Buddy Hield was on fire down the stretch, but his sharp shooting wasn’t enough to stop Blake Griffin and the Clippers. Sacramento lost to Los Angeles 97-95.
Despite out scoring the Clippers by 14 in the first half, the Kings had a disastrous third quarter and coughed up the game from there. Sacramento could only score ten points in the third and were out scored 50-34 in the second half.
Hield seemed like the most clutch player in the world down the stretch, hitting four threes in the last few minutes, including one to tie the game with 15-seconds left. Griffin, however, got the last laugh as he hit a tough game-winner with three seconds left, with Hield’s unable to answer at the buzzer.
Griffin dominated Sacramento throughout the game for 33 points, being the main reason Los Angeles was able to hang around long enough to make the comeback. DeAndre Jordan had 16 rebounds for the Clippers.
The Kings shot 45% from the field and 11/21 from beyond the arc. Most of their shots, however, came in the first half and they really struggled to make open shots after the break.
Zach Randolph had 17 points, while George Hill and Bogdan Bogdanovic both added ten. Sacramento falls to 5-14 and travel to the bay on Monday to face off against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
