DETROIT _ The Detroit Pistons flirted with disaster Saturday night.
And they were burned.
Buddy Hield's running 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded capped off the Sacramento Kings' 22-9 run to close out a 103-101 victory _ a crushing loss for the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.
With Andre Drummond out as part of the league's concussion protocol and Reggie Jackson not attempting many shots, the Pistons (20-25) wasted another stellar performance from Blake Griffin, who scored 38 points.
But Hield's scoring explosion _ 35 points on 13-for-22 shooting _ snapped the Pistons' two-game winning streak.
The Pistons were seemingly in control for most of the evening, leading by 11 points with 6:21 left after two Griffin free throws.
But Hield scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to lead the improbable comeback.
After the final shot, Hield ran around the court with his teammates in full gallop as the officials made sure he got the basket off in time.
Luke Kennard added 19 points for the Pistons.
Marvin Bagley III and De'Aaron Fox scored 14 each for the Kings (24-22).
The Pistons were also without backup point guard Ish Smith (right adductor stiffness).
Zaza Pachulia started in place of Drummond and finished with seven points and 12 rebounds.
It had appeared that rookie guard Khyri Thomas had earned a spot in the playing rotation after receiving playing time in the last two games of the team's recent four-game trip.
But after suffering a sore lower back from being pushed to the floor by Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert toward the end of Monday's loss, Thomas missed the first two games of the homestand.
He was back in the rotation Saturday and the results were mixed.
He was the primary defender when Hield scored several times, but he did fill the lane for a fast-break layup.
He finished with four points in 14 minutes.
First-year referee Natalie Sago caught Griffin's ire in the first half.
Griffin and Marvin Bagley III were entangled along the baseline at the 1:23 mark of the second quarter when Sago called the Pistons star for an offensive foul.
Griffin disagreed with her assessment, stopping to give her his take on what happened.
He continued talking through the action, so it wasn't surprising to see her give Griffin a technical foul on the next possession when Griffin was going to the free-throw line.
Griffin kept talking and walked away when she attempted to hand him the ball to shoot the free throw.
