Buzzer Beater: Kings put up a clunker as Spurs pull off a comeback to win in overtime

With time waning, the Kings had plenty of chances to pull out an ugly win Friday night. Instead, it was the San Antonio Spurs who found just enough offense to pull out a 105-104 win.

After Dejounte Murray gave the Spurs a one-point margin with 29 seconds left, the Kings fired off four consecutive shots, thanks to a trio of offensive rebounds by Buddy Hield. All of them clanked off the rim.

It was a fitting end to a game where the Kings’ shooting would go ice-cold for minutes at a time.

The Kings (8-13) led by as much as nine midway through the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough as their tepid offense couldn’t keep pace with a furious push from the Spurs.

In the fourth, the Spurs closed within a point in the closing 30 seconds but Hield blocked a Spurs layup attempt and Harrison Barnes hit two free throws. But Marco Belinelli hit an open 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.

Hield led the way after starting a frigid 0-for-7 from the field. He finished with 23 points and Harrison Barnes scored 21 to lead Sacramento.

The Kings made a nine-point run to seemingly put the game out of reach in the closing minutes. Barnes had a tough inside basket with 3:25 to go, a Richaun Holmes dunk gave the Kings a four-point lead with 2:50 to play and another bucket from Barnes with 2:25 to go lifted the Kings to a six-point lead. A 3-pointer by Cory Joseph with 1:50 left gave the Kings a nine-point margin.

The Spurs (9-14) had eight players with nine points or more, led by LaMarcus Aldridge’s 19, as they rallied for the win.

The game wasn’t exactly a clash of titans, as San Antonio fell to 8-15 with the loss while the Kings improved to 9-12. The Kings continue their Texas swing with games in Dallas on Sunday night and in Houston on Monday.

Ariza: Go global with NBA changes

Veteran forward Trevor Ariza has a suggestion for the NBA as it considers major changes to the schedule and playoff structure: Think global.

The league is considering a midseason tournament, with a playoff spot on the line. The league would shorten the regular season to 78 games to accommodate the tournament. The NBA has also considered having teams seeded 7 through 10 play each other to get into the postseason. Details are slim on those proposals and two-thirds of the league owners would have to approve any move. The changes would take effect in the 2021-22 season.

But Ariza, who is in his 16th season, said it would be more interesting to him if the league instead invited top teams from around the world to compete in a tournament.

“If they want to do a tournament with European teams, maybe take out preseason, play less preseason games, and play European top teams, that would be fun,” Ariza said.

Commissioner Adam Silver has talked about tweaking the schedule and an in-season tournament for years. What’s different now is the NBA’s ratings are down about 17 percent this season.

A midseason tournament would surely do wonders for TV ratings, which are the lifeblood of every major sport. Perhaps more important, the league is looking for a way to stop teams tanking as they angle for better draft picks.

Joseph gets a warm welcome

Cory Joseph played his first four seasons in San Antonio and there’s still one Spur who remembers him ... from their time together in Toronto. Joseph had a big hut with DeMar DeRozan at midcourt just before tipoff Friday.

Joseph played with San Antonio from 2011 to 2015, but it was his two seasons with the Raptors that introduced him to DeRozan, who played nine seasons there.

Bombs away, Buddy

Before Friday’s game with the Spurs, Hield was on pace to attempt 857 3-pointers this year. That would be the third-most all-time behind James Harden last year (1,028) and Stephen Curry in 2015-16 (886).

It’s by far his biggest year for attempts, as he averages 10.5 a game, up from 7.9 last year. But he’s still making about the same number of 3s a game as his shooting percentage dropped to a career-low .359 from deep. As a result, he’s making just 3.8 3-pointers a game, just slightly better than last year’s 3.4-a-game clip.

Kings upcoming schedule

Dec. 8 at Dallas Mavericks, 4 p.m.

Dec. 9 at Houston Rockets, 5 p.m.

Dec. 11 vs. Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Dec. 13 vs. New York Knicks, 7 p.m.

Dec. 15 at Golden State Warriors, 7:30 p.m.

This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 8:19 PM.