Kings center Richaun Holmes joined Bogdan Bogdanovic and Marvin Bagley III on the injured list for Tuesday's game against the Phoenix Suns, leaving coach Luke Walton with some interesting decisions to make.
Walton chose to give Harry Giles III his first career start and brought Dewayne Dedmon out of exile to log significant minutes for the first time since Dec. 4. Both players rose to the challenge, helping the Kings overcome a 21-point deficit to beat the Suns, 114-103, at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Ariza.
De'Aaron Fox scored 27 points for the Kings (15-23), who have won three of their last four games after losing eight in a row. Nemanja Bjelica had 19 points and seven rebounds. Buddy Hield added 16 points.
Dedmon came off the bench to post 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings. He had only logged seven minutes since falling out of the rotation in early December and had been listed as inactive in the three previous games after going public with his trade request.
Giles, who recently returned to the rotation after sitting 15 consecutive games, finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
Devin Booker scored 34 points for the Suns (14-22), extending his franchise record with his seventh consecutive 30-point game. Deandre Ayton had 21 points and nine rebounds. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 17 points.
Holmes missed the game with a strained right shoulder. Bogdanovic missed his third game in a row due to right ankle soreness. Bagley has missed the past seven games with a midfoot sprain after previously missing 22 games due to a broken thumb.
The Kings outscored the Suns 10-2 to start the game but trailed 29-26 going into the second quarter. They reclaimed the lead in the second period and went into the halftime break tied at 53-53.
The Suns outscored the Kings 18-2 to start the second half. Most of the damage was done by Booker, who scored 14 points in the third quarter after being held to 11 in the first half.
Phoenix went up 71-55 on a 3-pointer by Aron Baynes. The Suns led by as many as 21 following a basket by Booker with 4:50 to play in the third period.
The Kings started their comeback with a 19-7 run to end the third quarter. They continued to chip away at the deficit to take a 92-91 lead on a dunk by Bjelica. The Suns briefly reclaimed the lead, but a 31-foot bomb by Bjelica put the Kings back on top.
