Haliburton: ‘Dumb s–t’ overrides career night in Kings loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Tyrese Haliburton did something that hasn’t been done by a Kings player since the franchise moved to Sacramento, but the young star offered a simple assessment of his performance after the 105-89 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at Golden 1 Center.
“To tell you the truth, there was a lot of just me doing dumb s–t,” Haliburton said after scoring 22 points and dishing out a career-high 13 assists. The 21-year-old quickly caught himself and apologized for cursing, saying his dad was going to be watching.
Haliburton is the first player to post 20 or more points and 10 or more assists in four consecutive games since the franchise relocated to California’s state capitol in 1985. However, Haliburton also committed a career-high seven turnovers as he runs the offense for the fourth consecutive game with De’Aaron Fox out due to COVID-19 health and safety protocol.
Even by the 2021-22 NBA season’s wild standards, the Kings have been ravaged by the NBA’s COVID-19 protocol. Fox was just one of seven Kings players held out of the lineup as the team tries to weather the storm.
Pressure has been ratcheted up on players like Haliburton in the interim, and the second-year guard has certainly filled up the stat sheet with Fox and others out.
Haliburton is the first player in franchise history since Larry Drew in 1982 (five straight games) to have four consecutive 20-plus point, 10-plus rebound games according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Haliburton is the first player with at least 4+ games of 20-points, 10-assists since Larry Drew (5 straight in 1982).
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) December 23, 2021
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It has not just been the roster that has been affected by COVID-19, as interim head coach Alvin Gentry has been out for five games, with interim interim head coach Doug Christie holding down the bench in his place.
The Kings have now gone 2-3 with Christie, and Haliburton recognized his influence on the guard’s recent uptick in production after the game.
Haliburton will have a chance on Dec. 26 to equal Drew in franchise history if he can notch another 20/10 performance, but clearly he would much prefer a victory as the Kings will welcome in the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Kings have lost each of their last two games against the Kings by a combined 47 points, and hopefully will have some reinforcements off the health and safety protocol list over the next four days.