When the urgency had risen, Kevin Huerter delivered when it mattered.
Still searching for their first win of the season, the Sacramento Kings relied on Huerter’s hot hand to scorch a 27-point outing (7-of-8 shooting from three-point range) to go with 7 assists, as the club went on to chill the Miami Heat, 119-113, in front of the faithful spectators within Golden 1 Center.
For Huerter, the team can now sigh relief after finally making it to the winning board for the fifth game of their season.
“It’s big,” Huerter said about the Kings’ first win of the 2022/23 season, via Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “It’s big to get the first one. Any time you start a year, you get your first win, it’s kind of a big relief. We’ve worked hard, as hard as any other team in training camp. It’s been a long road up to this point. The first four games of the season, we felt like we had opportunities to win. We just couldn’t close the deal.”
The Heat managed to fight back and climb from their 22-point deficit due to Tyler Herro. But eventually, the Kings held on to secure the Saturday victory.
“We’re not happy about the lead we had and giving that up, but I think there’s a lot of positives for us to win a game down the stretch like that where it’s a couple possession game,” Huerter said. “We got to make plays, so that’s definitely a good position for us to be in. Hopefully we continue to win close games.”
Huerter received plenty of support from his teammates en route to their first win of the season. Rookie Keegan Murray flared up with career-high 22 points, while Domantas Sabonis had 18 points and seven rebounds prior to his exit after being called for his six fouls.
Floor general De’Aaron Fox flirted with 17 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a crucial defensive adjustment to clamp Herro with less than six minutes remaining in the final quarter.
The reigning Sixth Man of the Year, amid the leadership he provided at Miami’s rally, was limited to 1-for-5 after being guarded by Fox
“He wanted the assignment,” head coach Mike Brown said about Fox guarding Herro. “He definitely wanted the assignment.”
The Kings will look to climb higher on the Western Conference standings as they meet the Charlotte Hornets on Monday to start their road trip.
