SACRAMENTO -- The Kings play host to the New Orleans Pelicans Sunday afternoon, looking to make it two in a row.
For three quarters on Friday, it looked like the Kings were going to drop their third straight game. And then Buddy Hield happened. Sacramento's starting shooting guard scored 16 of his game-high 28 in the fourth quarter to help lead the Kings to a narrow, 102-99 victory.
New Orleans has dropped three straight, including a 112-104 loss to the Lakers on Friday evening. Anthony Davis continues to star for the Pelicans, but Jrue Holiday and Julius Randle are having big seasons as well.
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Sacramento will take two days off before returning to work Wednesday on the road against the Clippers. They'll fly home following the game to host the Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back and then they'll finish off the calender year back at Staples Center next Sunday against the Lakers.
Line
Pelicans by 1
NBA
Projected Lineups
Kings
PG De’Aaron Fox
SG Buddy Hield
SF Iman Shumpert
PF Nemanja Bjelica
C Willie Cauley-Stein
Pelicans
PG Tim Frazier
SG Jrue Holiday
SF Solomon Hill
PF Julius Randle
C Anthony Davis
Injury Report
Kings
PF Marvin Bagley III (left knee) out.
Pelicans
PF Nikola Mirotic (ankle/illness) doubtful, PG Elfrid Payton (finger) out.
Rotation Outlook
Kings: Dave Joerger tried something new against the Grizzlies, starting Willie Cauley-Stein and Kosta Koufos on the frontline to matchup with Marc Gasol and Jaren Jackson Jr. The Kings got off to a slow start and Joerger confirmed that he would go back to his regular starting group next time out.
After spending a few days with the Stockton Kings of the G League, rookie Harry Giles was recalled Sunday morning. The 20-year-old big averaged 20.5 points and nine rebounds in his two games with Stockton.
Pelicans: New Orleans is playing with pace and scoring at will, but they can't seem to stop anyone. The Pelicans rank fourth in pace, second in scoring, but 26th in points allowed on the season.
The last time these two teams met up, it was a barn burner with New Orleans coming away with a 149-129 win. Mirotic scored a game-high 36 in the win for the Pelicans, but he is not expected to suit up on Sunday.