The Kings found themselves trapped in a house of horrors in the first half against the Charlotte Hornets.
De’Aaron Fox went down with a knee injury, Domantas Sabonis got into foul trouble and the Kings fell behind by 15 points, but a stellar second half helped them escape with a Halloween win over the Hornets.
Kevin Huerter scored 26 points as the Kings opened a four-game road trip with a 115-108 victory over the Hornets at Spectrum Center. Huerter made 5 of 10 from 3-point range, including two big bombs in the fourth quarter.
“What a game from our guys,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “When you go on the road, a lot of times, to get a win, it’s just about a mental toughness first. Things aren’t always going to go your way, and they didn’t for us at the beginning of the game, but we stayed with it.”
Davion Mitchell came off the bench to score a season-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting with a career-high five 3-pointers for the Kings (2-4), who have won two in a row going into Wednesday’s game against the Miami Heat. Harrison Barnes added 16 points and nine rebounds. Sabonis had nine points, 16 rebounds and seven assists before fouling out.
Trey Lyles contributed six points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and one steal. Matthew Dellavedova’s first points in a Kings uniform came on a go-ahead 3-pointer in the third quarter.
“I’m just proud of our group tonight, how we battled in the second half,” Barnes said. “We obviously didn’t have Fox. Shout out to Davion for stepping up, making big plays down the stretch; Dellavedova coming in, giving us great minutes; Trey coming in, giving us great minutes. That’s just the epitome of guys staying ready, coming in and having an impact on the game and helping us win.”
P.J. Washington scored 28 points to lead the Hornets (3-4). Kelly Oubre Jr. had 16 points.
The Kings got off to a horrific start against the Hornets, going 0 of 7 from the field with four turnovers in the opening minutes. They didn’t get their first basket until Fox knocked down a 3-pointer at the 6:47 mark.
Charlotte opened up an early 23-12 lead before Mitchell came off the bench to provide a spark for Sacramento. Mitchell scored 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting in four minutes — quickly blowing by his previous season high of seven points — but the Kings still trailed by 10 after a ghastly first quarter in which they shot 30.4% with seven turnovers.
The horror show continued in the second quarter when Fox limped off the floor after taking a knee to the right leg on a drive by Hornets center Nick Richards. Fox returned moments later, but only briefly. Clearly hobbled by the injury, Fox left the game again 1:36 later and headed straight to the locker room for treatment from the team’s medical staff.
Sacramento’s woes grew worse when Sabonis went to the bench with his third foul with 4:46 to play in the half. Mitchell and Huerter helped the Kings cut the deficit to four with 3:17 remaining, but the Hornets closed with a 15-4 run to take a 67-52 lead into the halftime break. The Hornets shot 60.5% from the field and 53.3% from 3-point range, their highest marks in any half this season.
Coming out of the break, the Kings announced Fox would not return due to right knee soreness. Mitchell started the second half in Fox’s place with Dellavedova coming off the bench.
The Kings outscored the Hornets 14-5 over the first 5:08 to cut the deficit to six on a bucket by Barnes. They got within one on a 3-pointer by Huerter and took a 79-77 lead on a 3-pointer by Dellavedova, his first field-goal attempt of the season.
Sabonis, rookie Keegan Murray and Huerter added baskets as part of a 20-1 run that put Sacramento up 86-77. The Kings led 89-85 going into the fourth quarter after outscoring the Hornets 37-18 in the third.
Charlotte battled back to reclaim the lead on a 3-pointer by Oubre during a 9-0 run that put the Hornets up 100-96 with 6:57 to play. Sacramento responded with a 10-0 run to take a 106-100 lead.
The Kings were clinging to a one-point lead when Sabonis fouled out with 2:24 remaining. The Hornets tied the game on a 3-pointer by Jalen McDaniels, but Mitchell answered with a 3-pointer and a midrange jumper to help the Kings hold on for the win.
“It felt good,” Dellavedova said. “I’ve been, obviously, working hard and staying ready. Obviously, you don’t want to see your teammate go down, but you’ve got to stay ready, and I thought in the second half we did a really good job of defending. Kev obviously made some big 3s and then Davion just stepped up and made huge plays on both ends of the floor, so it was a good win for us.”
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