MINNEAPOLIS — Buddy Hield scored a career-high 42 points to help the Sacramento Kings rally from a 27-point deficit for a 133-129 overtime victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.
The Kings trailed the Timberwolves by 17 points with 2:49 left in the fourth quarter before mounting the rally. According to ESPN Stats & Information, since 1996-97, the first year of play-by-play data, NBA teams entered the day 0-8,378 when trailing by 17 or more in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime.
De’Aaron Fox scored 22 for the Kings, putting back the rebound of his intentionally missed free throw as part of a 33-11 run in the final 5:42 of regulation.
Andrew Wiggins had 36 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists for the Timberwolves, who lost their 10th consecutive game.
But the night belonged to Hield, who wears No. 24 for his childhood hero, Kobe Bryant, and the comeback Kings. Hield scored 20 points in the fourth quarter on 6-of-6 shooting, including 5-of-5 from 3-point range. Along the way, he became the second player in the past 20 seasons to record a 20-point fourth quarter while shooting 100 percent from the field in a game in which his team overcame a 25-point deficit, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
With the Kings down three with 4.7 seconds left in regulation, Fox made his first free throw. He intentionally fired the second off the front of the rim, grabbed the rebound and laid it in to tie the game with 3.6 seconds left.
Fox scored 17 points in the second half and overtime. Nemanja Bjelica finished with 20 points.
The Timberwolves built their lead thanks to a franchise-record 23 3-pointers. Wiggins was 7-for-11 from beyond the arc. Robert Covington had 24 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns added 23 for Minnesota. It was the first time since Dec. 13 that three Timberwolves scored 20 or more points in a game.
To open the game, both teams honored Bryant, who died Sunday in a helicopter crash. Minnesota took an eight-second backcourt violation, and Sacramento took a 24-second shot-clock violation on the ensuing possession. While taking the eight-second violation, Wiggins placed the ball on the free throw line where Bryant scored to pass Michael Jordan for third place on the career scoring list on Dec. 14, 2014, at Target Center.
Minnesota hit 10 of its first 15 3-point attempts and shot 14-for-23 from 3 in the first half. That set a franchise record for 3s in a half and helped the Timberwolves to a 68-50 halftime lead.
The Timberwolves honored Bryant prior to tipoff with words from Towns, a video tribute and a moment of silence. Towns wore No. 24 and Covington wore No. 8 while being introduced as part of the starting lineup to honor Bryant. They donned their regular Nos. 32 and 33 before the opening tip.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source : ESPN
