De’Aaron Fox dropped 27 to lead the Sacramento Kings, who slipped by the Detroit Pistons in a wild finish, snapping a 9 game losing streak with a 110-107 win in Detroit.
Harrison Barnes joined Fox with 20-plus points, putting up 21 to go along with 7 assists and 8 rebounds. Six of his points came in the final 1:10 of the game. He led the Kings on a 13-6 run to close out the game.
Richaun Holmes put together his 10th double-double of the season. Holmes had 19 points and 17 rebounds, as well as 2 first-quarter blocks.
Jerami Grant led the way for the Pistons, scoring 30 points. This marks his 15th game of the season with 25-plus points.
Dennis Smith Jr. and Saddiq Bey each added 17 points. Smith Jr. dished out 6 points, while Bey grabbed 6 rebounds. 11 of Smith Jr.’s 17 came in a strong third quarter. Seven of them came as part of a 15-2 run that led the Pistons into the 4th with a 5-point lead.
The highlight of the game came with 1:03 remaining in the first half. Smith Jr. used a Grant screen to attack the lane with ferocity. He showed off his impressive vertical leap, pulling the ball back with one hand and tomahawking it home for an emphatic dunk.
Slow Pistons start
Starting sluggish in their return home, the Pistons let up a 16-4 run to open up the game. The Kings kept up their strong play early, at one point leading 31-14, their largest lead of the game.
The first half saw an everybody-eats mentality on full display from the Kings. Every starter made at least two field goals. Holmes had 12 and 12 by half, and three Kings hit double figures.
The Pistons, on the other hand, stayed quite one-dimensional to begin the game. Only two Pistons starters made more than one field goal in the entire first half.
They got a big boost from their bench to keep them in the game. Isaiah Steward, Saban Lee, and Josh Jackson had 6, 6, and 8, respectively, to cut the Pistons’ deficit to 3 at halftime.
Unconventional finish
Barnes went on a personal 5-1 run to grab a 4 point lead with 41.4 remaining. The rest of the game saw a wild roller coaster of highs and lows for both teams.
With 16 seconds left, Barnes took a step-back three, looking for a dagger. The ball bounced high off the back of the rim, no good. Buddy Hield, however, came out of nowhere. He sailed by Piston defenders to tip in the ball, plus a foul from Jackson.
The Kings held a 4 point lead and a free throw coming; the game looked all but over. An unexpected challenge from Coach Dwayne Casey changed that drastically. The call was overturned, becoming a loose-ball foul on Heild, taking away the basket and putting Jackson at the line to shoot two.
With a chance to tie the game, Jackson missed the first. In an odd turn of events, Jackson elected to miss the second intentionally. The Pistons still had a timeout and 12.9 seconds of game-clock to work with.
The miss did not go the Pistons’ way, putting Nemanja Bjelica at the line, with the Kings sitting on a 2 point lead. An uncharacteristic miss, however, kept the game one-possession.
Some traded free throws later, and Smith Jr. finds himself at the line with 8.1 remaining. The Piston’s deficit still sits at 3 points.
After making the first, Smith Jr. intentionally missed the second, another confusing decision. It again did not go the Pistons’ way, leaving Barnes a chance to seal the game.
Again an unexpected miss gives the Pistons another chance. Grant’s attempted 3 missed badly, as the Kings finally held on for the win.
Up Next
The Pistons have now lost 5 of their last 6 games. They will look to end their struggles in New York against the Knicks. They are set to face off on Feb. 28 at 8:00 p.m.
After the three-straight weeks of losses, the Kings are back in the win column. Before their 9-game skid, they had won 7 of their previous 8 games. They will look to continue being back to their winning ways at home against Charlotte. They will play the Hornets on Feb. 28 at 10:00 p.m.
