Kings gameday live: Injury sidelines Suns center Deandre Ayton for rematch with Sacramento
Phoenix Suns at Sacramento Kings
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Golden 1 Center
TV: NBC Sports California
Radio: Sports 1140 KHTK
Odds: Suns -2.5
Over/under: 225.5
Morning injury report
Suns: OUT — Deandre Ayton (leg); Dario Saric (ACL).
Kings: OUT — Not yet submitted.
Ayton ruled out
The Kings couldn’t stop Deandre Ayton last time they faced the Phoenix Suns. This time, they won’t have to.
Ayton, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA draft, is expected to miss his second consecutive game when the Kings and Suns meet again Monday night at Golden 1 Center. Ayton is out with a right lower leg contusion.
The Kings (5-5) will be on the second night of a back-to-back after suffering a 94-91 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. The Suns (5-3) have won four in a row since losing to the Kings on Oct. 27 in Phoenix. Ayton dominated the paint with 21 points and 21 rebounds in that game, but the Kings escaped with a 110-107 victory when Harrison Barnes made a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Ayton is averaging 14.2 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals. Suns coach Monty Williams started veteran JaVale McGee in place of Ayton in Saturday’s 121-117 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. McGee contributed only six points and five rebounds in 18 minutes, but Devin Booker erupted for a season-high 38 points and Chris Paul dished out 13 assists.
Buddy Love
Kings guard Buddy Hield is emerging as an early candidate for Sixth Man of the Year.
Hield is averaging 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 28.5 minutes per game. He is shooting 41.7% from 3-point range and 87.5% at the free-throw line.
Hield is second in the NBA in bench scoring behind the Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro, who is averaging 21.3 points per game. Other leading candidates for the Sixth Man of the Year award at this early stage in the season include the Los Angeles Lakers’ Carmelo Anthony, Washington Wizards’ Montrezl Harrell, Utah Jazz’s Jordan Clarkson.
Fox watch
The panic over De’Aaron Fox’s early struggles has not subsided, but there are some indications the 23-year-old point guard is breaking out of his shooting slump.
Fox is averaging 18.1 points per game on 39% shooting from the field and 18.8% shooting from 3-point range. Over the last three games, Fox has made 22 of 48 field-goal attempts and 3 of 9 from 3-point range, shooting 45.8% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. He has also made 10 of 11 (.909) free-throw attempts after going 24 of 38 (.631) to start the season.
Haliburton questionable
Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton is listed as questionable on the team’s afternoon injury report due to lower back tightness.
Haliburton, a finalist for Rookie of the Year last season, has started all 10 games for Sacramento. He is averaging 13.6 points, 5.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 48.2% from the field and 37.1% from 3-point range.
If Haliburton is unable to play against the Suns, Kings coach Luke Walton might turn to Hield, who started 265 games over his first five seasons in the NBA.
Haliburton ruled out
Walton provided an update on Haliburton’s status during his pregame news conference. The news was not good for the Kings.
Walton said Haliburton was ruled out after receiving treatment from the team’s medical staff and going through a light workout on the court Monday afternoon. Walton said the coaching staff had not decided who would start in Haliburton’s place.
“He’s not going to play tonight,” Walton said. “He woke up, unfortunately, with a pretty stiff back and worked on it all day. You kind of need your back to be able to play basketball, so he’ll be out tonight. We’re looking into who’s going to start for us now. We were kind of waiting to hear how Ty did on the floor, so we’ll have an answer soon.”
Halftime
Cameron Payne came off the bench to score 17 points in the opening half, helping the Suns carry a 67-64 lead into the break.
The Kings were outscored 7-0 to start the game and trailed by as many as nine in the first period, but they came back to claim the lead in the second. Fox missed three of his first four shots in the first quarter, but he came alive in the second, scoring 10 points in a span of 3:22 to give the Kings a 61-57 lead with 2:25 to play in the half.
Barnes led the Kings with 15 points at intermission. Hield had 14. Fox had 12.
The Suns shot 57.4% in the first half, making 9 of 16 from 3-point range. The Kings shot 52.3% while making 9 of 15 from beyond the arc.
Kings lose
The Suns held on for a 109-104 victory over the Kings, who stormed back to cut the deficit to three after trailing by 21 with 8:28 to play in the fourth quarter.
Barnes led all scorers with 26 points, making 7 of 9 from the field and 11 of 11 free-throw attempts. Fox finished with 24 points on 8 of 19 shooting, but he missed two critical free throws with 35.3 seconds remaining.
Payne scored 24 points to lead the Suns, who led by as many as 24 points late in the third quarter. Booker had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Paul finished with 16 points.
The Kings staged a 24-6 run to get within three on a dunk by Barnes with 9.7 seconds remaining. They had a chance to tie the game after Booker missed two free throws with 8.1 seconds to play, but a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play prevented them from getting a shot off.
Sacramento’s fourth-quarter surge was led by little-used backups such as Damian Jones and Chimezie Metu. Jones had four points and five rebounds in 12 minutes. Metu had two points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in 19 minutes.
“D. Jones and Chimezie are always the first people in the gym,” said Kings rookie Davion Mitchell, who had 12 points and six assists. “They’re always ready. They’re always working on their game, even when they’re not playing. … Just being ready, staying ready.”
Note: Check back for updates with the latest news, notes, quotes and injury updates before, during and after tonight’s game between the Kings and Suns.
This story was originally published November 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
