The Kings lost the next game to Minnesota. Hector's 24 points and 14 rebounds and Huerter's 29 weren't enough. In truth, the Kings had a good game with four players with more than 20 points.
Fox's 25 points, and Barnes also scored 20 points. How could they lose? Because the bench was absent.
Anthony Edwards has grown this season. 27 points for him tonight. And a significant victory for the Wolves in Sacramento in the race for the play-in tournament. The situation in the Western Conference is a war zone.
Apart from the Spurs and Rockets, who are out of the race and in severe tanking for Wembanyama, each team from 13th to 10th is at the gates of the play-in tournament. They are close to 6th place, which is synonymous with playoffs.
But the road to the playoffs continues, and the Kings start winning again. A win over the Thunder and Knicks allow the Kings to widen the gap on the 4th.
Who is Hector's best friend in the NBA? He doesn't have many people he considers a brother, but two stand out: Alex Len, his teammate who mentored him before his trade in Atlanta. The fact that Hector speaks Russian brought them closer together.
And the second: R.J. Barrett. Since their draft, the relationship has yet to be built immediately. It all started with the Rising Star. Since the two talks all the time together, unlike Hector, RJ's situation at the Knicks is embarrassing.
Often in trade rumors to bring a star back to New York, he frustrates Knicks fans because of his inconsistency, but in the loss to the Kings, he set his second career high. 44 points and 9 rebounds. That's the RJ Barrett fans want to see.
Hector made him a triple-double, almost quadruple. 24 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and 8 steals. What makes him atypical is the irregularity of his number of steals in each games. He can't do it for two games and do more than five the next game.
That's largely why the All-Defensive Team is in the discussion despite the Kings' poor defense. Even if there is progress among the teams in the race for the playoffs, it is undoubtedly the worst.
Ewing has already stated that defense will be the primary improvement during free agency. The offense wins matches, and the defense wins titles.
The next game was a win over the Suns. Phoenix played without Durant, and it wasn't a game that got the crowd up. It's one of the few games where Hector didn't finish in doubles, but with seven players with more than 10 points, the Kings collective beat the Suns 128-119.
Only Keegan Murray has not scored, but no one else from the Kings is below 9 points. Barnes scored the most points with 19, followed by Monk and Fox with 18 for both.
Hector grabbed 17 and grabbed 8 rebounds.
DeAndre Ayton and Booker ate the meal served by Chris Paul well. 22 points 12 rebounds for Ayton. 28 points for Ayton and 16 points and 16 assists for Paul.
This victory is symbolic for the Kings. What for? Because it allows us to exceed the 40-win mark for the first time in a long time. The place for the playoffs is, barring disaster acquired.
Any good series is over, and the Kings will lose to the Bucks, but how to fight against Giannis when he is unleashed? 46 points and 12 rebounds for the Greek freak who exploded the Kings' defense with his drives on the edge of the bug to beat the Kings 133-124.
Hector recorded another triple-double of 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 15 assists. Fox scored 35 points and added 8 assists, and Huerter strafed with his 28 points, but it wasn't enough.
The Kings have a record of 40 wins and 27 losses. The smell of the playoffs is coming. And 2nd place is pretty close.