Domantas Sabonis, the all-around star.
The Sacramento Kings have been insanely good during the season but not a lot of individuals are taking notice. Coach Mike Brown elevated his schemes and the likes of Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter are starting to get better with experience. Despite the loss to the Miami Heat, their leaders, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, still delivered. The big man also clinched a record that greats like Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held.
Domantas Sabonis has been insane in crashing the boards and putting up points. Against the Heat, Coach Mike Brown knew what he could expect from the veteran big man and was not disappointed. Sabonis notched his 40th-consecutive double-double. This makes him etch his name beside great players like Wilt Chamberlain Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone, Walt Bellamy, Bob Pettit, Elgin Baylor, Jerry Lucas, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Kevin Love.
It was a hard-fought battle to get the rebounds and points but Sabonis did it. He saw 40 minutes of playing time and did not waste a single second. This helped him put up 14 points and 14 boards. The astounding part is that he was also deep in his bag whenever the Hear trapped him. It made for easy passes to open teammates and got the Kings 10 assists.
Kings’ need to bounce back
Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Bam Adebayo just found all the holes in the Kings’ defense. The two Heat stars combined for 54 points while a total of six players in their squad scored more than 13 points. Stealing the ball from great ball-handlers like De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk was also not an easy feat but they pulled it off 10 times in this game.
A lot went on as the Kings started to crumble entering the clutch. They ended the night with 20 fouls which meant that contesting shots was not really doing much in preventing Coach Erik Spoelstra’s schematics from working. Nonetheless, the Kings starting five tried their best to outgun their opponents as all of them scored in double digits. But, it was to no avail as when their bench was playing, with the exception of Malik Monk, not a lot of shot opportunities were working out.
It might just have been one of those nights for the team. Hopefully, the beam lights back up in the next game to show their sign of momentum.
About the Author
Jay is a lifelong motorsports and tennis fan. His need for speed may no longer be on the grid or courts but has stayed with him through writing.
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