By RENALDO DORSETT
Tribune Sports Reporter
rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
Chavano “Buddy” Hield had his most productive stretch of the season over the course of the last two games and addressed his absence from the upcoming Three-Point Contest and the first half struggles for his Sacramento Kings.
Hield finished with 29 points, six rebounds and six assists in the Kings’ 123-120 win over the Las Angeles Lakers Wednesday night at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.
He shot 11-15 from the field, including 7-11 from three-point range. It was Hield’s consecutive high scoring efficient shooting effort after he finished with 30 points and seven assists on 10-15, 8-15 from three, in Sunday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Hield explained why he declined an invitation from the NBA to defend his title and participate in the 2021 Mtn Dew Three-Contest on March 7 in Atlanta, Georgia.
“I just wasn’t in the mood to go this year, I’m not going to lie to you, with the COVID and everything going on,” Hield said. “… I can spend time with my family and hopefully next year get an opportunity to get a crack at it again when hopefully we’re not under COVID rules and we can do stuff.”
Hield came into the game listed as questionable with a sprained ankle he suffered in the fourth quarter against the Hornets.
“I want to go out there and play. We’ve been in a bad funk and if I’m hurt I’m not worried about it, I can play through that, I just don’t like taking games off and I hate losing,” Hield said.
“Being here I haven’t been in that winning groove yet, just have to figure out that sense of urgency and it’s time for change. You play better when your back is against the wall and our backs are against the wall now so everyone has to lock in and keep moving forward.”
Hield scored eight straight points in a span of 50 seconds in the second quarter to help the Kings erase a 14-point first-quarter deficit to take a 45-43 lead.
“Buddy is just one of those guys, he’s going to play through anything he can play through, he’s going to play,” Kings head coach Luke Walton said.
“If he’s going to play like this...hopefully we will get back to where we were playing earlier this year. For him to have six rebounds, six assists, zero turnovers, that’s really helpful for our chances to try to win a game.
“When they got off to an early start I thought Buddy was the one to kind of put the team on his back and got us back into that game and doing it smart as far as taking care of the ball, getting off it when he should get off and shoot when he should shoot.”
The win over the Lakers was just the second for the Kings in their last 12 games as they improved to 14-21.
“This is the NBA, you just have to figure it out, you have to grow, you have to mature, you can’t feel too high about yourself or low about yourself, you have to keep figuring out how to win games in this league,” Hield said.
“You have a hot streak or a losing streak you just have to figure it out. You have to keep building, trusting your work, trust the guys you’re on the court with, the guys you battle with.”
The fifth year Kings guard is averaging 16.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game this season on 39 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent from three-point range.
The Kings are currently ranked No.12 in the Western Conference standings.
The franchise is currently mired in the longest playoff drought in the NBA at 14 seasons.
“At some point you have to take this thing seriously. People’s jobs are on the line, everyone is fighting for something,” Hield said.
“In this league the only thing that matters is winning. We were out there just trying to win and get ourselves back in contention because we tricked off a lot of games. We just need to get our swagger back.”
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