SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ The Kings were booed off the floor following another third-quarter collapse in a 118-111 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center. The Kings have lost five in a row to start the season for the first time since 1990-91, when they finished 25-57 under coach Dick Motta.
Buddy Hield scored 23 points for the Kings (0-5). Harrison Barnes had 22 points and seven rebounds. Hield, De'Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic combined to make 18 of 52 field-goal attempts and 10 of 32 from 3-point range.
P.J. Washington had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Hornets (2-3), who had lost three in a row.
The Kings led 66-61 at the half, but they were outscored 32-18 in the third quarter and trailed by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter. The Kings were tied or leading at halftime in four of their first five games, but they've been outscored in the third quarter of all five contests by an average of 10.8 points. They have now been outscored 153-99 in third-quarter play.
"It's something we don't want to blow up too much and now we're in our own heads every time we come out of halftime," Kings coach Luke Walton said before the game. "But it is something to be aware of and make sure we're mindful of the fact that we have to come out and be ready to go and have better third quarters because right now they've been pretty bad for us."
