Buddy Hield ‘pissed’ as career-best night goes for naught in loss to Celtics

Buddy Hield was pissed off. He used the phrase three different times after the Kings lost 103-102 to the Boston Celtics on Monday.

Being close to greatness isn’t enough, Hield said. For what it’s worth, Hield had a career-best night, hitting 15 of 26 shots, including a club-record 11 3-pointers, en route to 41 points, five rebounds, two assists and a block.

And he was pissed. He was upset about the second quarter, where the Kings squandered an early lead and let the Celtics back into the game. He was upset about a turnover that led to a layup. And he was upset he and his teammates couldn’t hit a last-second shot to earn their first .500 record of the season.

“We weren’t playing like ourselves and the third quarter felt good; came in locked in and then we were overtaken by one to go in and after that we started tripping down the line,” he told reporters after the game.

The 7-9 Kings have had their backs against the wall since an 0-5 start to the season. But their last four losses have mostly been last-second affairs, with the exception of a blowout loss to the Brooklyn Nets when three of the Kings’ point guards were injured.

For the most part, coach Luke Walton likes what he sees. As De’Aaron Fox heals from an ankle injury and Marvin Bagley III is close to returning from a broken thumb, the Kings have ramped up their defensive effort and shown they can compete without two of their best players.

“I thought our guys played really hard tonight, really well, competed, continued to show improvement as a group,” Walton told reporters. “I thought the last six minutes of the second quarter is really where we lost that game tonight. But we bounced back, tough environment, back end of a back-to-back and we gave ourselves a chance to win. An NBA season is a long, brutal season. Most nights that is all you’re really asking for is a chance at the end and we had a chance. I’m proud of the effort our guys put out.”

Hield took over the game with 20 points in the third quarter to help the Kings retake the lead after they fell apart at the end of the second quarter.

Bield bombed in five 3-pointers, including one 27-footer, and attacked the rim for a couple of layups as the Kings went into the fourth quarter tied at 75.

“Well his teammates know to look for him, but a lot of times if someone is as hot as he is, someone else is going to get open because they aren’t going to leave him,” Walton said. “I thought our guys did a really nice job of finding him when they did.”

The Kings immediately flew to Philadelphia to await a Wednesday night game with the 76ers. A win over one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference would give the Kings a 2-2 roadtrip and leave them tantalizingly close to a .500 record.

They return home for games with the Denver Nuggets on Saturday and the Chicago Bulls on Monday before hitting the road again for four games against Western Conference foes.

This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 8:44 AM.