The Tribune

By BRIAN MAHONEY

AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Buddy Hield scored 22 points, De’Aaron Fox had 24 and the Sacramento Kings routed the New York Knicks 113-92 last night for their second straight victory following a 0-5 start.

Harrison Barnes added 19 points and Richaun Holmes finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who brought the momentum from their 102-101 home victory over Utah on Friday across the country and ran away from the Knicks.

Sacramento led by as many as 32 points in a surprisingly simple start to a three-game road trip. Nemanja Bjelica chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Marcus Morris scored 28 points for the Knicks, who dropped their third straight and fell to 1-6. Rookie RJ Barrett had 22 points.

Sacramento led by nine after one quarter, then opened the second with an 11-0 run to build a 43-23 lead on Bogdan Bogdanovic’s 3-pointer with 7:34 remaining in the half. New York didn’t score until more than five minutes had elapsed in the period, and after clawing back within 12 later in the quarter, promptly gave up the next nine points as the Kings pushed the lead to 55-34.

A 61-41 halftime lead quickly was expanded to 76-44 on Fox’s jumper, and boos broke out during a third quarter that ended with Sacramento ahead 90-64.

TIP-INS

Kings: Coach Luke Walton’s pregame interview with reporters was attended by a couple special guests. His father Bill, a Hall of Fame player, stood in the back along with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead. Both wore Kings sweatshirts.

“In the NBA season you’re on the road a lot, so any time you can have family and friends around, it’s a nice mini break. But they know and we know we’re here for business. We’re here to try to get better as a team and try to win a game.” ... The Kings have won the last four meetings.

Knicks: Second-round pick Ignas Brazdeikis made his NBA debut in the fourth quarter. He scored four points. ... Coach David Fizdale changed up his starting lineup, inserting Bobby Portis at centre in place of Mitchell Robinson. Portis scored two points.

Robinson had 10. ... The Knicks remained short-handed in the backcourt, with point guards Elfrid Payton (strained right hamstring) and Dennis Smith Jr. (personal reasons) still out.

FATHER KNOWS BEST

Though Bill Walton has been a popular TV broadcaster and is known for his loquaciousness, he picks and chooses his spots when it comes to talking to his son about the game.

“My dad’s been great my whole basketball career, whether I was a player or now into coaching,” Luke Walton said. “He offers advice when I want it and he knows when to leave me alone. So he’s a great person to be able to talk to and communicate about the game, what he sees, but he also knows that this is my job and I’m doing it. So, when and when not to put his voice in there.”

UP NEXT

Kings: Visit Toronto on Wednesday.

Knicks: Visit Detroit on Wednesday.

Heat have big

first quarter, rout

Rockets 129-100

MIAMI (AP) — Duncan Robinson scored 23 points, Meyers Leonard added 21 and the Miami Heat led by 41 points on the way to a 129-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

Jimmy Butler scored 18 points and had nine assists for the Heat, and James Johnson had 17 points in his season debut. Miami is 5-1, matching the best six-game start in franchise history.

James Harden scored 29 points for Houston, and Russell Westbrook was held to only 10. The Heat had 38 assists to Houston’s 19, in a game that was decided very early.

It was a record-setting opening quarter for the Heat — resulting in the third-biggest lead after 12 minutes in the NBA’s shot-clock era, starting with the 1954-55 season.

Miami led 46-14 after that first quarter.

The only bigger leads after one quarter since the shot clock was put into play came when the Los Angeles Lakers led the Sacramento Kings 40-4 after one quarter on February 4, 1987, and the Baltimore Bullets leading the Kansas City-Omaha Kings 45-12 after one quarter on December 9, 1972.

PACERS 108,

BULLS 95

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — T.J. Warren scored a season-high 26 points and Indiana beat Chicago.

Malcolm Brogdon added 22 points and seven assists. Indiana was missing injured forward/centre Myles Turner (ankle), centre Domantas Sabonis (calf contusion) and All-Star guard Victor Oladipo (knee).

Zach LaVine scored 21 points for Chicago. The Bulls are 0-5 on the road