Field Level Media
Apr 5, 2019
Buddy Hield scored a game-high 23 points to help the Sacramento Kings post a 117-104 victory over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18 points, and De'Aaron Fox recorded 16 points and 10 assists for the Kings. Marvin Bagley III registered 15 points and eight rebounds, and Nemanja Bjelica had 10 points.
Jordan Clarkson scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting for the Cavaliers, who lost their seventh straight game and fell to 6-34 on the road. Collin Sexton added 19 points, Cedi Osman scored 17, Ante Zizic contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds and Larry Nance Jr. had 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Cleveland (19-60) has lost 60 or more games for the fifth time in franchise history.
Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love (shoulder) missed his third straight contest.
The victory helps Sacramento (39-40) in its quest to end a 12-season string of losing campaigns. The last time the Kings finished .500 or better is when the Rick Adelman-coached squad went 44-38 in 2005-06.
Sacramento shot 49.5 percent from the field, including 14 of 38 from 3-point range.
The Cavaliers shot 54.3 percent and were 11 of 25 from behind the arc, but they were done in by 22 turnovers, compared to just seven by the Kings.
Cleveland trailed 101-95 after Clarkson drained a 3-pointer with 7:52 remaining, but the Kings scored the next nine points.
Bogdanovic hit a jumper, Bagley made a 3-pointer and scored on the inside, and Kosta Koufos ended the surge with a basket to give Sacramento a 110-95 edge with 4:44 left.
The Cavaliers scored the next five points, but Fox's 18-footer with 1:42 remaining took the steam out of the Cleveland charge. Hield followed with a 3-pointer 25 seconds later to push the margin back to 15 as the Kings closed it out.
Harrison Barnes' jumper gave the Kings a 68-59 lead with 8:23 remaining in the third quarter.
The Cavaliers recovered to trail 74-73 on Sexton's basket with 4:40 left but were unable to move ahead.
Hield hit two 3-pointers to help Sacramento take an 82-76 lead with 2:58 remaining.
Bogdanovic drained a 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left, giving the Kings a 93-84 lead entering the final stanza. Bogdanovic buried another 3-pointer 14 seconds into the fourth quarter to push the lead to 12.
Hield scored 11 first-half points as the Kings held a 57-51 advantage at the break.
--Field Level Media