‘MVP’: Sabonis returns to post triple-double; Kings hold off Thunder to win sixth in a row
Domantas Sabonis returned to the lineup after missing a game due to illness to help the Kings continue their winning ways.
Rookie Keegan Murray produced the best game of his career and Sabonis recorded a triple-double, leading the Kings to a 118-113 victory over the Oklahoma Thunder before a sellout crowd of 17,932 at Golden 1 Center.
Murray had career highs of 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Kings (26-18), who have won six in a row going into Saturday’s showdown with the Philadelphia 76ers. Murray went 10 of 12 from the field and 5 of 7 from 3-point range.
De’Aaron Fox scored 25 points for Sacramento. Sabonis finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists, posting his fifth triple-double of the season while extending his franchise-record streak of 21 consecutive double-doubles. A raucous crowd serenaded the two-time All-Star with MVP chants in the fourth quarter.
“He’s for sure an All-Star and … if we keep winning the way we’re winning right now, he can be in the MVP conversation,” Murray said. “I think he’s the best player in the league.”
After the game, Sabonis was called upon to light the beam.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 37 points and seven assists for the Thunder (22-24), which had won four in a row and six of seven. Isaiah Joe came off the bench to score 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from 3-point range.
The Kings were back to full strength with Sabonis, Matthew Dellavedova and Alex Len returning to action after missing Wednesday’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers due to non-COVID-19 illnesses. Guard Terence Davis was also questionable because of illness, but he was cleared to play as well.
Kings coach Mike Brown said Sabonis would not have a minutes restriction, noting he wasn’t out of the lineup long.
“He missed two days and then he worked out and he was at shootaround today, so I’m good with him playing,” Brown said before the game. “Our medical staff says there’s no minutes restriction needed and so we’ll play it like that. … If it was more than two days, it would probably be a concern.”
Sabonis still had his right thumb heavily wrapped as he continues to play with an avulsion fracture of the ulnar collateral ligament. He also had the middle finger on his left hand taped after cutting himself on a dunk in Sunday’s win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Sabonis said he had “a rough couple of nights” while he was sick. He admitted the first quarter was “definitely tough.”
“I had to get my lungs and my legs under me, but after that first quarter, I kind of felt like myself,” Sabonis said.
The Kings trailed 9-2 after going 0 of 4 from the field to start the game. They made 12 of their next 16 shots to take a 33-32 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Oklahoma City went up by six early in the second quarter and led by nine following a 3-pointer by Joe with 5:13 to play in the half. The Kings trailed 66-59 at the break, but they came back to take a 67-66 lead on a 3-pointer by Harrison Barnes early in the second half.
Fox made a step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer to put Sacramento up 91-88 at the end of the third quarter. The Kings were still clinging to a three-point lead when Murray hit the first of his three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
The Kings went up by 10 on two free throws by Sabonis and held on after the Thunder forced a series of turnovers to stage a late 9-2 run.
Oklahoma City players and coaches were impressed with the atmosphere in Sacramento.
“Oh it was fun,” Thunder guard Jalen Williams said. “I think it was sold out tonight, so that was good. We’re at that point where I think we are going to get everybody’s best shot. You kind of live for those moments. It was sold out and they had a good fan base coming in. So it was good we got to experience that and play against them.”
Thunder coach Mark Daigenault agreed.
“That was a fun game,” he said. “Great crowd, great environment. I thought Sacramento played really well. They showed a lot of poise in the second half. They really tested us in a lot of different ways. It was a great challenge for us, so I really enjoyed that.”
Oklahoma City outshot Sacramento 48.4% to 47.4%, but the Kings amassed a 52-36 rebounding advantage and made 24 of 28 free throws while the Thunder hit just 7 of 11.
The Kings have won six in a row and nine of 12 to move eight games over .500 for the first time since 2004-05. This is the first time they’ve had two six-game winning streaks in a season since 2002-03.
The Kings are 6-2 in their last eight home games and 15-9 at home on the season. They are first in the Pacific Division and third in the Western Conference going into Saturday’s game against the 76ers, who are tied for second in the Eastern Conference.
“I’m just proud of us for taking care of this homestand,” Sabonis said. “We talked about it, that we had a couple games here that were meant to be winnable games, and we went out and took care of business. Dropped some that we should have won, but just happy overall, and we’ve just got to keep building and keep getting better..”
This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 11:01 PM.
