Barnes’ Late Game Heroics Lift Kings Over Lakers
Mar 3, 2021, 10:05 PM | Updated: 10:23 pm
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Sacramento had three players score 20 points or more in Wednesday’s win over Los Angeles
In the closing moments of Wednesday night’s game between the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers, things were trending towards another loss for the purple and black.
With the Sacramento trailing the Lakers 120-119 with less than 50 seconds remaining and De’Aaron Fox out of the game with six fouls, things seemed bleak for a Kings team that had lost nine of its last 10 games.
Harrison Barnes would not let his team squander another opportunity.
Barnes would convert a go-ahead lay-in with 30 seconds remaining to give the Sacramento a lead that they would not give up, eventually going on to ice the game with two free-throws in a 123-120 Kings win.
With the win, Sacramento (14-21) recovered from a tough loss on Sunday night against Charlotte with a gritty effort over a shorthanded Lakers squad.
After De’Aaron Fox sunk a go-ahead floater to give the Kings a 119-118 lead with just over a minute remaining, Fox would commit his sixth foul of the night on Dennis Schroeder, who would knock down two free-throws to give the Lakers a 120-119 lead with just under 40 seconds left.
With Fox out of the game, Sacramento turned to Barnes for the biggest possession of the game.
‘Black Falcon’ would stroll into the lane and go right to the rack for the go-ahead and eventual game-winning lay-in, giving the Kings a much needed victory.
The veteran forward did a little bit of everything on Wednesday, scoring 20 points (six-of-13 from the field) to go along with three rebounds and six assists.
Buddy Hield played in his 253rd straight game on Wednesday night after originally being listed as questionable due to a sprained ankle.
As was the case during Sunday’s game against Charlotte, Hield had a very strong first-half, scoring 16 points on four-of-six shooting from beyond the arc to lead the Kings to a 63-61 advantage at the break.
Hield would finish with a game-high 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field and seven-of-11 from downtown while also grabbing six rebounds and racking up six assists.
After struggling from the three-point line for most of the season, Hield has caught fire over the past two contests, scoring 59 points on 15-of-26 from the three-point line.
The reigning three-point champion will not be traveling to Atlanta this weekend to defend his crown, as Hield told the media that he turned down the opportunity to stay behind and work towards getting ready for the second-half of the season.
De’Aaron Fox scored 23 points on nine-of-18 field goal attempts while dishing out a team-high eight assists before fouling out for the first time this season (third time in his career.)
Richaun Holmes just narrowly missed notching his 11th double-double of the season against Los Angeles, finishing with 16 points on eight-of-12 shooting and nine rebounds to go along with a blocked shot.
For the ninth game in-a-row, Marvin Bagley III finished in double-figures.
The 21-year-old posted 14 points (seven-of-10 from the field) and five rebounds over 29 minutes.
Cory Joseph had a very strong game off of the Kings bench, scoring 13 points on five-of-seven shooting to go along with five assists during 34 minutes of playing time.
On The Mend
Los Angeles was without a bevy of its main cast during Wednesday’s game, with LeBron James (ankle), Anthony Davis (calf), Marc Gasol (health & safety protocols) and Alex Caruso (neck) sitting out due to injury.
Once again, Sacramento missed a key contributor to their bench unit, with the Kings reserves being outscored 46-21 by Los Angeles.
Kings standout rookie Tyrese Haliburton missed yet another game due to a sore calf that will keep the reigning Rookie of the Month out until after the All-Star break.
Haliburton was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for the month of February on Monday before being named to the Rising Stars team on Wednesday to cap off an incredible first-half of the 21-year-old’s rookie season.
- Hassan Whiteside missed his fifth-straight game due to health & safety protocols. It is likely that the big man returns to action following the All-Star break.
Coming Up
Sacramento will play their second game of a back-to-back on Thursday night in Portland, where they will end the first half of the 2020-21 regular season against Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers.
Portland has won both matchups against the Kings this season, the most recent being on January 13th at Golden 1 Center.
Be sure to tune in for all of the action right here on Sports 1140 KHTK, starting with pregame coverage at 3:00pm PST on The Jason Ross & Doug Christie Show prior to a 7:00pm PST tip-off.
