Another late comeback attempt fell short as the Sacramento Kings lost to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday 112-107.
The game remained close in the first quarter with neither side being able to pull away. Both teams struggled to defend the paint as they gave up a combined 46 points, 30 scored by Charlotte. Sacramento took the lead thanks to Buddy Hield with less than 10 seconds left. Jeremy Lamb responded with a go-ahead three with under a second left to give them a two point lead.
The trio of Kemba Walker, Lamb, and Nicolas Batum were the main sources of Charlotte’s offense in the half. The Hornets managed to pull away from the Kings near the end of the 2nd quarter, taking a twelve point lead into halftime.
The Hornets got the better start out of the halftime break, maintaining a constant gap over the Kings. Another area where Sacramento struggled was three point defense, as Charlotte put up sixteen three pointers. Willie Cauley-Stein had a woeful night, as he racked up 11 points from 5 of 20 shooting. Meanwhile, Skal Labissiere was the best Kings performer of the night with 23 points (10/15 shooting) along with 4 rebounds.
The Kings came alive in the fourth quarter and were out to mount a comeback bid. They outscored Charlotte 27-17 over 11 minutes to give themselves a chance. But poor shots and a goaltending call on Cauley-Stein doomed their chances. Charlotte pulled off the season sweep with a 112-102 win.
As a result of their eighth straight loss, the Kings take sole possession of the worst record in the league. The next game of their road trip comes Tuesday in Orlando.
