SACRAMENTO, California – Charlotte’s guard, Malik Monk, converted a three-point play with 1.4 seconds left to complete a frantic last minute Hornets rally on Sunday night and deliver to Sacramento Kings what coach Luke Walton called a “painful loss” for your group.
Sacramento led 123-115 after a Harrison Barnes dunk, but Walton’s team failed to finish. The Kings missed five free throws in the final 69 seconds and lost for the tenth time in 11 games.
“When the game comes to an end, that’s when we have to go ahead and get the teams out, and we didn’t,” said Walton. “Give Charlotte credit. They hit 3s and made all the free throws in the final stretch. It’s a painful loss for our boys. We are not finished. ”
Monk finished with 21 points to help Charlotte recover, despite playing without top scorer Gordon Hayward, who was left out due to a hand injury. PJ Washington scored 42 points, the best of his career, and LaMelo Ball added 24 points and 12 assists, the best of his career, for the Hornets, who lost the entire fourth period before Monk’s decisive game reached the final score of 127- 126.
“It goes back to that term of resilience, never letting go of the sword, never giving in and fighting until the second final,” said Hornets coach James Borrego. “They had to miss a few free throws to help us, but we found a way. Men below, we found a way to win. Just pride for our group. ”
Hornets guard Terry Rozier hit a 3-point basket and added three free throws after being knocked down by Barnes with 33.7 seconds left.
After Washington’s fifth 3 reduced the lead to 125-124 with 17 seconds remaining, Buddy Hield hit one of the two free throws for the Kings.
Monk continued driving down the track and throwing the ball off the table with his right hand. He was soiled by Richaun Holmes.
“It was a move for me or for PJ,” said Monk. [Ball] to move on to P, and he said, nah. I had to make something happen. ”
Hield, who finished with 30 points, missed a desperate midfield throw when time ran out. Early Sunday night, he became the fastest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points from 3 career points, doing so in his 350th career game. Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry was the previous fastest with 369 games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.