Kings notebook: Big game for Buddy Hield, but Kings blow big lead against Knicks
The Kings have made a habit of making big baskets to win games, but this time they let one get away.
Julius Randle scored 24 points to help the New York Knicks rally from a 16-point deficit to beat the Kings 103-101 on Friday night at Golden 1 Center. Elfrid Payton added 16 points for the Knicks (6-20), who defeated the Golden State Warriors in overtime Wednesday after losing 10 in a row.
Buddy Hield had 34 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings (11-14), who had won three in a row against the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder. Harrison Barnes had 18 points.
The Knicks finished with a 48-41 rebounding advantage. They had 14 offensive rebounds and outcsored the Kings 22-9 on second-chance points.
“A lot of it started with the offensive rebounding and I think they started building up a confidence from that,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “They felt like they could push us around a little bit. As the game went on and they got extra opportunities, guys started knocking down shots.”
The Kings caught fire in the first quarter, making 8 of 12 from the field and five of their first six 3-point attempts to start the game. Hield made his first five shots, including putback dunk and another emphatic dunk on a baseline drive, posting 14 points and seven rebounds in the opening period to help the Kings go up by as many as 14 points.
The Kings extended their lead to 15 in the second quarter before the Knicks made a run to cut the deficit to single digits. Sacramento carried a 54-45 lead into the halftime break. The Kings shot 48.8 percent from the field and made 9-of-15 from 3-point range in the opening half while holding the Knicks to 40.8-perent shooting from the field and 3-of-16 shooting from beyond the arc.
Sacramento went up by 16 on a 3-pointer by Barnes with 7:16 to remaining in the third period, but then the Kings went cold. New York closed the quarter with an 11-3 run to get within eight and then outscored Sacramento 8-2 to start the fourth, cutting the deficit to two on a 3-pointer by Bobby Portis.
The Knicks tied the game on a three-point play by Marcus Morris Sr. and took a 95-93 lead on a basket by Elfrid Payton with 4:31 remaining. The Kings momentarily tied the game on a jumper by Hield with 3:37 to go, but they couldn’t get the big baskets they needed in the final minutes.
Same starting lineup
Walton elected to stick with the same lineup, starting Nemanja Bjelica and Richaun Holmes in the frontcourt with Marvin Bagley III coming off the bench.
Bagley returned to action Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder after missing 22 games with a broken thumb. Bagley had 11 points and six rebounds in his return against the Thunder. He had 10 points and seven rebounds against the Knicks.
Going streaking
Hield has scored 20 or more points in 10 consecutive games. His streak started when he scored a career-high 41 points against the Boston Celtics on Nov. 25. He averaged 25.7 points over the previous nine games.
De’Aaron Fox: Be back soon
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox has been sidelined for five weeks with a severely sprained ankle, but he thinks he will be back in the lineup soon – very soon.
Fox said he expects to return sometime next week, perhaps as early as Tuesday when the Kings visit the Charlotte Hornets. He believes he will be back before the team returns from a four-game road trip to play the Houston Rockets on Dec. 23 and called the Dec. 26 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves a “worst-case scenario.”
Star Wars Night
The force returned to Golden 1 Center on Friday for Star Wars Night. The evening featured an exclusive trailer for “The Rise of Skywalker,” appearances by several Star Wars characters, Baby Yoda races and a “Star Wars” trivia contest.
Kings forward Trevor Ariza defeated point guard De’Aaron Fox in the trivia contest. Ariza was able to name six “Star Wars” characters. Fox could only name three: Yoda, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.
In attendance for the game were Alan Fernandes, who played a Tusken Raider in “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope”; Andrew Nelson, who played Darth Vader in the Special Edition re-release of the original “Star Wars” trilogy; and Tim Donaldson, who played a Jawa in “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.”
“The Rise of Skywalker” will be released in theaters Dec. 20.
Injury report
Knicks: OUT — Reggie Bullock (neck), Wayne Ellington (Achilles), Allonzo Trier (concussion).
Kings: OUT — De’Aaron Fox (ankle).
Kings upcoming schedule
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.
Dec. 23 vs. Houston Rockets, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 9:25 PM.
