Double-Double Emperor Domantas Sabonis, Kings Visit Grizzlies

Double-Double Emperor Domantas Sabonis, Kings Visit Grizzlies

It was a tough match for Domantas Sabonis to miss with a right thumb injury. His last two performances contributed to his two emotional victories for the Sacramento Kings.

Sabonis and the Kings are looking to usher in 2023 with a three-game winning streak when the amazing Pacific Division leaders visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night.

After defeating the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz by one point at home, the Kings are 19-15 ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers by six points. Sabonis missed his 113-106 loss to Denver on Tuesday with an avulsion fracture of his ulnar collateral ligament after being injured in the fourth quarter against the Wizards on Dec. 23 in Washington.

In Sacramento’s last two wins, Sabonis continued to achieve double-doubles. On Friday, he tallied 28 total points and his 11 rebounds, recording his 12th consecutive double-double and his 25th double-double overall.

Sabonis joins DeMarcus Cousins ​​and LaSalle Thompson as the only players in franchise history to record double-doubles in 12 or more consecutive games.

In a 12-12 performance from the floor on Friday, Sabonis became the third player, after Wilt Chamberlain and Karl Malone, to not miss a shot while scoring at least 12 attempts on multiple occasions. He had previously gone 12-12 in a game against the New York Knicks when he was with his Pacers in Indiana on October 31, 2018.

The latest double-double came on a night when Kevin Harter scored a career-high 30 points and hit the winning 3-pointer with 9.2 seconds remaining.

“It just shows that we don’t give up and just keep fighting,” Sabonis said. “Often when things didn’t go our way, we were able to keep our heads down and we kept fighting.”

The Kings are 9-6, following a three-game losing streak from November 23-28. They had dropped three of his four in his six-game homestand before Sabonis recorded his latest double-double.

The Grizzlies are 3-4 after a seven-game winning streak from December 2-15. Memphis hit New Orleans on Saturday night, where he beat the Pelicans 116-101 and pulled away in the fourth quarter to record his second straight win.

Memphis is looking to make at least 50% of his shots from the field for the third straight game after hitting 51.1% on Saturday and 50.5% in Toronto on Thursday. The Grizzlies also held the Pelicans to 35.2% of him and had CJ McCollum in his 16-4 shootout after he made 11 of his 3-pointers to beat Philadelphia on Friday night. drove in.

Ja Morant scored 32 points on Saturday, marking the third time he has scored 30 or more points in four games. Desmond Bain added 18 points in the fifth game after losing 17 points due to a toe injury, while Jaren Jackson Jr. added 11 of 17 points to Memphis’ 33-point fourth quarter. was obtained.

Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said, “We’re trained to score, stop, score, force 1-on-1 defense, shifts, force tough shots and don’t give them a second life.” We just stitched together a cycle of stops,” he said of the final quarter.

Bain’s minutes have been steadily increasing and he could be sidelined on Sunday when Jackson is expected to play. Morant fell hard in the first half of Saturday and is set to play on Sunday.

–Field level media