Sacramento @ Charlotte preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 30, 2019 ) Charlotte 118, Sacramento 111

The Sacramento Kings played one of their worst games of the season on Sunday and still managed a 21-point win. The Kings will try to clean up some of the mistakes and stay in the win column when they head east to visit the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday in the second of a four-game road trip.

Sacramento committed an NBA season-high 29 turnovers on Sunday but still breezed to a 100-79 victory over the Golden State Warriors - its fourth win in the last five games. "We had an early lead and we got casual again," Kings coach Luke Walton told reporters. "And in this league, you get casual and teams are going to make you pay. So, I'll go back and watch the tape, but my guess is a lot of those turnovers were just us being lazy with the ball or not going to attack the basket." The Hornets had a three-game winning streak come to an end in Sunday's 107-85 loss at Indiana, which marked the second straight game in which they failed to score more than 85 points. Charlotte, which earned an 83-73 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday despite shooting 38 percent from the floor, slumped to 30.8 percent shooting on Sunday.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS California (Sacramento), FS Southeast (Charlotte)

ABOUT THE KINGS (12-14): Sacramento should be able to clean up some mistakes this week with the expected return of point guard De'Aaron Fox, who has been out since Nov. 11 with an ankle injury but is traveling with the team and plans to be in the lineup on Tuesday. "His speed's ridiculous," Kings guard Buddy Hield told reporters of Fox. "He's a special talent. I'm the perfect fit to run with him and play with him." Hield scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting in Sunday's win as the Kings shot 60.3 percent from the floor.

ABOUT THE HORNETS (12-17): Charlotte point guard Terry Rozier had the toughest time finding the bottom of the net while going 1-of-12 from the floor on Sunday and fellow guard Devonte' Graham was nearly as bad at 3-of-18. "We did not shoot the ball well tonight," Hornets coach James Borrego told reporters. "I thought the Pacers played well. They made shots and unfortunately, we didn't get enough stops there down the stretch. Give our guys a lot of credit - it was a good road trip." The Hornets were stronger in the frontcourt against the Pacers, with Cody Zeller (19 points, 12 rebounds) and Bismack Biyombo (11 points, 17 boards) each recording double-doubles.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Kings SG Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting on Sunday.

2. Hornets F PJ Washington (fractured finger) is not expected back until after Christmas.

3. Charlotte earned a 118-111 win at Sacramento on Oct. 30 as Washington scored 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting.

PREDICTION: Kings 106, Hornets 99