Kings’ Sabonis breaks Kevin Love’s double-double record
Kings center Domantas Sabonis went down after getting his jaw rocked by an elbow to the face in the early stages of Monday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, but that didn’t stop his relentless pursuit of history.
Sabonis recorded his 54th consecutive double-double in a 10896 victory over the 76ers before a sellout crowd of 17,832 at Golden 1 Center, breaking Kevin Love’s 2010-11 record for the longest single-season streak since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976.
“It’s an honor,” Sabonis said. “You’re in the history books of the NBA, the best league in the world. So, obviously, it’s amazing. It’s a great feeling, but at the same time, I’m happy it’s over. These last couple of weeks, everybody’s been mentioning it and I’m just out there trying to play this game and help this team win.”
Sabonis finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the first game of a fivegame homestand for the Kings (42-29), who are now tied with the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. NBA commissioner Adam Silver was in attendance to see Sabonis break the record.
“What a phenomenal, phenomenal year he’s having,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “Obviously, he should have been an Allstar. Obviously, he should be talked about for first, second, third (team) ALL-NBA. And he should be in the MVP discussion with the way he’s playing.”
De’aaron Fox and Keegan Murray scored 23 points apiece for the Kings, who had lost 10 in a row to the 76ers dating back to the 201819 season. Davion Mitchell came off the bench to score 18.
Tyrese Maxey scored a gamehigh 29 points for the 76ers (3933), who have lost 20 of their last 30 games with reigning MVP Joel Embiid out due to a meniscus injury.
Maxey scored 21 points on 7-of11 shooting in the first quarter. He was held to eight points over the last three quarters.
The Kings have held four of their last eight opponents under 100 points. They are No. 2 in the NBA in defensive rating over the past 10 games (106.3).
Mitchell was named Sacramento’s defensive player of the game after for his work against Maxey.
“I think a lot of it was my teammates,” Mitchell said. “They kind of helped me out, especially when he’s driving downhill. They showed their bodies, kind of just overloaded him. We kind of blitzed him throughout the game, so shout out to my teammates.”
Mitchell went on to commend Sabonis on his record-setting night.
“It’s amazing, especially for Domas and how hard he works,” Mitchell said. “He was in the locker room and he’s a humble guy. Domas is like the most humble guy ever. He just said we’ve got to keep winning games. He didn’t really acknowledge that what he did was an amazing deal in this league, but it’s amazing to see him do it.”
Sabonis leads the NBA in double-doubles (67) and tripledoubles (25). He became the fifth
player in NBA history with 25 or more triple-doubles in a season, joining Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Russell Westbrook and Nikola Jokic.
Sabonis broke Love’s record when he grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a putback with 5:24 remaining in the third quarter. Philadelphia called timeout moments later as Sacramento’s lead swelled to 18 points. During the stoppage in play, the Kings honored Sabonis with a video presentation while fans rose to their feet to honor him with a standing ovation.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Sabonis said. “I thank the fans for doing that. It’s awesome to get that support and to feel love here. That’s why I love it here and I want to keep playing here.”
Only four players in NBA history have produced longer singleseason double-double streaks, all before the merger: Wilt Chamberlain (7x), Elvin Hayes (2x), Elgin Baylor and Walt Bellamy. The last was Hayes, who had a 55game streak in 1973-74.
Brown marveled at the consistency and durability Sabonis has demonstrated during his four-month march into the record books.
“I feel like I have a lot of experience being in this game, and I’ve seen some things at the highest level and some of the greatest of the all-time greats,” Brown said. “Tim Duncan, I’ve been fortunate, blessed, lucky, however you want to call it, to be around him for three straight years, and you’re talking about a record even a guy of that magnitude doesn’t have.
“It’s hard to put into words mainly because he makes it look so easy, but his work ethic and his determination is second to none. He fights his ass off for every single rebound. He’s getting hit in the head and pushed and all that other stuff, and it’s just like the Energizer bunny rabbit. He just keeps coming and coming and coming.”