Kings’ playoff chances take another blow. Why they feel they’re not out of the race

With the Kings down one and less than 20 seconds left, the ball was knocked away from Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart.

De’Aaron Fox dived to the floor and got his hands on it, but wasn’t able to corral the ball as it slipped from his grasp. Boston’s Jayson Tatum collected it and called a timeout.

That moment could be symbolic of the team’s playoff chances.

When the clock hit all zeroes, the Kings fell 111-109 to the Celtics, who completed a Northern California sweep on back-to-back nights.

Down two points with two seconds left, the Kings had a shot to win it, but Harrison Barnes’ contested 3-pointer went wide.

The loss, combined with San Antonio’s win, put ninth-place Sacramento (32-32) four games behind the Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference playoff race.

While this is the largest deficit the Kings have faced in the calendar year, they’ll tell you do not count them out.

“We’re in it as long as there’s games left,” center Willie Cauley-Stein said, adding the Kings are close to figuring it out. “We’re coming down to the last possessions. ... Each game like this, you learn a little bit more and that’s really all you can ask for besides the win.”

Quite a bit happened before the last possession, though.

After Tatum’s timeout, he was fouled and sank two free throws. Kings guard Buddy Hield then tied the score with three from the line.

But 5.6 seconds later, Gordon Hayward came up big for the second consecutive night, hitting a running jumper with two seconds left for the winning shot. Less than 24 hours earlier, he scored 30 points as the Celtics (40-26) blew out the Golden State Warriors in Oakland.

Barnes scored 24 points, his most in 10 games with the Kings. Despite the loss, he likes what he’s seen with his new team.

“As a group, we’re playing better,” he said. “It’s just the little things that come along with trying to make the playoffs. ... As long as we continue to push in the right direction, it’ll come around.”

The Kings, who finished the home stand 1-3, head out for a four-game trip on which they’ll face their two most recent opponents, including a 9 a.m. affair Saturday with the New York Knicks, the league’s worst team.

After visiting the Washington Wizards on Monday, they’ll get a rematch with the Celtics on March 14 at TD Garden before concluding the trip March 15 against the Philadelphia 76ers.

“Hopefully, we can return the favor on the road (against the Celtics) and try to go 3 of 4, or 4 of 4, or split,” Hield said. “We can’t go under .500 on the road.”

The Kings follow with another four-game home stand, but this one features only one team with a winning record – Brooklyn (34-33).

Cauley-Stein says this is different than what he’s seen in his previous three seasons in Sacramento – and that’s a good thing.

“It’s exciting to have something to play for,” he said. “This franchise and this city haven’t been close to something like this in a while. It’s an exciting time to play. You want to be in this race when it comes down to the last 20 games.”

The Kings have 18 games left. They won’t play the Clippers again after going 0-4 against them, but they have one final shot at Ssan Antonio on March 31.

Sacramento will play 12 games and San Antonio 10 before that game. The Kings will look for their first season sweep.

“This league is crazy, and you never know what can happen,” Kings guard De’Aaron Fox said. “Anybody can go on a run – I think the Spurs won like four or five in a row. If we string that together and they drop a couple, then it’s a different race.”

Should the Kings make up ground in the process, it could make for a very interesting final 10 days of the season.

This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 9:56 PM.