Kings' De'Aaron Fox scores 19 in return from 17-game absence

Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox, who missed 17 games because of a sprained left ankle, was back on the floor Tuesday night at the Charlotte Hornets.

Fox came off the bench and finished with a team-high 19 points, eight assists and two rebounds in Sacramento's 110-102 loss.He played 30 minutes despite supposedly being on a minutes restriction.

"It was nice to get De'Aaron Fox back out there,'' Kings coach Luke Walton said. "I thought he looked good and was moving well, created some good looks and opportunities for us -- and we will continue to get better and learn from this game.''

Marvin Bagley III had 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench in 22 minutes for the Kings.

Bagley said it might take the Kings some time to get used to him and Fox being back in the rotation for the team to regain its chemistry.

"It's different, because the whole time I was out and De'Aaron was out, they had a certain group [on the floor], and we just need to work our way back in," said Bagley, who returned to action Dec. 11 after suffering a thumb fracture on opening night Oct. 23. "It changes it up a little bit, but I think it's coming along. It's coming along fine.

"Like I said, we just let this one go. It's nothing to worry about. We just have to fix our mistakes and continue to move forward and try to win."

Fox was averaging 18.2 points, 7.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds through nine games before suffering a Grade 3 ankle sprain during practice on Nov. 11.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.