Kings try to build on second-half momentum vs. Hawks

The Sacramento Kings will try to build on their second-half momentum on Saturday when they visit the Atlanta Hawks, who have won three straight since changing coaches.

Sacramento emerged from the NBA All-Star break to defeat the Houston Rockets 125-105 on Thursday. It was the team's third win in five games following a nine-game losing streak.

Atlanta, meantime, stole one from the Toronto Raptors, erasing a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit and winning 121-120 on Tony Snell's 3-pointer at the buzzer.

This is the first meeting between the two clubs this season. The Kings won the only meeting last year in Atlanta; the rematch was a COVID-19 casualty. Sacramento has won four in a row against the Hawks, including the last two in Atlanta.

On Thursday, the Kings got a 30-point effort from De'Aaron Fox, who is averaging 23.2 points. Fox has scored 30-plus points in the last two games and seven times this season. He scored six points during a 15-0 second-quarter run that gave Sacramento the lead for good against Houston.

Perhaps the only negative from the win was the 15 turnovers committed. Twice the Kings were whistled for shot-clock violations.

"It was a good effort from our group, but we know we've got to get a lot better," Kings coach Luke Walton said. "At times it was sloppy."

The Kings are now 15-15 when starting Fox, Harrison Barnes, Marvin Bagley III, Richaun Holmes and Buddy Hield. But otherwise, they're 0-7. Barnes is averaging 16.8 and Hield 16.5. Holmes, Barnes and Hield each scored 20 against the Rockets.

The Kings are being cautious with minutes for rookie Tyrese Haliburton as he returns from a calf injury that caused him to miss four games. He played more than 18 minutes against Houston. Haliburton averages 13 points.

"We want more minutes, but they are what they are," Walton said. "We're thrilled to have him back, but we're going to be careful with him and make sure we keep him throughout the rest of this grind-out season."

The Hawks are 3-0 since coach Lloyd Pierce was fired and replaced by Nate McMillan. The team is 5-1 under McMillan, who was interim head coach while Pierce missed three games. They have converted all five of their fourth-quarter leads under McMillan.

Atlanta has mounted fierce comebacks in its last two wins. On March 3 against Orlando, they trailed by 16 with 6:08 left and won 115-112. On Thursday they trailed by 15 with 6:15 left and won.

"It's a 48-minute game," McMillan said. "You're going to be up, you're going to be down. The game is not over until that 48 minutes is up. I thought we did a real good job in our last two games of staying together, getting stops and making plays and shots to win."

Trae Young is averaging 26.7 points and 9.3 assists to lead the Hawks. He scored 37 in the win over Toronto and set up Snell's winning basket.

Over the last four games Clint Capela is averaging 17.8 rebounds and 3.3 blocks. He leads the NBA in offensive rebounds with 5.0 per game, the second-highest single-season average on the offensive glass in team history. Kevin Willis averaged 5.2 offensive rebounds in 1991-92.

--Field Level Media