Sacramento’s Sim Bhullar, the NBA’s first player of Indian descent, scored his first career points on Wednesday in the waning seconds of the Kings’ loss at Utah.
Bhullar, born and brought up in Canada by parents from the Indian state of Punjab, made history on Tuesday with a 16-second debut for the Kings, who are owned by Indian businessman Vivek Ranadive.
Hoping for a chance to impress during the tenure of his 10-day contract, Bhullar played one minute and 22 seconds on Wednesday, delivering a turnaround hook shot with less than 18 seconds left, the last points in the contest won 103-91 by the Jazz.
The 22-year-old also pulled down one rebound for the Kings, who brought him in from the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s affiliate in the NBA Development League.
The 7-foot-5-inch (2.27m) Bhullar had spent the entire season with the Bighorns, after attending the Kings’ pre-season training camp.
Bhullar was a two-time Western Athletic Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player for New Mexico State University. He was undrafted last June but was brought into training camp by the Kings before landing in Reno.
The Kings, in the second game of a back-to-back and playing without ailing starters DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay or Darren Collison for the first time this season saw their reserves hold their own through three quarters.
The Jazz trailed by two going into the fourth quarter, but opened the period with an 18-5 scoring run to pull ahead and away. – Agence France-Presse
