Victory at last! Kings edge Detroit Pistons to avoid longest losing streak since 1998
Harrison Barnes flexed and howled to his teammates after burying a big 3-pointer to help the Kings avoid their longest losing streak since 1998 with a much-needed win over the Detroit Pistons.
De’Aaron Fox scored 27 points, Richaun Holmes recorded a double-double and Barnes made big baskets down the stretch to lead the Kings to a 110-107 victory over the Pistons on Friday night at Little Caesars Arena. Kings coach Luke Walton and his players breathed a collective sigh of relief after ending their nine-game losing streak with a win on the last stop of a five-game road trip.
“I’m really proud of the group,” Walton said. “Not necessarily a pretty game or a clean game, but a hard-fought, stick-together, grind-it-out, end of a five-game, seven-night road trip, and really just fighting. I think that’s how we won. We just grinded it out.”
Barnes had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Kings (13-20), who hadn’t won since beating the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 7. Holmes had 19 points and 17 rebounds with two blocked shots, his 10th double-double of the season and his third in the past four games.
“We just wanted to play as hard as possible for as long as we could,” Holmes said. “We wanted to come out, set the tempo, especially on the defensive end. I tried to do what I could to help. Tried to block shots early. Things of that sort just to get us going and, thankfully, we were able to snap the losing streak.”
Marvin Bagley III added 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting with eight rebounds. Nemanja Bjelica came off the bench to score eight points in the fourth quarter after sitting out the last three games.
“We were struggling to make open looks, so I was really pleased with Belly’s ability to stay ready and step in like that and help us out on a night that we really needed it,” Walton said.
Jerami Grant had 30 points and seven rebounds for the Pistons (9-24). Rookie Saddiq Bey and Dennis Smith Jr. scored 17 points apiece.
The nine-game losing streak was the Kings’ longest since 2009-10. They have not lost 10 in a row since the 1997-98 season, when they set a Sacramento-era franchise record with a 12-game losing streak from March 9-April 3, 1998. The all-time franchise record belongs to the Cincinnati Royals, who lost 14 in a row in 1959-60 and 1971-72.
Sacramento needed a win in the worst way against a bad Detroit basketball team that came in with the second-worst record in the NBA, but the Kings knew it wouldn’t be easy. They were on the second night of a back-to-back for the second time in six days, playing their fifth game in seven nights.
The Kings were also missing one of their best players after Rookie of the Year candidate Tyrese Haliburton was ruled out with a sore left calf. Hassan Whiteside and Jabari Parker were still out due to health and safety protocols, adding to the team’s depth issues.
Despite the adversity, Sacramento produced a much better defensive effort after giving up 140 points to the NBA’s lowest-scoring team in Thursday’s 140-121 loss to the New York Knicks. The Kings outscored the Pistons 16-4 over the first four minutes and went up 27-11 on an alley-oop dunk by Holmes.
The lead dwindled as fatigue set in and the Kings’ lack of depth became a factor. Backups Cory Joseph, DaQuan Jeffries and Kyle Guy combined to make just 1 of 12 from the field. The Kings were still up 55-52 at the half, but they ended up getting outshot 47.6% to 38.3%.
The Pistons went up 71-70 on a basket by Smith and led 80-75 at the end of the third quarter. They stretched the lead to eight on a 3-pointer by Svi Mykhailiuk early in the fourth before the Kings came back to take a 97-96 lead on two free throws by Barnes.
The teams exchanged leads multiple times in the final minutes until Barnes made two huge plays, driving to the basket for a dunk and then drilling a 3-pointer to give the Kings a 106-102 lead with 41.4 seconds remaining.
Buddy Hield appeared to be headed to the free throw line after getting fouled on a putback basket that put the Kings up by four, but the call was overturned after a coach’s challenge from Detroit. Officials instead called Hield for an offensive foul, taking two points off the board and sending Josh Jackson to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game.
Jackson missed them both and the Kings escaped with the win after Grant missed a 3-pointer that would have tied the game with 1.4 seconds remaining.
Haliburton ruled out
The Kings added Haliburton to the team’s injury report Friday afternoon, listing him as doubtful due to left calf injury. Walton confirmed Haliburton would not play during his pregame media session, saying he began to experience soreness in his calf during the third quarter in Thursday’s 140-121 loss to the New York Knicks.
“Tyrese will not play tonight,” Walton said. “We’re going to reevaluate him. It’s been a grueling schedule and he plays a lot. A lot of our guys are banged up, but being a young player, we have to make sure we have him moving forward, so we’ll reevaluate him when we get to Sacramento tomorrow.”
Up next
The road-weary Kings will return to Sacramento to face the Charlotte Hornets at 7 p.m. Sunday at Golden 1 Center.
This could be the first showdown between leading Rookie of the Year candidates if Haliburton is able to play against LaMelo Ball, who had 20 points and eight assists in a 124-121 win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.
Gordon Hayward leads the Hornets (15-16) in scoring at 21.8 points per game. Ball is averaging 14.8 points, 6.1 assists and 6.0 rebounds. Charlotte had won five of eight going into Friday’s game against the Golden State Warriors.
Injury report
Kings: OUT — Tyrese Haliburton (calf); Chimezie Metu (wrist); Jabari Parker (protocols); Jahmi’us Ramsey (G League); Hassan Whiteside (protocols); Robert Woodard II (G League).
Pistons: OUT — Blake Griffin (not with team); Killian Hayes (hip); Jahlil Okafor (knee); Delon Wright (adductor).
Kings upcoming schedule
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.
March 11 vs. Houston Rockets, 7 p.m.
March 13 at Atlanta Hawks, 4:30 p.m.
This story was originally published February 26, 2021 at 8:24 PM.
