The Sacramento Kings found themselves in a hotly-contested affair on Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns, with two teams continuing to jockey for position in the lower half of the Western Conference playoff picture. The Kings' stars came to play, with Domantas Sabonis, De'Aaron Fox, and Malik Monk combining for 96 points, although it wasn't enough as they came up short yet again against the Suns, 130-125.
Nonetheless, the way Sabonis stuffed the stat-sheet for the Kings was certainly deserving of a victory, as it put him in rarefied air that Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird was the last to accomplish in NBA history to this point — and Bird has been inactive for nearly 32 years ago now. According to StatMuse, the Kings star was the first place since Bird to tally at least 30 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists, and three blocks in a single game.
In a losing effort for the Kings, Domantas Sabonis put up 35 points, 18 rebounds, and 12 assists, while he did his best in protecting the rim, swatting away three shots despite averaging just 0.5 this season. Nonetheless, the Suns were able to make a few key adjustments that helped them outlast Sacramento despite Sabonis' monster game.
For starters, the Suns went small yet again, like they did when they mounted a furious comeback against the Kings that was historic in its own right. Instead of relying on Jusuf Nurkic to try and bang against Sabonis down low, the Suns decided to stretch the floor and put Kevin Durant in as the nominal center, with Royce O'Neale doing his fair share of work on the interior.
This should have allowed the Kings to dominate the glass; that's what Domantas Sabonis did for the most part. But the positives far outweighed the negatives for the Suns, especially when, on one of the most crucial plays of the game, Josh Okogie was able to outrebound Sabonis to essentially seal the Suns' victory.
Such a chaotic ending in Phoenix, where pretty an off-ball foul before the inbound and this offensive rebound off a free throw iced the Kings' chances.
Fox, Sabonis, and Monk combined for 97 points in the loss. pic.twitter.com/UlrFhiKS4P
— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) February 14, 2024
Make no mistake about it, however: Domantas Sabonis, with performances like the one he had against the Suns, is a very deserving All-Star, as it's a travesty that neither he nor De'Aaron Fox are heading to the All-Star Game in Indianapolis.
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