Kings takeaways: What you might have missed in 112-106 win vs. Pelicans

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A win is a win.

After an early collapse in the bubble cost them any chance at an NBA playoff spot, the Sacramento Kings picked up their second win of the Orlando bubble Tuesday evening in a meaningless game.

Sacramento outlasted a short-handed New Orleans Pelicans team and a big performance from Jahlil Okafor to come away with a 112-106 victory.

Here are three takeaways as the Kings found a way to pick up a win and improved to 2-5 in the Orlando bubble.

Barnes looks better

The Kings waiting anxiously for Harrison Barnes to clear coronavirus protocol and join them in the Orlando bubble. He reported for duty right before Sacramento’s last scrimmage game, but he really hasn’t looked like himself throughout the tournament.

That changed on Tuesday night when Barnes went for a team-high 25 points on 9-for-19 shooting. He added eight rebounds and two assists in the win.

Barnes isn’t a star, but he’s an incredibly valuable piece to the Kings’ rotation. It’s good to see him getting his timing back, unfortunately it came way too late.

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The Audition

Harry Giles’ time with the Sacramento Kings might be coming to an end and if it is, he’s going to go out with a bang.

The second-year big man is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and he’s auditioning for all 30 NBA teams. With the Kings short-handed, Giles got an extended look and had a nice little ball game for coach Luke Walton’s squad.

In 24 minutes of action, Giles finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

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Leaving it all out on the court

Bogdan Bogdanovic had a disaster of a game in the Kings’ overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks. If you take that game away, he’s had a great offensive showing in the bubble. 

The third-year Kings guard, who enters this summer as a restricted free agent for Sacramento, came into the contest averaging 19 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting from 3-point range, and those numbers include his 1-for-15 showing against the Mavs.

Bogi had another solid game for the Kings against New Orleans, scoring 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting to go with six rebounds, seven assists and two steals. The Kings are going to have to pay up, but there is a very good chance they lock up the Serbian shooting guard long term this offseason.

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