The Kings are on a roll after winning their seventh consecutive game Sunday against the Chicago Bulls, improving to 7-1 under interim coach Doug Christie and rising above .500 for the first time since Nov. 21.

De’Aaron Fox returned to Sacramento’s starting lineup at United Center after a three-game injury absence, and the star guard shared how Christie’s mentality has rubbed off on the Kings following their 124-119 victory.

“He’s bringing a type of energy that’s a little bit contagious,” Fox told reporters of what has changed for the Kings under Christie. “I mean, like I said before, he’s the same guy that he was, but whenever you’re at the at the front of the helm, I feel like you’re probably feeling it a little more.

“But we’ve got a good thing going right now, so you want to continue to play at a high level. And playing this team, obviously Zach [LaVine] been doing whatever what he’s been doing, but I mean, they’ve been playing at a high level as well. So to be able to come in here and get a win is always good.”

Since taking over after Mike Brown’s firing, Christie appears to have revived a Kings team that was on a six-game losing streak before beating the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 30 — Christie’s second game as interim coach and his first win. During Sacramento’s current seven-game winning streak, the team is averaging an NBA-best 50.3 rebounds to go with 121.6 points (second) and 9.4 steals (third) (h/t NBA TV).

Fox and teammate DeMar DeRozan both explained how Christie’s simplified offense has helped the Kings put things together on the court after Sacramento recorded 33 assists with just seven turnovers against the Bulls.

“Obviously you’re just trying to get high drags, point actions — it’s stuff that everybody in the league basically runs, but you have to be able to do it with pace, and you have to be able to attack every single time that you’re going down the court,” Fox explained. “So those are just the little nuances of [Christie’s offense]. If you watch Memphis play, that’s pretty much all they do. They’re not running a ton of plays. They have a bunch of guys that can shoot the ball and get downhill, and that’s what they do at a high level. So that’s kind of something that we’re doing right now, and I think we’re doing at a high level.”

“Doug just tells us, ‘Go out there and just bring your game’ when we play,” DeRozan told reporters after the game. “That’s all. That’s what he says, ‘Just bring your game. I can’t teach y’all how to play. Y’all know how to play,’ you know? And him putting that trust within us and having a selfless group like we have, that’s the outcome that you get.”

The message for the Kings to be themselves and play to their strengths has worked across the seven-game streak, and it inspired a clutch effort Sunday which featured Fox and DeRozan combining for 18 points in the fourth quarter. In a game where the lead changed 28 times, Sacramento grabbed a 114-113 lead with 5:42 left in the game and never relinquished it.

And everyone is thriving. In addition to Fox’s team-leading 26 points and DeRozan’s 21 against his former team, Domantas Sabonis finished with a 22-point, 15-rebound double-double; Malik Monk recorded 18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds; and Keegan Murray finished with 14 points and a trio of 3-pointers.

“Just allowing them to play to their strengths,” Christie told reporters after the win. “I think sometimes we get into actions that aren’t really actions. Just get to the business; there’s no need to do a lot of other stuff on top of the fact that we want to drive, kick, swing and move the basketball. So it gives us more time to do that, allowing them to just kind of use their special talents.

“I mean, Fox is fast. He can handle the basketball and get to the rack. Malik is the same way. DeMar is one of the best iso players in the game, so you put him in position. Domas’ rolling ability. When you go down the list — Keegan’s shooting. We got some defenders on the wings. All those different things, trying to just — don’t make it hard. Just go get at it, and we live with the results. And on the other end of the floor, let’s lock arms and play really hard on that end.”

With Christie going from assistant to interim coach, DeRozan recently showed his Kings teammates a highlight reel from the competitive defender’s NBA playing days. He did it to show Sacramento that Christie once did the very things he’s now asking of them, and DeRozan believes it has helped the team.

For Christie, DeRozan’s actions show just how committed the team is to winning — together.

“I would tell you it’s priceless, man,” Christie said about DeRozan showing the video of him. “I mean, that’s the type of trust, love and respect I want out of all of them, but having that time with DeMar in the summer, watching how he gets down, and then really just always being a hundred with him and trusting him to do his thing. For him to show that in that moment, it says a lot about who he is, but it says a lot about our team and what we’re trying to [do].

“It’s together. I’m not separate as a coach. They’re not separate as players. They have their room. I have my room, but at the same time, we are together as one. It’s not a hand, it’s a fist.”

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