By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Kings' season opener ended in a loss, but Buddy Hield and the young core showed enough promise to give the Sacramento faithful optimism on the future of the franchise.

Hield scored 19 points on 8-17 shooting from the field and 3-7 from three-point range in Wednesday's 105-100 loss to the Rockets at The Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.

Hield also added five rebounds, four assists and one steal in 33 minutes.

After he shot just 1-6 from the floor in the first half, Hield scored 10 points in the third quarter, including a stretch of four consecutive field goals. Kings head coach Dave Joerger said it's a trait that makes Hield one of the most explosive offensive players on the roster.

"He's a guy that can go and make four, five, six in a row and they can be tough," Joerger said. "I think what you have to do with Buddy - I've been reigning him in to make him play the way we want to play and you try to treat everybody that way, but for certain guys at any moment you give a little bit more latitude and I think he's one of those guys you have to let him take a bad shot every now and then to let him loosen up, find a rhythm, maybe a ball goes in. He got going, he hit a step back and a six-footer and boom he gets going and it really propelled us."

The Kings trailed by six (66-60) when Hield made a 14-foot step back, he followed with back-to-back three-pointers, the second of which tied the game at 68 with 3:33 left to play in the period.

The Rockets' James Harden hit three three-pointers within a two-minute span to pull away, the third of which gave Houston an 89-79 lead.

The Kings would rally in the fourth and came within three (98-95) before a controversial play decided the outcome. The Kings stole the inbounds pass from Gordon with 25 seconds left in regulation. The play was initially ruled a steal by the Kings but after a referee review, it was ruled a foul on George Hill.

Gordon converted two free throws to seal the win.

Hield was the second leading scorer and one of five Kings in double figures. Willie Cauley-Stein led the team with 21 points and 10 rebounds, Hill scored 16, Skal Labissiere had 12 points and 10 rebounds and De'Aaron Fox scored 14 off the bench.

"It was a nice way to start the season, but we didn't get the win. We saw a lot of things we were proud about and how it translated from practice. The lineup, it's going to be varied and random, the lineup. You may see four different lineups four nights in a row so it's going to be interesting for me to try and find a rhythm from a group but at the same time we want to get as many young guys as many minutes as possible," Joerger said.

"We're going to be a perimeter team, there are going to be times we are going to score without a 'go-to guy' as a young team it has to be by committee."

Hield struggled in the preseason when he shot between 18.2 and 27.3 per cent in three of the last four games. He averaged 9.5 points on 39 per cent shooting from the field and 23 per cent from the three-point line. In addition, he grabbed 3.8 rebounds and dished two assists per game.

Joerger discussed Hield's preseason play and correctly projected that he would break out of the slump sooner rather than later.

"You have to have no conscience when you're a scorer or a shooter. He is having a conscience right now because he's a team guy. He's conscientious about what we're trying to do as a team. In the first week, 10 or 12 days, we've been pretty robotic about trying to put in our stuff. Since that point its loosened up, we're playing faster but you only have so much time to get your stuff in as fast as you can, then opening night hits and the train gets rolling on the tracks. I think and believe, as everybody does, that it's not a huge deal."

The Kings will go on a three-game road trip beginning tonight against the Dallas Mavericks, followed by a back-to-back against the Denver Nuggets before Monday's game against Phoenix.