Sabonis posts 20-20 game to help Kings move up in West with win over Los Angeles Clippers

Malik Monk received a big ovation when he was shown sitting on the bench on the giant videoboard inside the arena during the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Kings will have to win enough games to extend their season in the weeks ahead to give Monk a chance to return from the right MCL sprain he suffered last week.

So far, so good.

Domantas Sabonis put up 22 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Kings to a 109-95 victory over the Clippers before a sellout crowd of 17,832 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Sabonis recorded his 58^th consecutive double-double, extending his record for the longest single-season streak since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976.

“Domas has so many damn records I can’t figure it out,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “Hell of a job by him.”

De’Aaron Fox had 20 points and seven assists for the Kings (44-31), who moved into a tie with the Phoenix Suns for seventh in the Western Conference playoff race. Keegan Murray scored 19 points. Trey Lyles came off the bench to post 15 points, four rebounds and five assists in his second game back from a left knee sprain.

“The last 2 ½ weeks was tough for me, just having to sit back and watch and not be able to go out there and help the team out,” Lyles said. “But now, being back is obviously where I want to be.”

Davion Mitchell had 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, going 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Alex Len, the defensive player of the game, had seven rebounds and a plus-18 rating in 12 minutes.

Mitchell’s hot shooting has been big for the Kings, especially with Monk and Huerter out due to injuries now. Mitchell shot 47.6% from 3-point range in February and 41.7% in March.

“Malik was a key piece in our offense, scoring the ball, facilitating,” Mitchell said. “I just kind of listen to the coaches and take what the defense gives me. They just tell me to be aggressive.”

Russell Westbrook scored 20 points to lead the Clippers (47-28), who had won three in a row. Paul George had 18 points. Norman Powell had 17. James Harden was held to six points on 1-of-7 shooting with five turnovers. Kawhi Leonard was ruled out due to right knee soreness.

The Kings were eighth in the West going into the game. They were two games behind the No. 5 Dallas Mavericks, 1 ½ games behind the No. 6 New Orleans Pelicans and a half-game behind the No. 7 Phoenix Suns with the Los Angeles Lakers lurking 1 ½ games back in ninth.

The Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 128-111 and the Golden State Warriors beat the Mavericks 104-100. The Kings gained a half-game on the idle Suns to move into a tie for seventh. They are one game behind the Pelicans for the No. 6 seed. The Kings and Suns are tied 2-2 in the season series with one game remaining April 12 in Sacramento.

The early stages of the game were a little unsightly with the two teams combining for 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 shooting from the free-throw line over the first five minutes. The Clippers went up by six midway through the first period. The Kings came back to tie the game on a 3-pointer by Lyles at the buzzer.

The Kings went up 33-24 after outscoring the Clippers 9-0 to start the second quarter. Mitchell hit a 3-pointer to put the Kings up by 16 with 7:29 to play in the second quarter, but the Clippers battled back to cut the deficit to five at the halftime break.

Sacramento staged a 15-4 run to go up 82-64 with 2:48 to play in the third quarter. The Kings outscored the Clippers 30-13 over the last 7:46 to take a commanding 91-70 lead into the fourth.

Shot distribution

The Kings are still adjusting to life without Monk (sprained MCL) and Kevin Huerter (torn labrum). Monk was averaging 15.4 points per game. Huerter was averaging 10.2 points. Together, they were averaging 21.2 field-goal attempts per game.

Brown was asked before Tuesday’s game how he wants to redistribute those field-goal attempts among his able-bodied players. Brown pointed to Murray, Harrison Barnes, Mitchell, Keon Ellis and Sasha Vezenkov.

“It has to be by committee,” Brown said. “It’s not going to be one or two guys. Keegan’s volume, hopefully, will go up. HB’s volume will go up. Keon’s has to go up a little bit. Davion’s has to go up. You look at Sasha coming off the bench, when he does play, and whoever else. It’s not one guy. Maybe Keegan might get the most extra shots or maybe HB might slide in there once in a while, but it’s going to have to be done by committee because that’s the type of team we have.

“Everybody knows if we execute our system, especially with pace in the full and the halfcourt, we’re going to get great looks because we have the ability to touch the paint, and we know how to space the floor. We just have to make sure we continue to get off of it with sprays so the shots the guys are taking are great shots. Guys don’t have to go create on their own in a one-on-one situation. We’ve never really been that type of team and we don’t want to turn into that team going forward.”

The Kings are 2-0 since Monk went down with an injury that is expected to sideline him for four to six weeks. Brown said each win reinforces the team’s belief that it can win despite the losses of Huerter and Monk.

“We’ve always been confident throughout the course of the year and you just run into new things that you’ve got to figure out,” Brown said. “Whether it’s the expectations, the injuries, there are going to be new challenges that are in front of us. We just have to keep finding a way.”

Barnes nominated for awards

Barnes has been named a finalist for the 2023-24 NBA Sportsmanship Award along with the Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen, Miami Heat’s Kevin Love, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and San Antonio Spurs’ Tre Jones. Barnes is also a finalist for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award.

“It does not surprise me,” Brown said. “Harrison should be up for those types of awards every single year he’s in the league. He’s just a great, great human being. He really tries to help everybody and anybody.”

Nate Diaz in the house

Stockton native and MMA great Nate Diaz attended the game, sitting courtside with Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé and his daughter, Anjali Ranadivé.

“I’m a big UFC guy,” Brown said before the game. “I heard Nate Diaz is in the house. Respect, Nate, you and your brother, what you guys have done. I get excited when I watch UFC. I have a few drinks and I get into it. ... I’m a huge, huge fan of the Diaz brothers.”

Up next

The Kings will begin a four-game road trip — their last trip of the season — when they visit the New York Knicks on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks (44-31) are fifth in the Eastern Conference. They have lost three in a row after falling to the Miami Heat 109-99 on Tuesday following losses to the Spurs and Thunder.

This will be the second and final meeting between the Kings and Knicks this season. Jalen Brunson scored 42 points in a 98-91 victory over the Kings on March 16 in Sacramento. Brunson scored 61 in Friday’s overtime loss to the Spurs.

Upcoming schedule

April 4 at New York Knicks

April 5 at Boston Celtics

April 7 at Brooklyn Nets

April 9 at Oklahoma City Thunder

April 11 vs. New Orleans Pelicans