Domantas Sabonis posts triple-double; joins historic company in Kings’ win over Lakers
Double-doubles have come easy lately for Kings center Domantas Sabonis, but he didn’t stop there in Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Sabonis produced his second triple-double of the season to lead the Kings to a 134-120 victory over the Lakers before a sellout crowd of 17,611 at Golden 1 Center.
Sabonis posted 13 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists for the Kings (17-13), who bounced back in a big way after opening a six-game homestand with a loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.
“He’s flirted with triple-doubles all year, and for him to get one as pronounced as he got tonight — 13, 12 and 21,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “He’s been rebounding the crap out of the ball. The man just plays so hard, and it’s evident because it shows up in whatever he does out on the floor. Even if he didn’t get stats, how hard he plays is unbelievable to me, but it’s phenomenal for us.”
LeBron James had 31 points, six rebounds and 11 assists for the Lakers (13-18).
The Kings went 2 of 8 from the field and 1 of 7 from 3-point range to start the game. They trailed 26-25 after shooting 35% from the field and 21.4% from beyond the arc in the opening period.
Sacramento picked up the pace in the second quarter, outscoring Los Angeles 41-32 to take a 66-58 lead into the halftime break. The Kings went up by as many as 23 while outscoring the Lakers 40-28 in the third quarter. With that, the rout was on as fans began to chant “Light the Beam” midway through the fourth quarter.
“We did some things tonight that I didn’t think we did correctly in our last game against Charlotte,” Brown said. “One of the things we stressed the last couple days was being active with our weakside defense, in particular the low guy, and we were. We picked up a couple of charges because of it.”
Over the past four games, Sabonis has averaged 21.3 points, 19.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists with three 20-point games and three 20-rebound games, building a strong case for a third All-Star selection.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Sabonis is the first player with 75 rebounds and 30 assists over a four-game span since Wes Unseld in 1970. The only other players who have achieved that feat are Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Maurice Stokes.
Sabonis had his ninth consecutive double-double and his NBA-leading 22nd of the season. Two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets is second with 21 followed by Lakers center Anthony Davis (18), Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (18), and Milwaukee Bucks forwards Giannis Antetokounmpo (17) and Bobby Portis (17).
Kings guard Kevin Huerter led six players in double figures for Sacramento, scoring 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting with five rebounds and three steals. Rookie Keegan Murray matched his career high with 23 points, scoring in double figures for the 11th time in 12 games after struggling in November.
“I think just I’ve gone through the ups and downs of the NBA season already early on, so I know what I need to do to be successful on the court,” Murray said. “It’s just staying patient and finding my rhythm.”
De’Aaron Fox had 22 points and six assists before getting ejected in the fourth quarter while Harrison Barnes added 20 points and eight rebounds. Fox received two technical fouls while arguing with officials, resulting in an automatic ejection with 3:09 to play.
Brown defended his point guard after the game while making the point that the Kings need him to finish games in the fourth quarter.
“He got fouled and they didn’t call it,” Brown said. “They missed the call. And I told Fox, ‘Hey, I’m going to ride with you because you’re one of our two best players, and you and Domas, you guys have a long leash, but in the same breath, it’s a great learning experience because you can’t have that.”
Neemias Queta, who is getting an opportunity to solidify himself as the team’s backup center, came off the bench to score 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting, all on emphatic dunks.
The Kings shot 50.5% from the field and made 17 of 47 (.362) from 3-point range with 29 assists and 12 turnovers. They had a 46-39 rebounding advantage, a 58-50 advantage on points in the paint and an 18-7 advantage in second-chance points.
“If we’re hitting shots, we’re obviously hard to guard,” Huerter said.
Huerter and Sabonis had their share of battles when Huerter was playing for the Atlanta Hawks and Sabonis was with the Pacers, before Kings general manager Monte McNair executed the trades that brought them both to Sacramento.
“He’s relentless,” Huerter said of Sabonis. “… His numbers speak for themselves. I’m gad he’s on my team now.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 12:08 AM.
