Kings notebook: Kings win again! Marvin Bagley III understands backup role ... for now
Kings forward Marvin Bagley III returned to action but went back to the bench in a wild 94-93 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center.
Bagley said he understood coach Luke Walton’s decision to give him a backup role in his first game back from injury, but he said it’s “not something I’m trying to get used to.”
Bagley came back to help the Kings beat Oklahoma City after missing 22 games with a broken thumb. He received a partial standing ovation and a huge round of applause when he checked into the game for the first time midway through the first quarter.
Buddy Hield scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half and Bogdan Bogdanovic hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final seconds for the Kings (11-13), who moved into a tie for seventh place in the Western Conference. Bagley had 11 points, six rebounds and one blocked shot in 23 minutes, making 5 of 13 field-goal attempts.
Dennis Schroder scored 17 points for the Thunder (11-13), who had won five of their last six games. Schroder had a big first half, but he was held to two points in the second half.
Walton elected to bring Bagley off the bench in his first game since breaking his thumb in a season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns. Nemanja Bjelica and Richaun Holmes have started the last 20 games together in the Kings’ frontcourt and both are giving the team career years.
Bagley was just happy to be back on the floor, running, dunking and rebounding. He has no problem with Walton’s plan to ease him into the rotation in a reserve role, but he indicated he expects to reclaim his spot in the starting lineup soon.
“I’m just going to play my game,” Bagley told The Sacramento Bee. “I’m getting back into the swing of things, so coming off the bench for a couple games or whatever it is, it’s not something I’m trying to get used to, but I’m definitely trying to get back into the swing of things, so I understand that. When you’re out six weeks, you’re not just going to come right back and start. You’ve got to work your way back in, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
Walton explained his decision before the game. He said Bagley would log most of his minutes at center with Bjelica or Harrison Barnes at power forward, but he has no reservations about playing Bagley and Holmes together at some point.
“It’ll be game-by-game as far as the minutes, rotations and all that, but for now our starting lineup will stay the same,” Walton said. “Depending on how the game’s going, who we’re playing, matchup wise, the subs will start to happen.”
The Kings trailed the Thunder 69-59 with 1:30 to play in the third period, but they closed the quarter with a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to two heading into the fourth. The Thunder reestablished a double-digit in the fourth, but the Kings staged a 14-0 run to take an 89-86 lead following a 3-pointer by Hield and a basket by Bogdanovic.
Oklahoma City went up 93-91 on two free throws by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the Kings reclaimed the lead on Bogdanovic’s 3-pointer with 17.3 seconds remaining. Chris Paul missed a step-back jumper that was strongly contested by Holmes as time expired.
U-G-L-Y
The Kings trailed 47-38 at the half after following up a lackluster first quarter with an ugly second quarter. The Kings were outscored 29-15 in the second period. They made only 6 of 20 field-goal attempts, went 1 of 9 from 3-point range and missed three of their five free-throw attempts.
The Kings shot 35.6 percent from the field and 18.8 percent from beyond the arc in the opening half, recording only three assists on 16 made baskets.
Hot and cold
Hield got hot at the end of the Kings’ four-game road trip, but his shooting woes returned against Oklahoma City.
Hield made only 2 of 11 from the field and 1 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half. He shot the ball better in the second half, making 8 of 13 from the field and 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.
Hield scored a total of 52 points in wins over the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets, making 20 of 34 (.588) field-goal attempts and 11 of 19 (.579) from beyond the arc. In the five previous games, he shot just 37.1 percent from the field and 25 percent from long distance.
Kings upcoming schedule
Dec. 13 vs. New York Knicks, 7 p.m.
Dec. 15 at Golden State Warriors, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 17 at Charlotte Hornets, 4 p.m.
Dec. 20 at Indiana Pacers, 4 p.m.
Dec. 21 at Memphis Grizzlies, 5 p.m.
Injury report
Thunder: OUT — Hamidou Diallo (elbow), Terrance Ferguson (hip), Andre Roberson (knee).
Kings: OUT — De’Aaron Fox (ankle).
This story was originally published December 11, 2019 at 9:23 PM.
