Rough Third Quarter Dooms Kings In Second Game Of Back-To-Back
Dec 27, 2020, 8:21 PM | Updated: Dec 28, 2020, 9:20 am
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Foul trouble, sluggish play late helps Suns hand Sacramento first loss of season
As the saying goes, “you can’t win ’em all.”
The Sacramento Kings fell apart in the second-half on Sunday night, dropping their first game of the season to the Phoenix Suns by a final of 116-100 at Golden 1 Center.
After a back-and-forth first-half, Phoenix went on a 20-5 run to end the third quarter, putting the Kings in a double-digit hole as play entered the fourth-period.
De’Aaron Fox picked up his fifth foul in the closing seconds of the third quarter, signaling the beginning of the end as both Fox and Marvin Bagley III (four fouls) had no choice but to sit and watch the Suns go on their run.
With Fox and Bagley on the bench, Phoenix stretched the lead to as much as 17 en route to the win.
Fox finished with 12 points, four assists and five turnovers in the loss, an uncharacteristic night from the franchise guard. Marvin Bagley III was also hampered with foul trouble against Phoenix, scoring 11 points to go along with eight rebounds.
The biggest bright-spot for Sacramento was rookie guard Tyrese Haliburton, who put forward his best game so far in his NBA career.
Haliburton knocked down three-of-four attempts from the three-point line, scoring 15 points and dishing six assists in the loss. Seeing Haliburton play on both sides of the ball and continue to almost always make the smart play (zero turnovers) is refreshing to watch.
Buddy Hield struggled from the field in the loss, going six-for-16 from the field including three-of-nine from the three-point line during his 17-point performance.
Hield was four-for-14 from the field during Saturday night’s win.
Richaun Holmes finished with eight points and 11 rebounds for Sacramento. Like Fox and Bagley, foul trouble was also an issue for Holmes, as the Kings big man finished with four fouls.
Kings rookies Robert Woodard II and Jah’mius Ramsey made their NBA debuts on Sunday night, each scoring their first professional basket during the loss.
Phoenix forward Cameron Johnson scored a career-high on Sunday night, finishing with 21 points in the winning effort. All-Star guard Devin Booker scored 20 points, while Mikal Bridges led all Suns scorers with 22 points.
Coming Up
The Kings will look to get back on track on Tuesday night when they get a rematch with the Denver Nuggets at Golden 1 Center.
Sacramento stunned the Nuggets on Wednesday during the season opener, with Buddy Hield, De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes saving the day in overtime.
Be sure to tune in to Sports 1140 KHTK for all of the action, starting with pregame coverage at 6:30pm PST followed by tip-off at 7:00pm PST.
