The heated race for the sixth spot in the Western Conference continued on Friday night, with the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks duking it out in a matchup that will have major implications on the playoff picture. However, the Kings were struck with misfortune as an inopportune time after Malik Monk sustained what appeared to be a worrying knee injury that will keep him out for the rest of the night, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

With four minutes to go in the first quarter, Mavericks star Luka Doncic drove to the basket against Monk. Monk was whistled for a foul for a bump on Doncic, which makes it a bad interaction for the Kings already. But to add further insult, Doncic's momentum carried him towards Monk; the Slovenian superstar then bundled over the Kings guard, landing on his knee.

Malik Monk immediately screamed out in pain while lying on the ground, and seeing the Kings guard be in that much discomfort was not a welcome sight at all for anyone. Thankfully, it didn't take too long before Monk was helped up to his feet by Luka Doncic. However, the worry now is that the Kings guard limped to the locker room, showing ill effects from his collision with the Mavericks star.

Malik Monk is one of the Kings' most important players, so losing him in an all-important matchup against the Mavericks will put them in a more difficult spot in their quest to grab the result they want.

Kings' role players need to step up

The Kings were already down a sharpshooter and a secondary shot creator (of sorts) when they lost Kevin Huerter to a season-ending shoulder injury. Keon Ellis has stepped up admirably in Huerter's absence, but Ellis, as great of a defender as he's been despite his youth, is extremely raw on the offensive end of the floor, leaving Sacramento one player who can create his own shot short.

Without Malik Monk, the already-heavy burden shouldered by De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis only stands to get even more cumbersome. After all, the Kings' supporting cast consists mostly of play-finishers rather than creators in Monk's mold.

Nonetheless, Harrison Barnes and Keegan Murray should have more opportunities to generate offense; Barnes, in particular, should be more proactive in hunting for his own shot with the Kings in dire need of reliable shot-making outside of the team's two best players.

Malik Monk's knee injury outlook

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The injury Malik Monk sustained looked very worrying, as a knock to the lower-body hampers a basketball player's burst and ability to change speeds. The Kings are now faced with a tricky balancing act of not rushing Monk back to the hardwood and wanting to prepare him for action ASAP given how heated the playoff race is in the Western Conference.

Monk has been very durable for the Kings this season; he has missed just one game, and that came long ago on December 23. In fact, the 26-year old combo guard has mostly avoided the injury bug, missing just six total games in his two seasons in Sacramento thus far. However, it seems like he could miss an extended period of time now, as he is believed to have suffered a sprained MCL, and he is set for more testing in the near future.

Given how vital of a contributor Monk has been off the bench for the Kings, this could be a crushing loss for them, especially with Huerter also out for the season now. The hope is that Monk won't have to miss much time with this injury, but the initial reports seem to indicate that another key piece of Sacramento's rotation will be forced to watch the next few games on the sidelines.