Buddy Hield shoulders blame for late mistake in Kings' loss vs. Spurs

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All the Kings needed to do was play 14 seconds of good defense and they would walk out of AT&T Center in San Antonio with an impressive win.

But Buddy Hield didn't fight through a LaMarcus Aldridge screen and a wide-open Marco Belinelli drained a 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left in regulation.

The game would go to overtime, and the Kings would eventually lose, 105-104, to the Spurs.

After the game, a somber Hield pointed the finger at himself for the end-of-regulation breakdown.

"I should have been more locked in and have more attention to detail in regulation and shouldn't put us in that situation," Hield told reporters in San Antonio. "I see what coach is talking about, but it's my fault."

While Hield blew the assignment on Belinelli's game-tying shot, the Kings will want to forget the final two minutes of regulation.

Up 98-89, the Kings were outscored 11-2 over the final 1:50 of the fourth quarter. They turned the ball over three times during that span, allowing the Spurs to chip away at the deficit.

Still, Hield was upset with himself.

"I didn't lock in and pay extra attention to Belinelli, so it's on me," Hield said.

Coach Luke Walton wasn't happy either, but for a different reason.

"The turnovers at the end of regulation, that's something we can't do as a group," Walton told reporters in San Antonio.

Despite how regulation ended, the Kings still had a chance to win the game at the end of overtime. Hield and Trevor Ariza had open shots, but couldn't connect.

"At the end of the day, we had three open looks to win and we missed all three of them," Walton said. "So, it's frustrating, it hurts to lose. It's what the journey's about and it's about learning from these and getting better as a group and going out and being able to do a better job at executing down the stretch next time we're in that situation."

With the loss, the Kings sit at 8-13 on the season and the schedule doesn't get any easier. On Sunday, they take on MVP candidate Luka Doncic and the Mavericks. The next day, they will be in Houston to take on James Harden and the Rockets. That's a brutal back-to-back.

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As they wait for De'Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley to get healthy, the Kings need to learn from their mistakes and put together a complete game. If they don't, they will come home on Tuesday seven games under .500, a spot they don't want to be in.

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