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UNC Basketball: Harrison Barnes’ big game fuels Kings to victory

By Blake Cockrum

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 08: Harrison Barnes #40 of the Sacramento Kings dribbles the ball up court in the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Golden 1 Center on February 08, 2020 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 08: Harrison Barnes #40 of the Sacramento Kings dribbles the ball up court in the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Golden 1 Center on February 08, 2020 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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Former UNC basketball standout Harrison Barnes scores season-high 32 points, leading Sacramento to victory over Memphis

Sacramento Kings small forward Harrison Barnes scored a season-high 32 points against the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night, leading his team to victory for the fourth time in the last six games. It’s just the latest installment in what’s been a promising two-week stretch for Barnes, who by all accounts, hasn’t played very well over the past couple of months.

Barnes averaged better than 18 points per game in the month of November, shooting 50 percent from the floor and 41.4 percent from three-point range. Through the months of December and January, though, Barnes averaged nearly five fewer points per game, and shot the ball with far less efficiency.

In three of his last four games, however, Barnes has scored at least 23 points, and is shooting the ball markedly better than the two months prior. In those three games, the former Tar Heel is shooting 65 percent overall, as well as an incredible 61 percent mark from long-range. He’s also knocking down nearly 91 percent of his free throws in those games, and logging a team-high 37.6 minutes per outing. Even better is the fact that his team is 2-1 in those three games, with the only blemish coming to a Milwaukee Bucks squad that has a league-best 47-8 record.

https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1230741441447510016

On Thursday night, he connected on 11-of-17 shots from the floor, and 7-of-11 from beyond the arc. Both his 11 made field goals and seven made three-pointers were a season-best. He hit shots from all over the court, and was seemingly unstoppable on a night that everything was working for the eighth-year wing out of North Carolina.

His recent stretch of offensive prowess is a good sign for the Kings, who are currently six games out of eighth-place in the Western Conference, and in need of a win streak to get back in the playoff race. It’s also worth mentioning that Barnes doesn’t plan on cutting his hair or shaving his beard until the Kings are back to a .500 record. Despite how good Barnes has been in recent games, and how much better Sacramento has been playing over the past three weeks, we’re not going to hold our breath on seeing Barnes at the barber shop any time soon.

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