Messed around and almost got burned.
After leading by as many as 21 points in the first half, the Sacramento Kings went away from what was working Friday evening in Atlanta and the Hawks tracked them down.
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Trae Young caught fire in the third quarter to make it a game and he didn’t stop there. With 9:03 remaining in the fourth, the Hawks cut Sacramento’s lead to one at 94-93. And then the Kings second unit responded.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, Trevor Ariza and Cory Joseph turned up the heat and dropped a 22-5 run to put Atlanta away.
Here are three takeaways as the Kings improved to 2-1 on the road trip and 3-6 with the 121-109 victory.
Big shot Bogi
For the second straight game, Bogdan Bogdanovic put on a show coming off the Kings’ bench.
With Sacramento staggering at the end of the third, Bogdanovic buried one of his five makes to give the team breathing room heading into the fourth.
He continued his timely shooting in the final quarter to finish the night with 20 points on 5-of-6 shooting from long range to go with five assists and four rebounds.
When Bogdanovic is on, the Kings need to give him the ball and get out of the way. Over his last two games, Bogdanovic has now hit 11 of 17 from behind the arc.
NBA
The Rise of Ariza
General manager Vlade Divac spent big money on Trevor Ariza in the offseason and through the first eight games, the returns were all over the place.
Against Atlanta, the 16-year veteran played extremely well, especially in the fourth quarter. Ariza was active on both ends of the court, coming away with two huge steals and a couple of big 3-pointers to help turn the tide in the final 12 minutes.
Ariza finished the game with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc.
Coach Luke Walton has used Ariza more than expected early in the season and it paid off Friday against Atlanta.
Welcome back, Harry
After being put on ice throughout training camp and missing the first eight games of the season with a sore left knee, Harry Giles returned to action for Sacramento and made an immediate impact for Luke Walton’s squad.
[RELATED: What Giles return from unique situation means for Kings]
Giles took a few minutes to find his sea legs on the offensive end, but he was active on defense, swatting away a dunk attempt by Hawks rookie De’Andre Hunter early in his first run.
The Kings have been needing another active enforcer on the court and Giles didn’t disappoint. He finished the night with four points, one rebound and a block in seven minutes of action. It was a brief first look, but Giles looked solid.