‘Energy, joy, life’: Fans fuel Buddy Hield’s hot shooting in Kings’ win over Timberwolves
The Kings celebrated a win with their fans for the first time this season after Buddy Hield’s hot shooting helped them storm back from a big fourth-quarter deficit.
Hield made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 8.8 seconds remaining to lift the Kings to a 128-125 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center. The Kings trailed by 11 with less than six minutes remaining, but Hield said the crowd’s excitement gave them the energy they needed to finish strong.
“It’s 2,000 fans, but you could hear the energy and the joy,” Hield said. “I think that gives — especially a team like this — life.”
De’Aaron Fox had 30 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Kings (24-35), who avenged Tuesday’s 134-120 loss to the Timberwolves. Hield had 29 points, six rebounds and five assists, making 11 of 16 from the field and 7 of 11 from 3-point range. Harrison Barnes added 22 points with seven assists and six rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 26 points to lead the Timberwolves (16-44). Naz Reid had 24 points and seven rebounds. Anthony Edwards and Juan Hernangomez scored 16 points apiece.
Kings coach Luke Walton said the fans created an environment with “a real homecourt advantage.”
“It was noisy and it was great,” Walton said. “That’s part of the fun. You go on a run and, even though you’re tired and you’ve played 38 or 39 minutes, when you hear the fans and the people and the energy start to get behind you, it just naturally gives you an extra boost, so that was fun to have that tonight.”
The Kings also got some nice contributions from their bench. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton had 16 points and six assists. Chimezie Metu had 10 points and two steals. Damian Jones, now on his second 10-day contract with the Kings, had eight points, eight rebounds, two blocks and one huge defensive stop on Towns with 1.8 seconds remaining.
The Kings got off to a hot start against the Timberwolves for the second night in a row. Sacramento shot 68.2% and made 7 of 10 from 3-point range in the opening period, scoring 44 first-quarter points to open up an early 10-point lead.
The Kings went up by 12 in the second quarter and led 70-59 at the half thanks in large part to Hield’s hot shooting. Hield made 8 of 11 field-goal attempts and 5 of 7 from long distance to finish the half with 21 points.
Sacramento led by as many as 13 early in the third quarter, but Minnesota stormed back to take a 98-95 lead going into the fourth. The Kings trailed 113-102 with less than six minutes remaining, but Barnes, Hield and Haliburton all made 3-pointers to fuel a 15-2 run for Sacramento.
Haliburton said he enjoyed playing in front of Kings fans for the first time over the past two nights.
“Anybody who knows me and watched me play growing up, they know I really love that entertainment factor of basketball,” Haliburton said. “I love to play in front of fans and put on a show, so it’s been really fun to play in front of Kings fans and it just feels good to have fans in the arena again. I know we’ve been on the road and there have been fans, but it’s a little different when they’re cheering for you.”
Up next
The Kings will enjoy a rare three-day break in the schedule before they visit the Golden State Warriors on Sunday at Chase Center in San Francisco. The Warriors (29-30) are coming off a 118-114 loss to the Washington Wizards. They will face the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Stephen Curry was held to 18 points on 7-of-25 shooting in the loss to Washington, ending his streak of 11 consecutive 30-point games. The two-time MVP averaged 40.8 points over the first 10 games in April. He scored 53 against the Nuggets on April 12 and 49 against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 19.
Sacramento and Golden State split two earlier meetings this season. The Warriors beat the Kings 137-106 on Jan. 4. Fox scored 44 points to lead the Kings to a 141-119 victory on March 25.
Injury report
Timberwolves: OUT — Malik Beasley (hamstring); Jaylen Nowell (tibia).
Kings: OUT — Marvin Bagley III (hand); Richaun Holmes (hamstring); Robert Woodard II (back).
Kings upcoming schedule
April 25 at Golden State Warriors, 7 p.m.
April 26 vs. Dallas Mavericks, 7 p.m.
April 28 vs. Utah Jazz, 7 p.m.
April 30 at Los Angeles Lakers, 7:30 p.m.
May 2 at Dallas Mavericks, 5 p.m.
This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
