Playing without three starters, the Sacramento Kings gave an equally shorthanded Toronto Raptors team a run for their money Tuesday evening at Scotiabank Arena.
With De'Aaron Fox, Nemanja Bjelica and Iman Shumpert all resting and recharging, Dave Joerger's squad stayed within striking distance throughout three quarters. But with the game on the line, the more experienced team got some separation in the fourth to pull out the win on their home floor.
Here are three takeaways as the Kings drop one in Toronto by a final of 120-105 to fall back to .500 on the season at 24-24.
Rookie First
19-year-old Marvin Bagley III picked up his first career NBA start in Bjelica place. The No. 2 overall selection in the 2018 NBA Draft answered the call and put up big numbers against a quality Raptors frontline.
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The rookie patrolled the paint and ran the floor to finish the game with a career-high 22 points on 10-for-20 shooting. Bagley added 11 rebounds and two blocks in 37 minutes of play.
Bjelica was lights out to start the season, but he's faded over the last month. It's only a matter of time before Dave Joerger and his staff make the move to Bagley as a full-time starter. Games like this might expedite that decision.
The Other Rookie
Harry Giles continues to build momentum with his play. He makes plenty of mistakes, but he also shows flashes of brilliance on both ends of the court.
In 22 minutes of action, Giles finished with 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting. He also chipped in four rebounds, two assists and blocked two shots.
He's improving every time he steps on the floor.
Buddy and Bogi
Without Fox in the Kings' lineup, the Raptors focused on stopping Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield.
Bogdanovic started at the small forward spot and finished the night with 16 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and three steals.
The Raptors locked down Hield for much of the game, but he still managed to score 15 points on 5-of-14 from the field. He added five assists, but he wasn't much of a factor after dropping 10 points in the first quarter.
