SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Buddy Hield relieved an ankle injury and scored 29 points, as the Sacramento Kings defeated the Los Angeles Lakers hitting casualties 123-120 on Wednesday night.
Hield’s presence in the game was in doubt due to a sprained right ankle, but he decided to jump onto the court and help the Kings to their second win in 12 games.
Sacramento took advantage of a short-lived Lakers without LeBron James and Anthony Davis to bounce back from Sunday’s debacle against Charlotte, when he missed five free-kicks in the final 69 seconds to blow an eight-point lead.
The Kings held the guy down in the closing bars this time, with a layup from Harrison Barnes that put them 121-120 up with 30.1 seconds to go after De’Aaron Fox was sent off for foul accumulation.
Dennis Schröder and Montrezl Harrell both missed shots in the opposite basket and Sacramento recovered the ball with 3 seconds left. Barnes made two free throws and Kyle Kuzma’s desperate three-pointer over the horn didn’t work.
Fox finished with 23 points and Barnes added 20 for Sacramento.
Schröder led Los Angeles with 28 points, while Harrell had 26 and Kuzma contributed 25. But it was not enough for the Lakers, who have lost six of their last eight games and are tied for third place in the Western Conference.
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