Hield’s hot shooting, Fox’s fourth quarter, Jones’ double-double help Kings beat Heat
Buddy Hield got hot and De’Aaron Fox dominated the fourth quarter, but the Kings wouldn’t have been in any position to beat the Miami Heat without Damian Jones.
The backup center made his first start of the season with Richaun Holmes out due to NBA heath and safety protocols. Jones did not disappoint, posting the second double-double of his six-year career to help the Kings hold off the Heat 115-113 on Sunday at Golden 1 Center.
“It’s been great having an opportunity,” Jones said. “You put the work in, so you’ve just got to go out there and execute. Everything is coming together right now and I’m just trying to keep it that way.”
Hield had a game-high 26 points and six rebounds for the Kings (16-22), who have won three of their last four games to move into 10th in the Western Conference. Hield went 9 of 18 from the field and made 7 of 14 from 3-point range.
Fox had 24 points, six rebounds and six assists. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and finished 14 of 15 at the free-throw line to help the Kings close out a tough opponent in a game that featured seven ties and 14 lead changes.
Omer Yurtseven had 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Heat (23-14), who had won five in a row despite playing with a depleted roster. Tyler Herro also scored 22 points. Jimmy Butler had 21.
Bam Adebayo (thumb), Dewayne Dedmon (knee), Markieff Morris (neck), KZ Okpala (wrist) and Victor Oladipo (knee) were out due to injuries. Marcus Garrett, Udonis Haslem, Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, P.J. Tucker and Gabe Vincent were out due to health and safety protocols.
The Kings hoped their recent COVID-19 outbreak was behind them with interim coach Alvin Gentry and seven players returning from health and safety protocols over the past week, but Holmes entered the league’s protocol system Saturday. Alex Len, who was started seven games this season, is still working on his conditioning after his own bout with the virus, so Gentry turned to Jones, who responded with 18 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Jones went 7 of 10 from the field and got to the free-throw line seven times.
Jones, 26, has made the most of his recent opportunities after appearing in only 10 of Sacramento’s first 26 games. He is averaging 11.6 points and 8.8 rebounds over the past five games. Prior to that stretch, he had a career-high 23 points and eight rebounds in a win over the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 19.
“I think it’s great because he is the ultimate professional guy,” Gentry said. “You can sit over there and not play him for 10 games or 12 games. It doesn’t matter. When you put him in the game, I guarantee you he’ll be ready to go.”
Gentry said the 6-foot-11, 245-pound center is athletic, energetic and versatile.
“I think what you see with him is you get a lot of energy,” Gentry said. “He’s a good roller. He’s a good runner in transition, so we get some things like that. He’s not a bad guy to switch out on even if it’s a perimeter player. He’s been pretty good at that, so he’s earned the minutes that he’s playing.”
Fox agreed Jones has been good when given opportunities.
“The minutes that he’s gotten have been great for us,” Fox said. “With how athletic he is and being able to guard 1 through 5, we switch a lot when he’s on the floor, and the big thing about that for us is just rebounding on the back end because we know he’s going to do his job in making whoever he’s guarding miss.
“So rebounding is one thing we have to be better at when he’s out there guarding perimeter guys, but offensively, defensively, he’s been able to do a lot of things for us, whether it’s coming in and blocking shots, finishing, getting and-1s or whatever it may be. He’s done a great job at that with the minutes he’s gotten.”
Former Kings
Former Kings Kyle Guy, Nik Stauskas and Chris Silva have found a temporary home as replacement players for the Heat.
Guy, who signed a 10-day contract with Miami on Thursday, matched his career high with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting in his Heat debut against the Houston Rockets on Friday.
Guy had seven points and four assists against the Kings, the team that drafted him out of Virginia in 2019. Silva had seven points and five rebounds. Stauskas had five points.
Woodard, Davis out
Kings guard Terence Davis was ruled out for Sunday’s game due to left ankle soreness. Small forward Robert Woodard II was out with a non-COVID-19-related illness.
Davis, who was acquired last season in a trade with the Toronto Raptors, is averaging 9.5 points and 3.1 rebounds this season. Woodard, who came out of Mississippi State as the 40th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, has appeared in six games this season, averaging 0.8 points and 0.2 rebounds.
This story was originally published January 2, 2022 at 8:27 PM.
