Richaun Holmes Was The Hero Against The Celtics
Sacramento Kings big man Richaun Holmes had likely the biggest sequence of his NBA career on Sunday afternoon
The Sacramento Kings continued their November hot streak on Sunday afternoon by defeating the Boston Celtics who came into the day with the best record in the NBA and were riding a ten-game win streak. There were contributions from a multitude of Kings players, but the true hero of the game was Richaun Holmes.
Holmes has been downright impressive through the first 12 games of the season, averaging career-highs in points (10.7), rebounds (7.4), and blocks (1.3). He has been a big reason for the Kings’ resurgence with his grit and high motor, and his performance in the final minute of Sacramento’s victory over the Celtics was undoubtedly his best of the season.
Despite his poor shooting performance from the field and his modest scoring output, Holmes helped the Kings in the biggest way possible.
The Celtics had possession of the ball and a 99-98 lead with 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Kemba Walker ran the clock down to 18 seconds and shot a well-contested fall away from the elbow that clanked off of the back of the iron. A crashing Marcus Smart came flying in for an offensive rebound but immediately found himself surrounded by three Kings underneath the basket.
Smart went up for a layup that should have given the Celtics a three-point lead.
Enter: Holmes.
The Kings big man swatted Smart’s shot off of the backboard, creating a loose ball situation with 15 ticks left. Both Holmes and Smart battled for possession, twisting and contorting until both fell on to the ground in a heap. It looked as though a jump ball would be called given that both players were clutching the rock when they hit the deck.
But the referees went to the replay review and found that Smart had indeed fouled Holmes in the skirmish. Since the Celtics were in the penalty, Holmes was given two free throws on the other end. Instead of having a jump ball situation on Boston’s side of the court, the Kings would have the chance to tie or take the lead with just 13 seconds left.
In what were likely the biggest free-throws of his NBA career, Holmes calmly sunk both and the Sacramento Kings took a 100-99 lead.
The Celtics still had a chance to grab the victory, but came up short when Smart’s running floater bounced off of the rim, the backboard, and then the rim twice more before rolling off as the buzzer sounded. The Kings secured the victory and had the clutch performance of Richaun Holmes to thank.
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Holmes and the Kings will play host to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night in a rematch of the season opener in which Sacramento was demolished by 29 points.