Welcome Back: Hield’s Tip-In At Buzzer Wins It In OT
Dec 23, 2020, 9:18 PM | Updated: 9:41 pm
(Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
The NBA season has returned. So have the cardiac Kings.
Down by four with just 99 seconds remaining in overtime, it looked as if the Sacramento Kings were going to begin their season with a loss.
It would have been a hard-fought loss for a team with low expectations, facing a Denver Nuggets team that held one of the best home records during the 2019-20 season.
All of the sudden, the Kings decided to deliver the fans of Sacramento a massive Christmas surprise, stunning the Nuggets with a buzzer-beating tip-in by Buddy Hield to seal a 124-122 win.
The best way to describe the final minute of action would be one word: chaos.
Denver was about to put the game away for good with 12.6 seconds left on a Will Barton basket, but De’Aaron Fox had other plans, swatting away Barton’s attempt. Harrison Barnes would score a game-tying lay-in with just 6.5 seconds remaining, setting Denver up for a game-winning attempt.
Barnes stripped Nuggets All-Star center Nikola Jokic out of the timeout, running the length of the floor and right to the basket for a game-winning lay-in attempt.
The game-winning attempt by Barnes would be rejected by Barton, but Buddy Hield was waiting underneath the basket for a one-handed put-back that rolled in as time expired to give the Kings an absolutely thrilling win to open up the 2020-21 season.
With the win, Sacramento snapped its six-game losing streak in Denver that dated back to the 2016-17 season. The win is also the first opening night win for the franchise since 2016.
Fox’s block seemingly saved the day, an exclamation point on his 21-point and seven-assist performance.
“The game is over if De’Aaron doesn’t make that block,” head coach Luke Walton said postgame. “That was incredible. I’m looking forward to watching that on tape. Just a big-time play by him.”
Hield finished with a team-high 22 points on five-of-11 from the three-point line. Buddy Buckets collected four rebounds in the win, his biggest coming on the game-winning put back as time expired.
“Once we got the win, I’m always going to run off the court,” Hield said when asked how his game-winner compared to his buzzer-beating win over the Detroit Pistons two seasons ago.
The Sacramento second-unit looked very solid in the second-half, helping lead the Kings to an 89-84 lead heading into the fourth-quarter.
Cory Joseph, who missed the last three games of the preseason, paced the Kings offense for a large portion of Wednesday’s season opener. The veteran guard finished with 15 points on six-of-10 from the field in his return to action.
Both Richaun Holmes and Marvin Bagley III fouled out in the fourth quarter, leaving Hassan Whiteside to finish the contest out in the paint.
Holmes scored six points and grabbed nine boards in the loss, while Bagley fell one rebound short of a double-double, scoring 13 points and snaring nine rebounds over 27 minuntes.
Harrison Barnes came alive in overtime, scoring several big buckets late en route to a 21-point performance.
Recently-drafted 12th overall pick Tyrese Haliburton made his NBA debut on Wednesday night, impressing with his poise and playmaking ability on the floor.
The rookie hit a few clutch three-point field goals late in the fourth-quarter to keep Sacramento in the game, finishing with 12 points and four assists with zero turnovers during his 30 minutes of playing time.
“I couldn’t ask for a better organization to play for. Just excited for the W,” Haliburton said postgame.
Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray struggled mightily in his season debut, only mustering nine points on one-of-nine shooting before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
It was a fun game for Sacramento, something that both the organization and fanbase needed after a rough offseason filled with front office and roster changes.
The Kings might not be one of the better teams in the league, but if we learned anything from Wednesday’s season opener, they will be a fun watch on any given night.
Coming Up
Sacramento will return to Golden 1 Center this weekend for a rare home back-to-back set against Chris Paul and the revamped Phoenix Suns.
The Kings and Suns will face off on both Saturday and Sunday in Sacramento.
Catch the home opener on Saturday night right here on Sports 1140 KHTK, with pregame coverage starting at 6:30pm PST with tip-off following at 7:00pm PST.
