It has been a week since there has been regular season action in the National Basketball Association (NBA) due to the league’s all-star festivities this past weekend. The break is now over, and Bahamians Chavano “Buddy” Hield and DeAndre Ayton will return to action tonight for the Sacramento Kings (14-22) and the Phoenix Suns (24-11), respectively, as the second half of the season gets underway.
Hield will look to continue his hot streak when the Kings welcome the Houston Rockets (11-23) to the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. That game tips off at 10 p.m.
At the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, Ayton and the Suns will look to get a road win against the Portland Trail Blazers (21-14). That game will also get underway at 10 p.m.
This will be the third time this season that Hield and the Kings play the Rockets. The Rockets have won the first two meetings that were back on December 31 and January 2. Hield scored 19 points in the first matchup, connecting on five three pointers in 38 minutes of play. In January, Hield scored 17 points and made five three pointers, again in 38 minutes.
For Ayton and the Suns, this will be their second of three matchups for the season against the Blazers. The Suns blew out the Blazers, 132-100, in their first meeting. Ayton finished that game with 19 points, five rebounds and shot 8-for-11 from the field.
Hield became the fastest player in NBA history to reach the 1,000 made three-point shots when he did it in 350 games on February 30 against the Charlotte Hornets. Stephen Curry who did it in 369 games, accomplishing the feat on January 2015. Currently, Hield has connected on 141 three pointers this season, an average of 3.9 made three pointers per game.
In 36 games this season, Hield is averaging 16.4 points per contest, down almost three points from last season’s 19.2 points per game.
He scored a season-high 30 points the same night he became the fastest player to hit 1,000 three pointers.
Hield has started off the month of March averaging 25 points in two games. He is shooting 59.4 percent from the field and 52.2 percent from deep. He has already connected on 12 three pointers.
Ayton has been having a quiet season so far in terms of scoring, but his team is second in a tough Western Conference of the NBA. Ayton is averaging a career-low in points at 14.5 per game. He is pulling down 11.4 rebounds per game this season and is averaging a career-high 59.4 percent shooting from the field.
The Suns are looking to remain hot and finish the season strong. They currently occupy the second spot in the west with a 24-11 win/loss record. The Kings will look to have a better half of the season, aiming to get into the playoffs. They have a 14-22 record, 13th in the west.
The Kings are mired in the longest playoff drought in the NBA – a span of 14 seasons.
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source https://thenassauguardian.com/hield-ayton-return-to-the-court-tonight/
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