Hield, Ayton help their teams pick up wins

Bahamians Chavano “Buddy” Hield and DeAndre Ayton, and their respective teams, both experienced wins in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as regular season play continued on Monday night.

Hield and the Sacramento Kings (25-36) experienced success on their home court as they took down the Dallas Mavericks (33-27), 113-106, at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. Hield was one of four players for the Kings to finish in double digits, scoring 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field. He went 4-for-7 from deep and a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. The shooting guard was also able to dish out five assists, grab five rebounds and also had one steal.

Ayton and the Phoenix Suns (43-18) wrapped up their five-game East Coast road trip with a 118-110 victory over the New York Knicks (34-28), bringing their nine-game winning streak to an end. The game was played at historic Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

The center fell one point short of a double-double as he finished with nine points and 13 rebounds in 35 minutes of play. He shot 4-for-7 from the field and made good on his only free throw attempt. He also had two assists and a block.

The game featured the second-best team in the league in the Suns and one of the hottest teams in the league in the Knicks, and the game produced fireworks as expected.

Ayton got on the scoreboard at the 8:49 mark of the second quarter when he had a tip-in to cut into the Knicks’ double-digit lead. This was a part of a mini 4-0 run by the Suns after the Knicks led 44-29. The Knicks were red-hot from the field at the start of the game, connecting on 18 of their first 25 shots. At the half, they led 63-56. Ayton had four points and five boards in the first half as he was unable to get into a groove.

At the start of the third quarter, Ayton and the Suns were able to cut the Knicks’ lead to one, 71-70, at the 8:17 mark when Ayton converted a three-point play. The Suns took their first lead of the game with 40.2 seconds remaining in the third quarter, 87-85, when Mikal Bridges made a 26-foot three-point shot. The game was tied at 87 points at the end of the third quarter.

It was a back-and-forth game at the beginning of the fourth quarter before the Suns took a 106-98 lead on a Cameron Johnson three-point shot with five minutes left. That shot capped off a quick 8-0 run that started with a shot from Devin Booker at the 5:37 mark.

The Knicks attempted a comeback in the final five minutes of the game but the Suns were determined to head back to Phoenix with a win as Chris Paul hit some huge clutch shots to lead them to victory. Paul scored the final seven points of the game for the Suns.

Booker scored a game-high 33 points in the win. Derrick Rose led the Knicks with 22 points.

It was a grueling five-game East Coast trip for the Suns as they played against five playoff-bound teams in the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets and the Knicks. Their two losses in that stretch came against the Celtics and the Nets.

Without their leader in point guard De’Aaron Fox, Hield and the Kings knew they had to be aggressive early against a dangerous team like the Mavericks. They did just that as they stormed out of the gates, taking a 20-3 lead  at the 6:10 mark of the first quarter on a dagger three-pointer from Hield. It was his first bucket of the game. The Kings went into the second quarter with a 31-17 lead.

Hield went on to miss all three of his shots in the second quarter and the Mavericks closed the deficit to 59-52 at the half. The Mavericks used a 33-26 second-quarter advantage to make the game competitive.

After going into the fourth quarter with an 87-85 lead, the Kings had to dig down deep to hold off the Mavericks the rest of the way. Hield drilled a three-point shot to put the Kings up 109-101 with 2:27 left in the game.

Luka Dončić brought the Mavericks to within five points when he made a layup with 22.1 seconds left in the game, 111-106, but Hield sealed the game with two free throws to give his team the 113-106 win.

Richaun Holmes led the Kings with 24 points in the win. Dončić also finished with 24 points.

Grand Bahama native Hield and the Kings will look to upset the league-leading Utah Jazz (44-17) when they welcome them to the Golden 1 Center tonight for a matchup, starting at 10 p.m.

For the first time in 11 days, the Suns will play at the Phoenix Suns Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. They will be in a tough battle tonight on ESPN, taking on the Los Angeles Clippers (43-20) who sit one game behind them in the Western Conference of the NBA. That game will also get underway at 10 p.m. The Suns will look to avoid a 3-0 series sweep by the Clippers this season.

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