SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Marvin Bagley III needed a night like this and the Sacramento Kings apparently needed Tyrese Haliburton, the promising young rookie who returned from a wrist injury to help the team get back to its winning ways.
Haliburton came off the bench to post a career-high 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists, helping the Kings open a seven-game homestand with a 128-124 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center. Haliburton, who missed the two previous games with a bone bruise in his left wrist, scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, including a clutch 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining.
“It’s the intangibles that really make him a special player,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “I think as the game goes on and the pressure comes of the fourth quarter, it just heightens his skill set. … It feels like the later in the game, the more confidence he gets.”
Richaun Holmes had a team-high 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting with eight rebounds and a career-high-tying five assists for the Kings (4-4), who had lost three in a row after going 3-1 to start the season. Bagley recorded a double-double with season highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds in addition to two steals and two blocked shots.
Harrison Barnes added 20 points for the Kings, who tallied 30 assists while committing just seven turnovers.
Coby White had a career-high 36 points and seven assists for the Bulls (4-5). Zach Lavine scored 32 points but made just 3 of 11 from 3-point range while committing six turnovers.
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox left the game in the first quarter and did not return due to right hamstring tightness. He finished with three points and one assist in five minutes.
“I don’t have an update yet,” Walton said after the game. “We’ll probably know much more later tonight and tomorrow. ... Hopefully it’s not too bad and we can get him back on the court soon.”
Bagley had nine points and seven rebounds in the first quarter to help the Kings take a 28-22 lead. Barnes made back-to-back 3-pointers to push Sacramento’s lead to 10 early in the second.
The Kings led 62-59 at the half and went up by nine midway through the third, but the Bulls came back to take an 85-84 lead on a 3-pointer by rookie Patrick Williams. The teams exchanged leads several times until the Kings took control during a key sequence midway through the fourth quarter.
Haliburton made a 3-pointer to tie the game, Holmes locked up Lavine to force a shot-clock violation and then Haliburton dished to Holmes for a dunk, putting Sacramento up 110-108. The Bulls briefly tied the game on a basket by Wendell Carter Jr., but Glenn Robinson III answered with a 3-pointer, Barnes and Holmes went inside for two big buckets, and Buddy Hield converted a four-point play with 38.3 seconds remaining.
