A 34-point, 11-rebound performance from Sacramento Kings‘ Domantas Sabonis led the Kings to a 119-109 win over the San Antonio Spurs during the NBA’s Wednesday night slate. Sabonis shot 15 of 20 from the field.
“If they are going to be down there trying to guard him one-on-one, ‘Hey, yo, go score,’” Kings guard De’Aaron Fox said. “If you have to shoot the ball 10, 15 times in a row, do it.”
The Kings have won two straight and nine of 12 to remain at the top of the Pacific Division with Fox’s 31 points, 10 assists, and one turnover.
With Devin Vassell out, the Spurs were led by a season-high 22 points from rookie Malaki Branham. However, Tre Jones and Jeremy Sochan were injured in the first quarter, extending their losing streak to 12 games. Spurs forward Josh Richardson returned from a sore left knee after missing three games.
“They do it every game,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “They stick with it and they play hard every game. One out of every 10 or so, we might lay and egg, but everybody else does the same thing. I have always been pleased with their effort and their stick-to-itiveness.”
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings & San Antonio Spurs Updates
The Kings went on a 14-2 run midway through the second quarter to take a 49-37 lead. A season-high 74 points were scored in the paint to compensate for the Kings’ poor 3-point shooting. During the first quarter, Sabonis scored 17 points primarily in the paint and shot 7 for 9 from the field.
“In the first quarter, they were trying to play him one-on-one and not allow him to spread the ball,” Fox said. “Obviously, he’s a super unselfish guy, but if they are going to guard him like that, we all tell him, go score the ball because at some point they are going to have to start helping.”
On Doug McDermott’s cutting layup two minutes into the fourth, the Spurs cut the Kings’ lead to 89-88. But the Kings responded with a quick run to maintain the lead.
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings & San Antonio Spurs Updates
“Stopping them from getting in the paint,” Sacramento guard Malik Monk said. “After they made a little run, we locked in. Went to the timeout, said, ‘We can’t let them in the paint,’ and we did that. That’s how we held the lead.”
In 33 minutes off the bench, Monk scored 22 points. He has scored a combined 41 points over his two most recent performances.
