Miracle At Golden 1: Barnes’ Buzzer Beater Lifts Kings To Fourth Straight Win
Mar 27, 2021, 10:10 PM | Updated: 10:47 pm
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Right when it seemed time had run out for Sacramento, Harrison Barnes and De’Aaron Fox saved the day
The game was over.
Even though De’Aaron Fox had put on yet another offensive display in the fourth quarter to give the Sacramento Kings life, the Cleveland Cavaliers had just responded to take a 98-97 lead with just 1.6 seconds remaining.
With no timeouts remaining for the Kings, De’Aaron Fox would have to look for an open man all the way on the other end of the floor.
Fox let a beautiful, almost full-court pass fly that found a curling Harrison Barnes, who would turn and put up a three-point attempt as the final horn sounded.
The shot would fall in, sending the entire Kings roster (and cardboard cutouts) into a frenzy to give Sacramento (21-25) an unforgettable 100-98 win, the team’s fourth in-a-row and sixth over their last seven contests.
Barnes’ incredible shot–on a quarterback-esque toss from Fox–has added more momentum to a team that has pulled themselves back into the race for the Western Conference play-in.
Fourth quarter Fox
Things would start off very sloppy for the Kings on Saturday night.
After scoring eight points in the first quarter, De’Aaron Fox was held to just two points on one field goal attempt in the second quarter. The Cleveland defense would score 12 points off of nine Sacramento turnovers to keep things close, with the Kings taking a slim 49-48 advantage into the break.
The Cavs would grit and grind their way to take a 74-71 lead into the fourth after holding De’Aaron Fox and the rest of the Sacramento offense at bay in the third.
Once the clock resets to 12 minutes for the fourth quarter, a switch seems to flip inside of Fox.
Fox would explode for 20 points in the fourth quarter to help erase a late lead by Cleveland, converting an and-one opportunity to put Sacramento out in front 97-96 with 6.2 seconds remaining.
Cavs guard Colin Sexton would respond however, driving the entire length of the floor and going right to the rim for two points after Richaun Holmes was called for goaltending.
Even though Fox had already scored 20 points in the fourth and topped the 30-point mark for the fourth-straight game, he would put an exclamation point on his night with the full-court dime to Barnes for the win.
Fox would finish with a game-high 36 points on 15-of-24 from the field to go along with four rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal over 38 minutes of action.
Over Fox’s last four games, he has been simply incredible, scoring 36.7 points per game–all wins for the Kings.
Rounding out the box score
After his coldest stretch of the season that saw him average 9.4 points per game on 38-percent shooting from the field, Harrison Barnes turned in a solid showing on Saturday night.
The veteran forward posted his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points on six-of-10 shooting while pulling down 11 rebounds.
Barnes, who had been mentioned in trade rumors for the weeks leading up to Thursday’s deadline, showed why general manager Monte McNair and the Kings organization value his presence so much–not just for this season, but potentially for the remaining two seasons on his contract.
Richaun Holmes posted his 18th double-double of the season during the win over Cleveland, as the center would grab a game-high 14 rebounds to go along with 10 points and an incredible five blocks.
Rookie guard Tyrese Haliburton scored 13 points on six-of-11 shooting in the win, while Buddy Hield contributed with 10 points on four-of-nine shooting from the field.
It wasn’t all pretty for the Kings on Saturday–it was actually quite an ugly affair for the most part.
Sacramento turned the ball over almost twice as many times as Cleveland (18 to 10) while allowing 21 points off of their turnovers.
The long-ball was not in their favor during the win, with Barnes’ game-winner bringing the final three-point tally up to seven-of-30 (23-percent) as a team on the night.
New Faces In Sactown
For the first time since being acquired during Thursday’s trade deadline, Delon Wright, Terence Davis and Maurice Harkless made their Sacramento Kings debuts on Saturday against Cleveland.
All three players checked in off of the bench in the first quarter, a telling sign that head coach Luke Walton intends to use the team’s newest members as a part of the rotation.
“It was a hell of a first day for me and the rest of the new guys,” Wright would say of the exciting win after the game.
Wright would finish with four points, three rebounds and two assists over 23 minutes, while Davis chipped in with six points and two boards.
Coming Up
Sacramento will hit the road for a set of games against the San Antonio Spurs, with the first contest taking place on Monday afternoon.
Both games are crucial regarding the hunt for a spot in the Western Conference Play-In, with the Spurs (7th seed) currently sitting a 3.5 games ahead of Sacramento as of Saturday night.
Last season, the Spurs took two out of the three regular season games–the most recent being a 129-120 win during play on July 31, 2020 in the NBA Bubble.
De’Aaron Fox scored a then-career-high 39 points in the loss.
Be sure to get all of your Kings vs Spurs coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK, starting with The Jason Ross & Doug Christie Show at 3:00pm PST prior to a 5:30pm PST tip-off from San Antonio.
Upcoming Kings Schedule
- March 29 @ San Antonio Spurs
- March 31 @ San Antonio Spurs
- April 2 vs Los Angeles Lakers
- April 3 vs Milwaukee Bucks
- April 5 @ Minnesota Timberwolves
