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In Sacramento, March began with a one-point loss to the Charlotte Hornets. PJ Washington scored a career-high 42 points, Malik Monk converted a three-point play with 1.4 seconds remaining, and the Charlotte Hornets stunned the Sacramento Kings 127-126.
Monk finished with 21 points to help Charlotte return despite playing without leading scorer Gordon Hayward, who sat out with a hand injury. Rookie LaMelo Ball added 24 points and a career-best 12 assists for the Hornets, who trailed the entire fourth quarter before Monk's game-winning play.
The Kings' starters all had a good game, however. Hield scored 30 points on 8-15 three-pointers, and Barnes scored 28. Fox and Hector finished in double-doubles; 20 points and 14 assists for Fox and 24 points and 10 rebounds for Hector.
No matter who plays, the games must be won if possible. The Hornets were there and snatched the win late in the game. But the Kings will pull themselves together by beating the Lakers without LeBron and Davis.
Hield is an inconsistent player but tends to catch fire at times. Hield leads Sacramento in scoring with 29 points, followed by Fox's 23. Hector is still a double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Hield's status for the game was uncertain due to a sprained right ankle, but he decided to play and helped the Kings win for only the second time in the last 12 games.
"We've been in a rough patch," Hield said. "If I'm injured, I can play through that. I don't like to take away matches, and I hate losing. »
They took advantage of a battered Lakers team missing LeBron James and Anthony Davis to bounce back from Sunday's late-game collapse against Charlotte when they missed five foul shots in the final 69 seconds to take an eight-point lead.
"We needed that win," goalie Cory Joseph said. "After the last game with the mental collapse we had at the end of the game, I felt like we did a good job during the 48 minutes staying mentally locked in."
But the Kings will lose to Portland with Damian Lillard having 44 points, including 10 straight at a key moment down the stretch, to give the Portland Trail Blazers a 123-119 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night.
Enes Kanter added 22 points and 21 rebounds for the Blazers. He outperformed Hector in rebounding, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds accompanied by 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Hector last was moved like this a while ago. He is aware that monsters are hiding beside the stars, and Kanter is one of them. Longevity in the league is something underrated, but it's no coincidence. A player in the NBA since 2011 is not an average player. This proves regularity and adaptability.
Carmelo Anthony came off the bench and finished with 18 points.
Fox leads the Kings in scoring with 32 points and 11 assists.
And that's how the Kings finished the first half of the season with 14 wins and 22 losses. Finally, it was before a piece of information from Monte McNair.
"After a thorough evaluation of the season thus far, I decided to change the head coach position," said Kings General Manager Monte McNair. "I want to thank Luke for his efforts and contributions to our team."
The Sacramento Kings have fired coach Luke Wharton and named Alvin Gentry interim coach.
The Kings ranked near the bottom of the league in several defensive statistics under Walton's leadership, including scoring and shooting percentage.
Sacramento has tried to build a core around recent lottery picks like De'Aaron Fox and Hector Herrera.
"I think we have the talent," Kings GM Monte McNair said. "We've shown that we can do that. We're going to get back to that, and Alvin will be the guy to lead us there."
But the biggest mistake came the year before Walton arrived when Sacramento took Marvin Bagley III second overall, ahead of Luka Doncic and Trae Young. Bagley has since left the team, but fortunately, Hector's performances have eased even a little of the pain of Kings fans seeing Doncic and Young shine under the sky.