Marvin Bagley expresses himself in the face of defeat against the Warriors

OAKLAND – Marvin Bagley was sitting in his stand, still wearing his uniform, when reporters arrived after the Kings' 117-116 defeat of the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. His right hand wrapped in ice, the rookie had just felt a match slipping through his fingers and he was not very happy about that.

According to the great 19-year-old, he sprained his right hand in the third or fourth quarter, but it does not matter. He plans to run for Sunday when the Kings host Utah Jazz at Golden 1 Center.

This is good news for the Kings. Another good news is that Bagley is developing in front of everyone. Against the Warriors, he was a beast, tying his career record with 20 points and setting a new career record with 17 rebounds.

Unfortunately, with the online game in the final seconds, the second pick in the NBA draft in 2018 has turned out quite short in his attempt to putback.

It started with a Buddy Hield reader. The killer guard of the Kings tried a float with 4.2 seconds to go and the Kings lag behind. The shot rebounded from the edge to the weak side where Bagley was perfectly placed for the finish.

"I saw Buddy drive and it seemed like for the moment he was trying to score, so I was just trying to take a stand and get the rebound and go back up," Bagley said. of the game. "That does not suit me."

The former Duke star is headed for the rebound and when he went to mark it, the ball got stuck between the glass and the backboard. The result was a jumped ball with 2.1 seconds left.

"I thought he was about to put it back," said D'Aaron Fox. "He passed the goal and he was in a perfect position and sometimes the ball does not roll as expected."

Hield followed the tip, but the time has expired. The officials looked at the sequence and handed the ball to Sacramento with 0.3 seconds to go, but the Kings were not able to get a shot in the end.

It was another learning experience for a young team. It is one of the few times of the season that a result was decided at the last minute of a match. Bagley had the opportunity to win his first winning shot as a professional, but in the end it did not work.

"He had a hell of a game," said coach Dave Joerger of Bagley. "He feels bad about the last one at the end. He felt like an extra pound of pressure pushing that ball and it rocked, rather than in the crotch of the rim. "

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Bagley had a career-high 34 minutes in the loss and it's hard not to notice his growth as a player. Joerger continues to give him a longer leash as the season progresses.

"He does great things with the ball and without," added Joerger. "He continues to grow. I was very comfortable to have it on the floor.

It's not just the coach who notices the progress of Bagley's game. His teammates see a young player progressing as well.

"It's improving day by day," Hield said following the loss. "I'm going to stay on him because I want to see him succeed in this league. He's fine, man. "

As he feels more comfortable on the field, the players who surround him continue to trust the rookie. He already gives the team numbers, but the player he eventually becomes is defined.

"It gives us a deeper team with him playing well," Fox said. "He let the game come to him. I think he's running when his number is called. "

Bagley is not one to lose confidence in himself. He was a highly skilled prepositioning player who was going to university and he did not hesitate to say that he thought he should be at the forefront of the selection prior to the repechage.

There is a moxie to the power striker and he seems to perfectly understand where he is heading as a player. Bagley is becoming a valuable member of the rotation and its benefits are enormous.

"Every game, I feel better and better," he said. "I learn, I see a lot of things every game when I play outside. This has certainly slowed down considerably since the first pre-season game so far. "

A loss is a defeat, but the Kings continue to turn the heads of the league. They will have another shot to get back in the win column Sunday afternoon when they host the Utah Jazz at Golden 1 Center.