Domantas Sabonis posts triple-double to lead Sacramento Kings over Washington Wizards
The Kings looked like they had a case of the Mondays in the early stages of their game against the Washington Wizards, but eventually they picked up their productivity.
De’Aaron Fox scored 30 points and Domantas Sabonis recorded his third triple-double of the season, leading the Kings to a 143-131 victory over the Wizards on Monday night before a sellout crowd of 17,794 at Golden 1 Center.
Sabonis had 28 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for the Kings (16-9), who have won three in a row eight of their last 11. Sabonis went 11 of 16 from the field and committed only two turnovers in 32 minutes.
“Just trying to play the right way, being aggressive and just reading the game,” Sabonis said. “If I have a chance to shoot, I shoot. If someone helps, that means someone else is wide open, so just trying to make the right read.”
Kings coach Mike Brown was pleased with the play of his All-NBA center.
“Domas was a monster with his triple-double,” Brown said. “He’s been flirting with a triple-double the last five or six games or more, so for him to get one tonight was fantastic.”
Keegan Murray finished with 25 points after scoring a career-high 47 in Saturday’s win over the Utah Jazz. Harrison Barnes added 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
Sacramento’s “Big 3” of Fox, Sabonis and Murray combined for 83 points on 30-of-52 shooting with 22 assists and three turnovers.
“When we have multiple guys playing at a high level in the same game, it’s going to be hard to beat us, and we want to be able to consistently play at this level,” Fox said.
Jordan Poole scored 28 points for the Wizards (4-21), who have lost eight of their last nine. Kyle Kuzma had 27 points and eight rebounds.
The Wizards led 31-27 at the end of the first quarter and maintained a slim lead early in the second. The Kings finally began to take control with seven minutes to play in the opening half when Murray made a 3-pointer to spark a 12-2 run.
The Kings went up 49-42 on a basket by Sabonis and carried a 66-56 lead into the halftime break. Washington outshot Sacramento 51.2% to 46.3%, but the Kings outrebounded the Wizards 23-19 and had a 16-4 advantage in second-chance points.
The Kings continued to pull away in the second half. They opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run to take a 76-56 lead on a three-point play by Murray and went up by 26 points on a basket by Sabonis.
The Kings set a season high for points in a quarter with 46 in the third and carried a 112-91 lead into the fourth. The Wizards cut the deficit to 15 with 8:12 remaining, but they couldn’t get any closer until the Kings emptied their bench in the final minutes.
“They’re a playoff-level team,” Poole said. “It’s pretty dope to see their carryover from the experience that they had last year. Same team, growing and playing together, and you can tell that it’s kind of an identity that they have, so it’s cool to see that they got their foundation and that’s how they play. They’re a really good team.”
Fox returns
Fox was listed as questionable after missing Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz due to right shoulder irritation. Fox went through the team’s morning shootaround Monday and was cleared to play about two hours before tipoff.
“I think he’s 100%,” Brown said when asked about Fox before the game. “He’s got to get cleared medically first. Even if he really wanted to play, if he didn’t get cleared medically, he wouldn’t be allowed to play.”
Fox was asked about his shoulder after the game.
“I was OK,” Fox said. “It hurts a little bit, but I don’t think it’s enough to keep me out now. The first day, I could barely even bring it up. It was a little sore then, but I’m fine now.”
Up next
The Kings will continue their six-game homestand with a marquee matchup against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center.
The Celtics (20-5) are the top team in the Eastern Conference. They have won five in a row and eight of their last nine going into Tuesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center in San Francisco. They will come to Sacramento on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Celtics are an NBA championship contender with a starting lineup that features Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis. Tatum is an MVP candidate who averages 27.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Brown is averaging 22.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
