Walton ejected, 28point lead erased, but Kings climb

SACRAMENTO — Coach Luke Walton got ejected and his team nearly blew a 28-point lead, but in the end the Kings took another important step forward in the Western Conference playoff race on a wild night in Sacramento.

De’Aaron Fox scored 31 points to lead the Kings to a 133-126 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night at Golden 1 Center. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 18 points for the Kings (27-34), who have won 12 of 17 to move into sole possession of ninth place in the Western Conference playoff race.

Buddy Hield had 17 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Kings, who trail the Memphis Grizzlies by three games. They are a half-game ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs and one game ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans, who lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Kings led by as many as 28 points in the first half and carried a 76-49 advantage into the break. They shot 60.8% from the field, made 8 of 17 from 3-point range, recorded 15 assists with only three turnovers and came up with seven steals, but a stellar first half was followed by a total meltdown in the third quarter.

Bradley Beal, Thomas Bryant and Jerome Robinson made 3pointers to fuel a 13-0 run as the Wizards battled back to get within 13 midway through the third. Walton called a timeout and removed four of his five starters, inserting Hield, Cory Joseph, Kent Bazemore and Alex Len, but the run

didn’t stop.

The Wizards scored the next six points, extending their run to 19-0 while cutting the deficit to seven. Before long, the game was tied, but Walton wasn’t around to see it.

Walton was incensed, apparently because he felt officials missed a foul on Joseph. Walton was quickly hit with a technical foul when he stomped onto the floor to confront referee Derrick Collins, but Walton didn’t stop there. He received a second technical foul and an automatic ejection when he pushed past Harrison Barnes in an attempt to get to Collins. Fans cheered Walton and a number of his players patted him on the back as he left the floor and headed back to the locker room.