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By Bryan Colbert Jr.
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The last time an NBA rookie scored and passed his way to the numbers Darius Acuff Jr. reached Sunday night, the Kings were still in Cincinnati and Oscar Robertson was running the offense.
Acuff scored 32 points and handed out 10 assists in Sacramento’s 114-108 loss to the Miami Heat, giving him 259 points and 74 assists through his first 10 career games.
Only Robertson had reached both 250 points and 70 assists that quickly, accomplishing that feat for the Cincinnati Royals back in 1960-61.
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Acuff had already started chasing Robertson by his fifth game.
The 19-year-old guard out of Arkansas had 120 points by then, more than any rookie in franchise history except Robertson. His passing in New Orleans on Oct. 29 helped put him in different company.
Acuff finished with 34 points, 14 assists and six rebounds that night, joining LeBron James and Luka Doncic as the only teenagers in NBA history to reach 30 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in a game.
Against Miami, Acuff made 11 of 21 shots, hit three 3-pointers and went 7-for-7 at the line. It was already his fourth 30-point game.
Sunday’s 10 assists also made him just the second teenager with multiple games of at least 30 points and 10 assists. James had three before he turned 20.
Sacramento gave Acuff a chance to turn that performance into its first home win.
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The Kings trailed by 16 in the third quarter before De’Andre Hunter tied it at 95 on a pair of free throws with 6:12 left in the fourth. Miami pulled ahead again, but Acuff brought Sacramento within three at the line with 3:53 to play.
The Heat held on behind 29 points and 14 rebounds from Giannis Antetokounmpo, dropping Sacramento to 1-9.
The Kings host Orlando on Tuesday, six days before Acuff turns 20. That leaves him another chance to catch James while he can still call himself a teenager.
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