SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Charlotte goalkeeper Malik Monk converted a three-point play with 1.4 seconds left to complete a frantic Hornets last-minute rally Sunday night and offered the Sacramento Kings what coach Luke Walton called a “painful loss.” for his group.
Sacramento led 123-115 after a shot by Harrison Barnes, but Walton’s team could not close it. Kings missed five free throws in the last 69 seconds and lost for the 10th time in 11 games.
“Come to the end of a game, there we have to step up and eliminate the teams and we didn’t,” Walton said. They hit 3 and made each free throw on the stretch. This is a painful loss for our boys. I didn’t finish it. ”
Monk finished with 21 points to help Charlotte come back, despite the game without goal scorer Gordon Hayward, who was left with a hand injury. PJ Washington scored 42 career points, and LaMelo Ball added 24 points and 12 best career assists for the Hornets, who watched the entire fourth quarter before Monk’s winning game earned the final score 127-126 .
“He goes back to that resilience, never throws his sword, never gives up and fights to the last second,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. “They had to miss a few free throws to help us, but we found a way. “Men downstairs, we’ve found a way to win. Just be proud of our group.”
Hornets keeper Terry Rozier hit a 3-pointer and then added three free throws after being fouled by Barnes with 33.7 seconds left.
After Washington’s fifth 3 reduced the lead to 125-124 with 17 seconds left, Buddy Hield hit one of the two free throws for Kings.
Monk continued to lead the band and overturn the ball on the board with his right hand. He was fouled by Richaun Holmes.
“It was a play for me or PJ,” Monk said [Ball] to pass it on to P and he was like, nah. I had to make something happen. ”
Hield, who finished with 30 points, missed a desperate rise from beyond the field as time went on. On Sunday night, he became the fastest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 career triples, doing so in his 350th career game. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors was the fastest before in 369 games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.