Kings Lose Bagley, Drop Another Close Contest To Charlotte
Mar 15, 2021, 6:48 PM | Updated: 6:48 pm
(Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
Marvin Bagley III will be out indefinitely after fracturing the fourth metacarpal in his left hand
The Sacramento Kings have to be happy that they will not be facing the Charlotte Hornets again this season.
Just over two weeks after suffering their most frustrating loss of the season, the Kings blew a double-digit lead on Tuesday night that would give the Hornets the momentum they needed to pull out a 122-116 win at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Sacramento (15-24) has now lost two games in-a-row after starting the second-half of the season off with a win against the Houston Rockets.
After holding a slim lead all most of first half, Sacramento created some separation by taking a 15-point lead with 9:17 remaining in the third quarter.
Charlotte would charge back to cut the deficit to 96-91 heading into the fourth quarter behind strong efforts from Gordon Hayward (25 points) and Terry Rozier (26 points).
The Hornets would go on to take its first lead of the night on an and-one dunk by Hayward to give Charlotte a 113-111 lead with just over a minute remaining in regulation.
Buddy Hield would answer with a lay-in of his own to tie things up at 113-113. Following the bucket by Hield, Rozier would deliver the eventual dagger in the form of a three-point field goal to put the Hornets out in front 116-113 with less than one minute remaining.
Sacramento would be unable to convert field goals down the stretch, sealing the second-straight loss for the Kings after getting off to a promising start against the Hornets.
Box Score Roundup
De’Aaron Fox topped the 20-point mark for the ninth-consecutive game, just narrowly missing his fourth-straight 30-point performance.
The speedy guard would score 29 points (11-of-22 from the field) while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out eight assists over 37 minutes in the losing effort.
Richaun Holmes posted his fourth-consecutive double-double on Tuesday night, putting on a display in every way possible.
The talented center finished with 17 points on eight-of-13 shooting from the field to go along with 15 rebounds, 6 assists, two steals and four blocks over 41 minutes.
One game removed from arguably his worst shooting performance of the season in Atlanta (10 points, 4-16 FG, 2-11 3PT), Buddy Hield bounced back against Charlotte.
‘Buddy Buckets’ went five-of-11 from three-point range en route to a 23-point performance while also pulling down six rebounds.
Harrison Barnes contributed with 13 points and five rebounds to round out a Kings starting five that all finished in double-figures.
Marvin Bagley III Injury Update
After a strong first half that saw him score 12 points over only 16 minutes, Marvin Bagley III left Monday night’s game after the first half due to a left hand injury.
Bagley will underwent an X-Ray that revealed a fractured fourth metacarpal in his left hand, all but ensuring that Sacramento will be without its starting power forward for an extended period of time.
The Kings disclosed that they will update Bagley’s status and timetable of return in the coming days.
For reference, when Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry suffered a similar injury in 2019, the timetable given was three-to-six weeks.
Notes
Kings center Hassan Whiteside missed his ninth-straight game on Monday night due to health & safety protocols.
Whiteside, who has not played since February 21st, has been seen around the team’s bench in recent games. It is likely that the training staff is evaluating the center’s health and conditioning prior to reinstating him into practices and then eventually game action.
The 31-year-old big is seen as a trade candidate with multiple teams reportedly interested in acquiring the former blocks champion before the March 25th trade deadline passes.
Coming Up
Sacramento will hit continue its six-game road trip on Wednesday night when they face Russell Westbrook and the Washington Wizards.
Last season, the Kings swept their two-game set with Washington, with the most recent win coming on March 3, 2020 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 2:30pm PST prior to a 4:00pm PST tip-off time.
