Despite falling to the defending-champion Golden State Warriors, there were some solid performances from several Sacramento Kings.
In a battle of North-California superteams, the Sacramento Kings were dethroned by the defending-champions Golden State, 117-116.
The Kings controlled this game for much of the first-half, outscoring the Golden State Warriors in the first two quarters, en route to a 64-60 halftime lead. Sacramento got solid first-half performances from Buddy Hield, Iman Shumpert and Marvin Bagley III, but Willie Cauley-Stein and De’Aaron Fox couldn’t get their shot to fall tonight.
A tough third quarter led to the Kings falling behind 95-93, a margin that would be the difference Saturday night. Sacramento was able to tie the game at 113, but a Klay Thompson layup with 0:05 remaining did the Kings in.
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Sacramento had two chances at the buzzer, but Buddy Hield missed a layup and Marvin Bagley III couldn’t get his tip-in to fall, dooming the Kings to their first loss in Oracle Arena since 2016.
Despite the loss, Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley III both turned in excellent performances while Harry Giles and Bogdan Bogdanovic both provided a huge spark off the bench.
Three of those, however, stood out above the rest, starting with Buddy Hield.
Buddy Hield had one of his best scoring games of the season, going for a season-high 28 points on 12-21 shooting.
Buddy. Gets. Buckets. That was the theme of tonight game anyway, as Buddy Hield scored 12 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter. Hield turned in one of his best games of the season, scoring efficiently on high volume.
Hield’s 28 points led the team and he also added seven rebounds, three assists and a block. Hield’s performance could be a big confidence boost as well, as he did all that coming off a 10 point, 4-12 shooting performance against the Utah Jazz.
Buddy Hield has really come into his own as a top-scoring option this season, despite having some down games, he’s averaging 18.7 points on .478/.441/.846 shooting.
When Hield and Fox are on this team is hard to beat, unfortunately for the Sacramento Kings, only Hield caught fire tonight. While Fox may have had a down night, Marvin Bagley III turned in one of his best performances this season and was a key contributor for Sacramento in this one.
Marvin Bagley III had another strong performance tonight, rewarding Dave Joerger’s renewed confidence in him.
Marvin Bagley III has been benefitting from rumors of Head Coach Dave Joerger’s firing, as he’s been granted extended playing time and has put up the numbers to back it up.
Bagley played 34 minutes tonight, tied for the most on the team, out playing starting power forward Nemanja Bjelica by 15 minutes-something Bagley certainly warranted.
MB3 put up 20 points, 17 rebounds and two assists on 7-15 shooting, while going 6-8 from the line as well.
Bagley vastly out playing and outperforming Bjelica was certainly a surprise and could become a major development down the road. Nemanja Bjelica is key to the Sacramento Kings’ success, but if Bagley consistently outplays and performs him, MB3 could find his way in the starting lineup sooner, rather than later.
Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley weren’t the only one who played a strong game, as Harry Giles turned in one of his best games this season.
Harry Giles has struggled mightily this season, but Saturday’s game could be a turning point for him.
Harry Giles has had a mostly down season thus far, after a strong preseason showing, but he rebounded pretty well against the Warriors.
Giles’ stat line doesn’t jump out at you (10 points, two rebounds and four assists), but he did that in just 11 minutes of play. Giles played the third-fewest minutes on the team tonight, but if he continues to play well in limited minutes he could find himself in a bigger role.
While it’s difficult to imagine him supplanting starting center Willie Cauley-Stein anytime soon, it’s not difficult to imagine him earning a bigger role.
Giles has really fallen flat to start the season. However, the year barely a quarter way through, he’s got plenty of time to live up to the hype that had some pegging him as a dark horse RoY candidate.
Will he be able to sustain it? It’s hard to tell. Giles has had solid games only to stumble afterwards, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on.
Next up: Sacramento Kings (10-9) vs. Utah Jazz (8-11)