Washington scores 42 as Hornets stun Kings

A calf injury prevented Tyrese Haliburton from suiting up for a much-anticipated showdown with Lamelo Ball in the race for Rookie of the Year, so P.J. Washington and Buddy Hield put on a show instead.

Washington scored a careerhigh 42 points, spoiling a special night for Hield while leading the Hornets to a stunning 127-126 comeback victory over the Kings on Sunday night at Golden 1 Center.

The Kings led 121-112 with 2:19 remaining, but the Hornets ended the game with a 15-5 run and escaped with the win after Malik Monk converted a threepoint play with 1.4 seconds remaining. The Kings missed six of eight free throws over the final 2:47.

“That’s a painful loss,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “I feel for our guys. They really left it out there tonight other than being able to close out the game.”

Ball had 24 points and 12 assists for the Hornets (13-21). Monk came off the bench to score 21.

Hield scored a season-high 30 points for the Kings (13-21) and surpassed Stephen Curry as the fastest player in NBA history to make 1,000 career 3-pointers. Hield made 10 of 17 from the field and 8 of 15 from 3-point range.

Harrison Barnes had 28 points, six rebounds and six assists for Sacramento. Marvin Bagley III had a big game, too, posting his 10th double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds. De’aaron Fox had 20 points and a season-high 14 assists.

Hield went into the game shooting career lows of 36.9% from the field and 36.1% from 3-point range, but he could hardly miss against the Hornets. He scored 11 points in the first 2:46 and finished the first quarter with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 5-of7 shooting from beyond the arc.

Hield helped the Kings open up an early 24-10 lead, but the Hornets stormed back to cut the deficit to three at the end of the first quarter. The Kings carried

a 67-66 advantage into the halftime break.

Hield reached a big milestone early in the third quarter when he made

his 1,000th 3-pointer in the 350th game of his career. Hield reached that mark faster than any player in league history, including Curry (369), Klay Thompson (372) and Damian Lillard (385).

Sacramento gradually extended its lead to eight late in the third quarter. The Kings were still up by eight with under a minute remaining, but Terry Rozier buried a big 3-pointer and then made

Tribune News Service/getty Images The Charlotte Hornets’ Miles Bridges, right, works under pressure from the Sacramento Kings’ Richaun Holmes at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, on Sunday, Feb. 28. The Hornets won 127-126.