‘Do it for Kobe’: Buddy Hield scores 42 as Kings rally to beat Timberwolves in OT
Kings guard Buddy Hield idolized Kobe Bryant as a boy growing up in the Bahamas. Hield paid tribute to the fallen NBA star Monday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis, doing something only Bryant had done before to lead one of the most remarkable comebacks in NBA history.
Hield scored a career-high 42 points for the Kings, who stormed back from a 27-point deficit to beat the Timberwolves 133-129 in overtime. The Kings (17-29) trailed the Timberwolves (15-32) by 22 with 5:52 to play in the fourth quarter and by 17 with three minutes remaining, but Hield made five 3-pointers in the final 4:34 of regulation to send the game to overtime.
“I was thinking about (Bryant) a lot,” Hield told NBC Sports California. “Even when my brother called me, he was like, ‘Do it for Kobe.’ Everybody knows how much Kobe meant to me in the Bahamas. All the arguments, all the fights I got in (saying) he’s better than Michael Jordan. I shouldn’t say that, but that’s all I knew growing up is Kobe Bryant. That’s all I could watch. … Kobe was always that guy for me and he made me believe.”
Bryant died along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others when their helicopter crashed in the hills above Calabasas on Sunday morning. The Kings and Timberwolves joined teams throughout the league in honoring Bryant a day after his tragic demise. Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns addressed the crowd before the game.
“Yesterday the NBA world lost one of the greatest players who has ever played the game in Kobe Bean Bryant,” Towns said. “All of us at the Timberwolves and, obviously, on the Sacramento Kings, our hearts and our condolences are with the families of everyone involved in the accident.
“Kobe was a trailblazer. He was someone I looked up to my entire childhood, wanted to be like him, wanted to hit the last-second shots like him, and, not only as a basketball player, but just seeing how he maturated as a father, I think all of us on this court really strive to be like that in our second career, so thank you so much for being here with us in this time of all of us mourning as a brotherhood.”
The Timberwolves played a video tribute to Bryant featuring highlights and other memorable moments from his 20-year NBA career. Fans, many of them wearing Bryant jerseys, called out “Kobe” following a moment of silence.
The Timberwolves incurred an 8-second violation on their opening possession. The Kings then took a 24-second violation. Teams throughout the league have done the same over the past two days to honor Bryant, who wore Nos. 8 and 24 during his illustrious career. Hield wears No. 24 in Bryant’s honor.
A number of players penned messages on their shoes in memory of Bryant, including Hield and teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic. Hield turned in an inspired effort for the Kings, who have won back-to-back games after losing six in a row.
Nemanja Bjelica posted 20 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and two steals. The Kings outscored the Timberwolves 16-2 over the final 1:39 and sent the game into overtime when De’Aaron Fox intentionally missed a free throw, grabbed his own rebound and scored with 3.6 seconds to play in regulation.
Andrew Wiggins had 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Timberwolves, who have lost 10 in a row. Robert Covington had 24 points. Towns had 23 points and eight rebounds.
Nobody had a bigger night than Hield, who made 19 of 24 from the field and 9 of 14 from 3-point range. Hield scored 20 points on 6-of-6 shooting in the fourth quarter. According to ESPN Stats and Information, he became the second player in the past 20 seasons with a 20-point, 100-percent shooting fourth quarter in a game his team overcame a 25-point deficit to win. The only other player to do that was Bryant, his boyhood idol.
“Just knowing where I came from and knowing what Kobe instilled in my life, everything was Kobe Bryant,” Hield said. “… He paved the way for me. People don’t understand because, coming from the islands, trying to put the TV on TNT, trying to watch them in the playoffs, the way he’d grind, the way he handled himself on and off the basketball court, the way his work ethic. That’s what I fell in love with — his work ethic. He showed that once you put hard work and perseverance, it’s undefeated, man.
“He showed that throughout this whole world. That’s why it left a mark on everybody. That’s why everybody’s feeling so hurt, because what he left on everybody’s heart was big — that Mamba mentality. Just leaving a mark and just grinding. It doesn’t have to be basketball. It’s everything you want in life, whether you’re a doctor, a lawyer, a firefighter, whatever, man. God has blessed them tremendously. There’s only certain people God blessed like that and he’s one of those people God really put his hands on.”
First time for everything
The Kings trailed by 17 with 2:49 to play in the fourth quarter. According to ESPN Stats and Information, NBA teams were 0-8,378 when trailing by 17 or more in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter dating back to 1996-97, the first year play-by-play data was kept.
Timberwolves set team record
The Timberwolves set a franchise record with 23 3-point goals. They had 14 in the first half to open up a 68-50 lead. Wiggins went 7 of 11 from 3-point range. Covington was 6 of 10. Keita Bates-Diop made 3 of 7 and Towns made 3 of 6.
Heading home
The Kings concluded a season-long five-game road trip after 11 days on the road. They will return to Sacramento to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday before going back on the road to face the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. That trip will be followed by a four-game homestand against the Lakers, Timberwolves, Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs.
Injury report
Kings: OUT — Marvin Bagley III (foot) Richaun Holmes (shoulder).
Timberwolves: OUT — Allen Crabbe (patella), Jake Layman (toe).
Kings upcoming schedule
Jan. 29 vs. Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
Jan. 30 at Los Angeles Clippers, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 1 vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 7 p.m.
Feb. 3 vs. Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Feb. 7 vs. Miami Heat
