Soarin’ Over Phoenix: Barnes’ Buzzer-Beater Lifts Kings Past Suns In Thriller
Oct 27, 2021, 9:52 PM | Updated: 9:52 pm
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Harrison Barnes did it again.
In a game that was a roller coaster for the Sacramento Kings, it had to come down to the final shot on Wednesday night in Phoenix.
After blowing a double-digit lead over the closing minutes of regulation, the Kings would not be denied of a victory at Footprint Center as Harrison Barnes added onto his incredible start to the season by drilling a three-pointer as time expired to give Sacramento a 110-107 win over a very talented Suns team.
With the win, the Kings improve to 2-2 on the season and 2-0 on the road, posting a .500 record over an absolutely brutal opening four-game stretch against some of the best teams in the Western Conference.
Last season’s Western Conference champions looked every bit of the part early, holding the Kings offense to just one-of-10 from three-point range and 23 points in the first quarter. Somehow, Phoenix entered the second with a six-point advantage that felt like it should have been much worse.
Things would get worse in a hurry as the Suns extended their lead to 36-25 with 9:26 remaining in the half. Alex Len got some early run on Wednesday and provided the Kings with seven points in the second quarter to pace an 11-4 run to keep Sacramento close.
Suns center Deandre Ayton had a field day to start this one off, posting 16 points (eight-of-11 from the field) and 11 rebounds in the first half to give Phoenix a 61-53 advantage at the halftime break.
All things considered, with Ayton’s play and the Kings being unable to buy a basket from three-point range (four-of-17 in the first half), being down by eight points after two quarters was a gift. Phoenix controlled the paint in the first half, outscoring Sacramento 38-24 to take control of this one early and put themselves in a solid position to pick up a win on their home floor.
The Kings made some much-needed halftime adjustments and held the Suns to an 0-for-eight start to the third quarter. De’Aaron Fox and the rest of the offense went on an 8-0 run in the process to tie things up at 61-61 with 8:16 remaining in the period.
After struggling during Sunday night’s loss to Golden State (six points on two-of-10 from three-point range), Buddy Hield found his stroke in the third quarter on Wednesday night. Hield caught fire, knocking down four triples in the quarter to pace the Kings to an 82-76 lead heading into the fourth.
Sacramento held Phoenix to just 15 points in the third quarter, giving a textbook showcase of how you respond to a rough first half. That isn’t something that you’ve seen from this team often in recent years.
Hield’s big night would carry over into the fourth as the sharpshooter’s seventh three-pointer of the night gave the Kings a 92-82 lead with 8:31 remaining in regulation.
Sacramento’s fourth quarter monster would make a late appearance as the Kings allowed Phoenix to go on a 13-5 run to even things at 107-107 with 34.7 seconds remaining.
Hield played lockdown defense on Devin Booker and forced the All-Star to take a tough shot, giving the Kings a chance to win this one with 3.7 seconds remaining. After Phoenix used their foul-to-give, Sacramento had one final look to end the game in regulation.
De’Aaron Fox inbounded the ball to Harrison Barnes, who turned and fired from beyond the three-point line and drilled delivered a walk-off, fadeaway triple at the buzzer to send the Kings bench into a frenzy.
The buzzer-beater was eerily reminiscent to last season’s game-winner against Cleveland on March 27th that featured a similar fall-away buzzer-beater from Barnes–Sacramento’s best player to begin the 2021-22 regular season.
It wasn’t a perfect game for this Kings team by any means, but winning on the road against the reigning Western Conference champs is an impressive feat–especially when you factor in the abysmal first half performance. Sacramento made adjustments and outscored Phoenix 57-46 in the second half.
Sure, the wheels almost fell off late, but Harrison Barnes came to the rescue. A narrow win, but a big win, nonetheless.
Rounding Out The Box Score
Sacramento’s early-season MVP not only delivered the game-winning triple, but also topped the 20-point mark for the fourth time in as many games played.
Harrison Barnes finished with 22 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field, nine rebounds and four assists in the win. What more can you say about the 10-year veteran other than this team would not have two wins on the year without him on the floor.
Buddy Hield finished with a season-high 26 points on eight-of-17 shooting from the field and seven-of-11 from three-point range in what was the 28-year-old’s best showing of the season.
Hield was the catalyst during Sacramento’s third quarter run, providing the Kings with a massive spark off of the bench to give the team its first lead of the night.
Wednesday night was a perfect example of Hield’s ‘boom’ when it comes to the sharpshooter’s boom-or-bust performances. Not only did Hield lead the Kings in scoring, he also picked up a crucial stop on Booker’s game-winning attempt in the closing moments of the game.
Richaun Holmes tallied his second double-double of the season in the win, finishing with 12 points, 12 rebounds and three assists over 29 minutes.
The struggles continued for De’Aaron Fox, as the star guard posted 18 points (seven-of-20 from the field and one-of-five from three-point land) to go along with two rebounds and nine assists. Fox’s three-point shot and free-throw stroke have just not been there to start the season, but with 78 games remaining, the All-Star hopeful will look to right the ship in the near future.
Tyrese Haliburton added 15 points, including some clutch three-pointers down the stretch, while Alex Len provided the Kings with some valuable minutes off of the bench. The big man knocked down both of his three-point attempts and scored 10 points over 18 minutes.
Coming Up
The Kings will play their second game of a four-game road trip on Friday night when they face the New Orleans Pelicans.
New Orleans will be without star forward Zion Williamson, who is “progressing” following surgery on his fractured right foot, but is still without a timetable for a return to game action. The former number-one overall pick was a force last season when facing Sacramento, averaging 26.0 points and 6.7 rebounds on 65-percent shooting from the field over three games.
The Pelicans took two of last season’s three head-to-head matchups against the Kings, with the most recent being a 117-110 win over Sacramento at the Smoothie Kings Center on April 12th.
You can find all of your Kings vs Pelicans coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK starting with The Jason Ross Show at 3:00pm PST prior to a 5:00pm PST tip-off from New Orleans.
