Hield's buzzer-beater rallies Kings past Pistons

Buddy Hield tossed in a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Sacramento Kings erased a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit to edge the host Detroit Pistons 103-101 on Saturday. Hield finished with 35 points, nine rebounds and three assists. De'Aaron Fox had 14 points and 10 assists, and Marvin Bagley III also scored 14 points.

Blake Griffin led Detroit with 38 points, and Luke Kennard contributed 19 off the bench. The Pistons played without center Andre Drummond, the NBA's top rebounder. He entered the league's concussion protocol after being elbowed in the face Friday. Backup point guard Ish Smith sat out due to groin tightness.

Griffin and Hield carried their teams during the first half. Griffin had 22 points, and Hield scored 20 as the Pistons led 57-51 at the break. Griffin's three-point play early in the third made it 63-53. Sacramento gradually crept back and halved Detroit's lead on an Iman Shumpert three midway through the quarter.

Kennard made threes on back-to-back possessions to push the Pistons' lead up to 10 at 79-69. Detroit carried an 82-74 lead into the fourth. Another Kennard three gave the Pistons an 87-74 lead. Willie Cauley-Stein's layup with 5:15 remaining cut Detroit's lead to eight at 93-85.

Hield's first basket of the second half was a three and pulled Sacramento within four at 93-89. He followed with another to make it a one-point game. Griffin ended a Detroit scoring drought that lasted nearly four minutes with a three-point play. Hield answered with a three-point play of his own.

Reggie Bullock then hit a three to make it 99-95. Cauley-Stein's putback dunk brought Sacramento within two points. After a Pistons turnover, Hield popped open for a three to give the Kings a 100-99 advanage with 1:11 left.

Griffin made a layup to put Detroit back on top. Sacramento missed two jumpers on its next possession. Reggie Jackson came up short with a mid-range shot on Detroit's next trip, and Shumpert grabbed a defensive rebound. After a Kings timeout with 3.4 seconds left, Hield initially fumbled the ball and then flung it in from the left wing.

--Field Level Media

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)