Buddy Hield explodes from beyond the arc, steers Kings to 110-107 victory over Suns

The Kings erased an awful first half of play and squeaked out another close fourth quarter to claim their second win on the young season.

The Sacramento Kings claimed their second win on the season in Wednesday night’s 110-107 thriller vs. the reigning Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns. The squad was led offensively by Buddy Hield’s 26 points on 7-11 shooting from three, and a buzzer beating three from Harrison Barnes.

Luke Walton rolled out his go-to starting five in De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Barnes, Moe Harkless and Richaun Holmes against Phoenix’s Ayton, Booker, Mikal Bridges, Chris Paul and Jae Crowder.

Sacramento started the game sloppy. Between giving up unforced turnover after unforced turnover, Sacramento hit only one of 10shots from beyond the arc. Despite a rancid offensive performance in the first half, the Kings only trailed by eight points heading into halftime with an opportunity to get back in the contest. In the second half, that’s exactly what they did.

The Kings opened up the third frame with a 8-0 run and were disruptive on defense early, erasing the deficit from the opening two frames and tying things up at 61-61 piece with 8:16 to play in the third. Key contributions from Barnes, Fox and Haliburton were all combined in leading the charge on both the offensive and defensive end.

It was Buddy Love from there. Hield was electric in the third, shooting 6-10 from beyond the arc to give the Kings an 82-76 lead heading into the final frame. Sacramento outscored Phoenix 29-15 in the quarter.

Sacramento garnered itself a 10 point lead with 8:20 left in the fourth quarter and ended the night still looking to win on a tie, with Harrison Barnes shooting a game winning three-pointer at the end of regulation.

In what was doomed to be a stinker, this team pulled through building on its defensive chops, a miracle from Big Shot Barnes and one hell of a night for Buddy Buckets.

Sacramento will play again in New Orleans on Friday, October 29 as they take on the Zion Williamson-less Pelicans for their second contest of four on the road.