Kings Complete Comeback Win in Marvin Bagley’s Return
Dec 11, 2019, 10:29 PM | Updated: 10:29 pm
Photo by Kimani Okearah
After fracturing his thumb in the first game of the season in Phoenix, Marvin Bagley returned to the court for the Sacramento Kings, contributing to a gritty comeback victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite a very rough shooting performance, Sacramento overcame a 14-point Thunder lead, stealing the 94-93 win.
“I’m thrilled we found a way to win a game,” said Kings head coach Luke Walton, “We probably didn’t deserve to win tonight but we found a way to win. That’s a skill in this league”.
Thanks to a surge of scoring from Buddy Hield in the fourth quarter, and a clutch go-ahead three from Bogdan Bogdanovic, Sacramento was able to go ahead in the final seconds. Hield finished with a team high 23 points, while Bogdanovic tallied 17 off the bench.
Once again it would come down to defense for the Kings, who needed a clutch stop to secure the W. Enter Richaun Holmes, who didn’t shy away from the challenge of guarding Chris Paul.
Walton had nothing but great things to say about Holmes following the win, “Richaun Holmes made some big-time winning plays. He is impressive. He’s been impressive all year. He’s kind of been one of the main points of our defense turning around. He’s impressed us all”.
Bagley said in an interview with CBS 13 that he didn’t have his best game in his return, but still managed a solid 11 points, six rebounds and a block.
“Had to get my wind back a little bit but after that I felt like I was getting back to normal,” said Bagley after the game, “I feel good man. That’s why I was taking my time, making sure I was ready to play and do what I do without thinking about (my thumb) or it hurting”.
“I loved having Marvin out there. I told him just go have fun. You are going to play ten thousand games in Sacramento,” added Walton.
The Sacramento Kings are now 4-2 in games decided by just one point. They will try and win their fourth straight on Friday night when the host the New York Knicks.
