Kings show they can hang with the elite. They’ll need to if they make the playoffs
Over the Kings’ last five games, they’ve played three of the NBA’s top four teams.
Despite taking each one of them down to the wire, Sacramento wasn’t able to emerge victorious.
The latest came Wednesday during the Kings’ first home game in 17 days. They rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to force overtime, but couldn’t find a way past the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks, who held on for a 141-140 victory Wednesday at Golden 1 Center.
The Kings went into the All-Star break with a two-point loss in Denver, which won it when Nuggets center Nikola Jokic tipped in his own miss with 0.8 seconds left to break a 118-118 tie.
They came out of the break and suffered a two-point road loss to the Golden State Warriors, who won the four-game season series by a combined 12 points.
Sacramento then beat Oklahoma City, third in the Western Conference, before falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are chasing the Kings in the playoff race.
On Wednesday, the Kings had a chance to beat the Bucks in regulation, but with the score tied at 126 and 11.4 seconds left, De’Aaron Fox couldn’t get away from Eric Bledsoe’s stifling defense for a game-winning shot attempt.
The Kings never led in the extra five minutes and fell to 0-2 in overtime this year.
“This five-game stretch was against some terrific teams,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “I thought we played well enough in Denver to win but didn’t deserve to with some of the mistakes we made. I thought we played well enough to win in Golden State and just didn’t get it done.”
He said he was happy with how the team played Wednesday, despite the loss.
“That was really, really fun,” Joerger said. “Hats off to Milwaukee ... and good luck to them in the playoffs.”
Buddy Hield, who led the Kings (31-30) with 32 points, knows the team can’t dwell on another close loss.
“It sucks, but you can’t do nothing about it you have to move on to the next one,” he said. “But it was a fun game, I love playing games like that. It sucks for the fans, they always show us their support and come out, but tell them to just keep riding with us.”
Hield says the Kings are showing they can play with the best.
“It shows that we’re a competitive team, no matter who you have on the board – whether it’s Golden State, OKC, Milwaukee,” he said. “We have a great group and it’s fun to play with them. It’s fun to see everybody competing and making plays and making plays in the crunch time, that’s when we’re at our best. ... It should be a fun stretch. I like it and I like our chances.”
The Bucks (47-14) won behind Bledsoe’s triple-double (26 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds) and Malcolm Brogdon, who scored 25 points and shot 9 of 11, including a 3-pointer late in OT that put the Bucks up four.
The visitors walk away impressed with the Kings.
“Those young guys battled all the way,” Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer said. “They made several runs at us. ... Just really impressed with their young players and with the job coach Dave is doing. They have a hell of a future ahead of them.”
The Kings have 21 more games to see if that future includes a playoff trip this season, which would be their first since 2006. They’re ninth in the West, two games behind the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers, who visit Golden 1 Center on Friday night. Sacramento is a game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers and two in front of the Timberwolves.
The Spurs and Lakers won Wednesday, while the Timberwolves and Clippers lost.
The Kings are 0-3 against the Clippers this season, but their leading scorer is among the players ready for the challenge.
“That’s what happens when you’re trying to make the playoffs, you go through some bumps and bruises, but we have to keep fighting and keep grinding,” Hield said. “I look forward to Friday, it’s a good one.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2019 at 10:04 PM.