The Tribune

BUDDY Hield’s productivity off the bench continues for the Sacramento Kings and is approaching milestone numbers for his efficient shooting.

Hield scored 17 points on 7-13 shooting, 3-5 from three-point range in Sunday’s 102-87 loss to the Toronto Raptors at the Golden 1 Centre in Sacramento, California.

Hield scored 14 in the first half to help the Kings keep pace.

It completed a weekend that began with late game heroics against his former team. Hield finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds in a 116-109 overtime win over the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. He shot 7-12 from the field, including 4-5 on three pointers.

He scored eight points during the Kings’ 11-2 run to end the fourth and his 3-pointer with 36.3 seconds left tied the score at 102 to eventually force overtime.

“It was good to come here and get a win,” Hield told reporters after the game. “We came in here with a great team -- they are in playoff contention -- and they have three great players, A.D., Jrue (Holiday), and DeMarcus and just find a way to win. That’s what we did as a young group. We feed off the vets’ energy. Z-Bo (Zach Randolph) was great on the bench. George Hill was talking to us about how to guard them. I made some shots. We all did our part.”

In his last 10 games Hield has shot nearly 60 per cent from three-point range and has averaged nearly 18 points per game in his last four contests since playing just seven minutes and going scoreless against the Chicago Bulls..

On the season Hield is averaging 12.3 points per game, shooting 45 per cent from the field, 47 per cent from three and 88 per cent from the free throw line, in contention to join the elite 50-40-90 club.

The 50–40–90 club is considered a group of players who have had a shooting percentage at or above 50% for field goals, 40% for three-pointers, and 90% for free throws during an entire NBA regular season while also achieving the NBA minimum number of makes in each category. Only seven players have had 50–40–90 seasons.