Sabonis gets 15th triple-double, Kings beat Thunder 105-98
DOMANTAS Sabonis had 17 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds to move into sole possession of second place on the Kings’ career list for triple-doubles, leading Sacramento to a 105-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in an In-Season Tournament game Friday night (Saturday morning, Nov. 11, 2023 PH time).
Kevin Huerter scored 19 of his season-high 28 points in the first half and grabbed nine rebounds to help Sacramento win its second consecutive game without point guard De’Aaron Fox. Fox has missed five games overall with a right ankle sprain. Keegan Murray added 24 points.
“I keep telling our team we can be a great team,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “It doesn’t matter what five we throw out there, (if) we play the right way good things will happen.”
Sabonis had his first triple-double of the season and 15th with the Kings, breaking a tie with Chris Webber for most in the Sacramento era. Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson holds the franchise record with 176. Sabonis, who was acquired from the Indiana Pacers in a trade on Feb. 8, 2022, has 33 career triple-doubles.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points for the Thunder.
“In the first quarter (we) spotted them a pretty good lead on controllable stuff defensively,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It took us a long time to get our game plan in the game with the level of urgency that we need to have.”
The court at Golden 1 Center was changed, as all courts around the NBA have been, as part of the tournament.
“Luckily ours was gray,” Huerter said. “You’ve seen these courts bright red, bright green, bright blue. There was definitely a little bit different energy in the building. It was fun.”