Hield, Ayton continue preseason

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is in full swing as players and teams look to get back into playing at a high level again.

Bahamians Chavano “Buddy” Hield and DeAndre Ayton are a couple of those players who are fine tuning their skills before the season starts next week Tuesday.

Ayton was in action at home on Wednesday night for his Phoenix Suns in a preseason game for them against the NBA Champions Los Angeles Lakers. The game was played at the Phoenix Suns Arena, in Phoenix, Arizona. Hield and the Sacramento Kings played on their home court, at the Golden 1 Center, in Sacramento, California, against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.

The Suns’ center scored a team-high 21 points and just missed a double-double when he pulled down a team-high nine boards in a 112-107 loss to the Lakers. Hield hit five-three pointers to finish with 18 points in a 114-113 victory for the Kings.

Ayton logged 25 minutes of play and was able to go 8-for-10 from the field and 5-for-5 from the foul line. The 6’ 11” big man was able to rack up four steals and one assist.

Newcomer to the Suns Jae Crowder made his team debut while guard Chris Paul played in his second preseason game for the Suns.

Ayton’s first shot was a turnaround jump shot that was a result of pick-and-roll with Paul that ended with an easy basket. That shot tied the game at two. The Bahamian went on to score nine points in the first quarter including two slam dunks. The second dunk was an and-one play as he ran the court well for the flush on Lakers’ big man Anthony Davis. Ayton got fouled by Davis on the play, and the ensuing free shot put his team up by 10, 17-7, with 6:55 left in the first quarter.

The big man went to the bench with 4:51 remaining in the first quarter. The Lakers managed to cut the lead down to four points as the Suns led 25-21 at the end of the first quarter.

After a quiet second quarter, Ayton scored the rest of his points in the third quarter. His eighth made field goal came with 2:11 remaining in the quarter. It was an alley-oop dunk from Devin Booker and the Suns led 74-62.

Suns’ Head Coach Monty Williams decided to give Ayton the rest of the night off as he was subbed out of the game with just over a minute left in the third quarter. The Suns outscored the Lakers 39-16 in that quarter.

However, a 43-24 advantage in the fourth quarter gave the defending champions the victory. Kyle Kuzma led the Lakers with 23 points.

Grand Bahamian Hield was able to finish the night 6-for-14 from the field and 5-for-10 from deep for 18 points. He added three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.

It was the first win for the Kings in the preseason in three tries.

The 2020 NBA Mountain Dew Three-Point Champion was in the starting lineup again and was able to log 24 minutes. He sat out the fourth quarter.

After a couple of missed shots, the sharpshooter was able to knock down two three-pointers back-to-back. His second three came with 5:35 remaining in the first quarter as he helped the Kings cut the Warriors’ lead to three points, 15-12.

The Warriors led 27-25 at the end of the first quarter.

Hield was able to knock down his final two three-pointers in the third quarter. He was subbed out with 4:26 remaining in the third quarter with his team up 79-68.

The Kings got a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Kyle Guy at the end of the game to give them the victory. He led the Kings with 20 points.

Hield was set to be back in action for his team’s final preseason game on their home court against the Warriors last night but the result was unavailable up to press time.

For Ayton, the number one overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, he will be back in action at home tonight when they take on the Lakers again. That game is set for 10.30 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN. That will be the Suns’ final preseason game.

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