Kings lose Marvin Bagley III to broken hand and blow another late lead in loss to Hornets
The Kings lost Marvin Bagley III to a broken hand and then lost the game with another fourth-quarter collapse against the Charlotte Hornets.
Bagley sustained the injury in the second quarter of a 122-116 loss to the Hornets on Monday night at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. X-rays performed at the arena confirmed Bagley suffered a fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his left hand, the team said.
“I really feel for him,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “He’s put in so much hard work this year. I’ve said all year long he’s continued to make really big strides and he was putting together a heck of a game tonight. We’re going to miss him out there on the floor with us.”
The Kings said Bagley will undergo further medical evaluation and an update regarding his course of treatment will be provided in the coming days. Bagley, who came out of Duke as the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, has appeared in 36 games this season, averaging 13.9 points and 7.9 rebounds. He was limited to 13 games last season due to various injuries, including a broken right thumb.
“It sucks because he’s been healthy all year,” Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “I know he’s battled with injuries since high school, so it sucks. He’s been playing really well. He’s been getting a lot better throughout the year.”
Terry Rozier scored 26 points to lead the Hornets (20-18), who staged a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Kings for the second time in 15 days. Gordon Hayward had 25 points and eight rebounds with four assists and four steals. Rookie LaMelo Ball finished with 16 points, four rebounds and four assists.
De’Aaron Fox had 29 points and eight assists for the Kings (15-24), who have lost 13 of their last 16 games. Buddy Hield added 23 points and six rebounds. Richaun Holmes recorded his fourth consecutive double-double in a stellar all-around effort, finishing with 17 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, four blocked shots and two steals. Bagley had 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 16 minutes before leaving the game with the injury.
The team’s medical staff accompanied Bagley to the locker room late in the first half. The team announced Bagley would not return at halftime before revealing the extent of the injury after the game.
The Kings were seeking revenge after blowing an eight-point lead in the final 52.4 seconds in a 127-126 loss to the Hornets on Feb. 28 in Sacramento. This time the Kings led by seven with 4:34 remaining.
“We’ve just got to close games,” Haliburton said. “Those ones sting. They can come back to bight you later in the year. It’s just frustrating, but we’ll get it figured out.”
The Kings led 32-23 when Walton went to his reserves late in the first quarter. The team’s lack of depth has been apparent all season as Walton has relied heavily on an eight-man rotation, but he had to go deeper into his bench when Haliburton got into foul trouble and Bagley was ruled out for the second half. Haliburton, Cory Joseph, Nemanja Bjelica and Justin James all made appearances in the first half. Jabari Parker, who had appeared in only two games this season, came on in the second half.
The Kings carried a 67-61 advantage into the break after shooting 65.4% in the first half. They staged a 13-2 run to go up by 14 with 9:44 to play in the third quarter. The Hornets cut the deficit to three going into the fourth.
Sacramento maintained a slim lead until Hayward muscled his way inside to tie the game with 3:04 to play. The Hornets went up 113-111 on a three-point play by Hayward. The Kings tied the game on a basket by Hield, but a 3-pointer and two free throws by Rozier helped the Hornets hold on for the win.
Backcourt violation?
Walton thought the Hornets might have committed a backcourt violation when Rozier tipped an inbound pass into the backcourt with less than 30 seconds remaining and the Kings trailing 116-113. Officials explained that an inbound pass can be thrown into the backcourt in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and Rozier’s tip did not constitute possession of the ball in the frontcourt, although it’s still not clear if that was the correct interpretation.
In response to a request from The Sacramento Bee, crew chief Sean Corbin explained the ruling to pool reporter Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
Question: “Why weren’t the Hornets called for a backcourt violation on the touch by Terry Rozier on the inbounds pass with 26.1 seconds left?”
Corbin: “During the last two minutes a team is allowed to inbound the ball anywhere on the court. Although Terry Rozier does touch the ball, PJ Washington, his teammate, was passing the ball toward the midcourt line so the ball is going to go into the backcourt anyway. The fact that Terry Rozier touched the ball, any player is allowed to retrieve the ball once it’s touched anywhere on the floor.”
Question: “Is it fair, based on what you just said to say that Terry never gained possession of the ball in the front court, he just touched it?”
Corbin: “Yes.”
However, according to the NBA rule book: “Any ball out-of-bounds in a team’s frontcourt or at the midcourt line cannot be passed into the backcourt. On all backcourt and midcourt violations, the ball shall be awarded to the opposing team at the midcourt line, and must be passed into the frontcourt. EXCEPTION: During the last two minutes of the fourth period and the last two minutes of any overtime period, the ball may be passed anywhere (frontcourt or backcourt) on the court. However, if the ball is thrown into the frontcourt and an offensive player on the court fails to control the ball and causes it to go into the backcourt, his team may not be the first to touch the ball.”
Based on that definition, the NBA might determine officials called the play incorrectly when the Last 2 Minute Report is issued Tuesday.
Injury report
Hornets: None.
Kings: OUT — Chimezie Metu (right wrist fracture); Hassan Whiteside (health and safety protocols); Robert Woodard II (left hamstring strain).
Kings upcoming schedule
March 17 at Washington Wizards, 4 p.m.
March 19 at Boston Celtics, 4:30 p.m.
March 20 at Philadelphia 76ers, 5 p.m.
March 22 at Cleveland Cavaliers, 4:30 p.m.
March 24 vs. Atlanta Hawks, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 7:41 PM.
