game losing streak, second-year wing Trey Murphy III was the key as he scored a season-high 30 points on nine-of-11 shooting, hitting six-of-eight from deep.

The 22-year-old came into the contest having made just 11-of-31 three-point attempts in his past five games, but he said he knew things would balance out if he kept firing.

"Just got to keep shooting, no matter if you're hitting or not," he said. "Eventually, your percentage is going to get to where it's supposed to be. So, I'm just glad my teammates found me and I was able knock down shots."

He added: "B.I. [Ingram] was out, so somebody had to be B.I. – I decided to tap into my B.I. skill-set."

No De'Aaron Fox, no worries for the Sacramento Kings, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-95 on the road to improve their record to 14-10.

Fox leads the Kings in scoring at 22.8 points per game and could be on track for his first All-Star appearance, but he missed just his second game of the season on Friday with right foot soreness.

His absence was balanced out by the Cavaliers missing Donovan Mitchell, but with the Cavaliers still rolling out All-Stars Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, as well as Rookie of the Year runner-up Evan Mobley, they still had more than enough firepower.

But, lacking a true number-one scoring option, the Kings turned the contest into a slow, low-scoring grind, relying on excellent outside shooting to maximise their limited possessions and pull away with a 27-15 fourth quarter, including a 19-0 run to end the game.

Four of the Kings starters scored at least 18 points each, with Harrison Barnes' 20 points finishing as a team-high, while Domantas Sabonis played a superb all-round game to post 18 points, 18 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks.

As a team, Sacramento shot 16-of-33 (48.5 per cent) from three-point range, and six of those makes came from rookie Keegan Murray, scoring all 18 of his points from beyond the arc on just eight attempts.

Speaking after the game, head coach Mike Brown spoke about how it feels to take a road win against the team sitting third in the Eastern Conference.

"That was a big, big, big-time win for us," he said. "When you get a win like that on the road, that’s a sign you have a really good team. 

"Now, I hope I’m not jumping the gun on that, but this was my favourite game of the season."

Harrison Barnes added: "To come here after losing to Milwaukee, we kind of wanted to make a statement – and we did."

The Kings have now won 11 of their past 15 games, and have a chance to break into the top-four in the Western Conference if they can handle their business in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks on Sunday.

Stephen Curry hailed Mike Brown's input after the Golden State Warriors moved 3-1 ahead in their Western Conference semi-final series duel with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Brown, who has agreed to become the Sacramento Kings' next head coach, is seeing out his final weeks as assistant with the Warriors and stepped up on Monday when Steve Kerr tested positive for COVID-19 and was ruled out of Game 4 duties.

Curry joked Brown was setting trends, after being made head coach of two teams in such quick succession.

The Warriors were held to just 38 points in the first half, but Curry stepped up, scoring 18 of his 32 points in the final quarter, including eight consecutive clutch free throws in the final minute as his team edged ahead and clung on to a narrow lead.

"It's been a wild day all round. You just had to figure it out on the fly," Curry said after the 101-98 win.

"We've been through this before. In '16-17 the coach had his back problems back in the day when he was out of the line-up but still had an influence, and Mike B stepped up.

"We didn't have a lot of time to react. We went out and tried to execute. We obviously didn't for three quarters. Defensively we were solid, but offensively we couldn't get anything going, and we gutted it out."

Curry became the first player to reach 500 three-pointers in NBA playoffs during the narrow win.

Brown's move to Sacramento was only agreed on Sunday and will take effect once the playoffs are over. With Warriors head coach Kerr sidelined, Brown kept the team moving closer to the Western Conference Finals.

"He had a lot of good words tonight," said Curry. "I don't know in history if anyone's been named head coach of two teams in 24 hours, so he's continued to set some trends.

"He's been through it all, been with us for this last six years, been interim coach for a little bit and made his presence felt, especially defensively."

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss Game 4 against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Assistant coach Mike Brown will step in as acting head coach – a role he is familiar with.

During the Warriors' 2017 championship run, Brown went 12-0 as acting head coach in the playoffs as Kerr was sidelined for an extended period, with the Warriors ultimately finishing that postseason with a 16-1 record.

It is interesting timing for Brown, who was announced as the next Sacramento Kings head coach on Sunday.

He has been with the Warriors since 2016, after spending 10 years as a successful head coach beforehand, winning over 61 per cent of his games with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Sacramento Kings are reportedly hiring Golden State Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown on a four-year deal to be their new head coach.

Brown, 52, has spent the past seven seasons with the Warriors, but spent eight years before that as a successful head coach with a 61.6 per cent winning percentage (347-216).

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Sunday that Brown had become the focus of the Kings' search, with the franchise believing he is the right man to end their 16-year playoff drought.

When Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was sidelined during the 2016-17 playoffs, Brown stepped into the acting head coach role, going 12-0 during his stint in charge as Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry led the Warriors to a 16-1 playoff record and an eventual title.

The Kings' last made the playoffs in the 2005-06 season and have had 13 top-10 picks in the NBA Draft since then, including DeMarcus Cousins, De'Aaron Fox, Bismack Biyombo and Tyreke Evans.