Haliburton strengthens Rookie of the Year campaign, but Harden leads Nets over Kings
Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton continued to build on his Rookie of the Year campaign with a big game against the Brooklyn Nets, but James Harden has his eyes on bigger prizes.
Harden posted his seventh triple-double of the season to lead the Nets to a 127-118 victory over the Kings on Tuesday night at Barclays Center. Harden finished with 29 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for the Nets (21-12), who have won seven in a row to move within a half-game of the Philadelphia 76ers for first place in the Eastern Conference.
Bruce Brown scored a career-high 29 points on 11-of-13 shooting for Brooklyn. Kyrie Irving had 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
De’Aaron Fox had 27 points and eight assists for the Kings (12-19), who have lost eight in a row. Haliburton, a rookie first-round draft pick from Iowa State, came off the bench to post a career-high-tying 23 points, nine assists, five rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot.
After the game, Haliburton shared a moment with both Harden and Irving, who appeared to be giving the youngster some knowledge and respect.
“Two guys that are at the top of this league, two of the best players in today’s game, two of the best players to ever play this game, to approach me and have that conversation with me, and obviously they see something because they don’t talk to everybody, so it means a lot to me,” Haliburton said. “Kyrie’s been one of my favorite players growing up. I’ve got all his shoes. I’m not going to wear them against him, but I’ve got them all. It’s two guys I’ve looked up to my whole life, so to get that, I can’t really describe it in words, but it just keeps giving me confidence that I really belong.”
Richaun Holmes had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Sacramento. Harrison Barnes scored 18 in his return from a foot injury. Marvin Bagley III posted his third double-double in the past four games, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Brooklyn outscored Sacramento 42-28 in the opening period, but the Kings stormed back in the second quarter, staging an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to four on a driving layup by Fox. Haliburton was sensational in the second period, posting 11 points, five assists, two rebounds, one block and one steal.
“I thought his first half performance was pretty special,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “It was good to see him continue to grow as a player.”
The Nets pushed their lead back to nine on a couple of occasions, but the Kings were within six at the halftime break, trailing 72-66. Harden was brilliant in the first half, posting 18 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.
The Nets went up by 11 with on a free throw by Harden with 4:14 to play in the third quarter, but the Kings mounted another charge when Buddy Hield hit a 3-pointer to spark a 14-4 run. The Kings briefly claimed the lead on a pull-up jumper by Haliburton, but they trailed by two going into the fourth quarter.
The Kings kept the game close until Harden, Irving and Brown keyed an 11-0 run to help the Nets take control midway through the fourth.
Injury update
Barnes was listed as questionable after missing the past three games due to a left foot strain, but he was cleared to return shortly before tipoff.
Walton explained Barnes’ status would be a gametime decision. He went through a rigorous pregame warmup session to test the foot before he was given the green light.
Barnes had appeared in 127 consecutive games before sitting out against the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks.
The Nets were missing Kevin Durant. The former MVP missed his fifth consecutive game with a strained left hamstring.
All-Star reserves
Fox will have to wait another year before he becomes an NBA All-Star.
Fox was not among the players chosen by coaches as All-Star reserves from the Western Conference. Those spots went to Anthony Davis, Paul George, Rudy Gobert, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Chris Paul and Zion Williamson.
Fox is averaging a career-high 22.3 points, 7.1 assists and 3.2 rebounds in his fourth season out of Kentucky. He was sixth among Western Conference guards in player voting, trailing only Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell.
Up next
The Kings will play the fourth game on this five-game road trip Thursday when they face the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks (15-16) had won four of their last going into Tuesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors. Julius Randle had 24 points and 18 rebounds in a win over the Washington Wizards. He scored 44 points in a win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Fox had 22 points and seven assists to help the Kings snap a four-game losing streak with a 103-94 victory over the Knicks on Jan. 22 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Barnes had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Fox and Hield were a combined 11 of 31 from the field in that game, but the Kings held the Knicks to 38.3% shooting, came up with six steals and recorded 14 blocked shots in a game for the first time since Jan. 5, 2003.
Injury report
Kings: QUESTIONABLE — Harrison Barnes (foot). OUT — Chimezie Metu (wrist); Jahmi’us Ramsey (G League); Robert Woodard II (G League); Glenn Robinson (personal).
Nets: PROBABLE — Iman Shumpert (hamstring); Tyler Johnson (adductor). QUESTIONABLE – Jeff Green (shoulder); Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (hip). OUT — Kevin Durant (hamstring); Spencer Dinwiddie (knee); Reggie Perry (G League).
Kings upcoming schedule
Feb. 25 at New York Knicks, 4:30 p.m.
Feb. 26 at Detroit Pistons, 5 p.m.
Feb. 28 vs. Charlotte Hornets, 7 p.m.
March 3 vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 7 p.m.
March 4 at Portland Trail Blazers, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published February 23, 2021 at 7:40 PM.
