Sacramento Kings head coach Dave Joerger continued a series of puzzling decisions by benching his leading scorer, Buddy Hield, in the final 5:42 of regulation against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The head-scratching move was met with plenty of wondering minds curious about the why — one they would be sure to ask after a 112-105 loss.

Reporter: Why didn’t Hield play in crunch time?

Joerger: “I thought he had a tough night.”

Reporter: Can you elaborate on that?

Joerger: “No.”

Hield recently took one on the chin for his coach after Joerger clearly chided him for taking (and making) a 32-foot 3-pointer to cut the Golden State Warriors' lead to five last week, only to see him bury another three from the corner, all within the last 20 seconds of regulation.

Hield had a chance to take a similarly-long trey to take the game into overtime, but hesitated, taking a contested two instead, which missed. The third-year player then took it all upon himself like a true veteran, letting his coach's actions skate by.

He did more of the same after Joerger's decision to bench him.

“I’m a competitor. I always want to be on the court,” Hield said, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “That’s what I do, man. We all make mistakes out there. We aren’t perfect… Everybody knows what I can do and everybody knows what I bring to the table.

“Yeah, it’s hard. I’m not going to lie to you. It’s hard to watch. As a player, you want to be out there, but you’ve still got to respect the guys out there, too. … When I’m doing my thing, they’re out there cheering me on. And when they’re out there, I’m always cheering for them, too.”

Hield had, by no means, a dismal night, shooting 7-of-16 from the floor (43.8 percent) while making 3-of-6 from deep along with eight rebounds and three steals. He did have five turnovers.

Joerger suited up 12 players and Hield's replacement, Bogdan Bogdanovic, was really struggling, shooting 3-of-13 from the floor while mirroring Hield's 29 minutes.

It won't be long before the Kings' coach has to give more than a few words regarding his decisions, especially with the team chasing the final playoff spot in the West.