SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Zach LaVine had another big game to help the Kings spoil De’Aaron Fox’s highly anticipated return to Sacramento.

LaVine scored 36 points to lead the Kings to a 127-109 victory Friday night before a sellout crowd of 18,332 at Golden 1 Center.

LaVine went 14 of 22 from the field and 7 of 11 from 3-point range for the Kings (33-29), who have won five of their last six under interim coach Doug Christie.

Rookie guard Stephon Castle came off the bench to score 25 points for the Spurs (26-38). Fox, who spent almost eight seasons with the Kings before being traded to the Spurs on Feb. 3, had 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting with four rebounds and eight assists.

The Kings will be back in action Sunday when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers.

By the numbers

DeMar DeRozan put up 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Sacramento.

Keegan Murray had 19 points and nine rebounds. Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, posting his third double-double in the past four games in place of Domantas Sabonis.

Halftime report

The Spurs went up by eight in the opening minutes and led 26-20 at the end of the first period. The Kings took control in the second quarter, outscoring the Spurs 36-16 to take a 56-42 lead into the halftime break.

The Kings shot 44.9% from the field while holding the Spurs to 40.5% shooting. Sacramento outrebounded San Antonio 29-18 while amassing a 20-7 advantage in second-chance points.

LaVine led all scorers with 18 points in the opening half. He went 7 of 11 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

Second half

The Kings opened up a 68-47 lead after outscoring the Spurs 9-2 to start the second half. They went up by as many as 27 points after LaVine buried a stepback 3-pointer with 7:46 to play in the third period.

Sacramento led 95-76 going into the fourth quarter. San Antonio cut the deficit to 12 with 10:04 remaining, but that was as close as the Spurs would get.

Up next

The Kings will face the Clippers on Sunday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood,

The Clippers (33-29) were coming off a 123-115 win over the Detroit Pistons going into Friday’s game against the New York Knicks.

The Clippers are 2-0 against the Kings this season after posting a 107-98 win on Nov. 8 in Sacramento and a 104-88 win on Nov. 22 in Inglewood.

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