Domantas Sabonis has become a key man for the Indiana Pacers, and his performance over the course of the season solidifies his importance in the roster.
Now, his latest outing is one that would convince the Pacers front office to keep hold of him.
During his team's 104-99 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sabonis finished with a solid stat line of 29 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block. His performance is so historic that no other Pacers player in the past 30 seasons has done it except for legendary big man Jermaine O'Neal.
Domantas Sabonis tallied 13 field goals, 13 rebounds, and six assists tonight at Minnesota. Sabonis is the second Pacer over the last 30 seasons with at least 13 FG, 13 REB, and 5 AST in a game. Jermaine O'Neal accomplished this in April 2001 and February 2007. @EliasSports pic.twitter.com/OPYxRiwKHV
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) January 16, 2020
O'Neal was a star during his eight-year stint with the Pacers. During his stay with the Hoosier State squad, he averaged 18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.4 blocks a game.
While he wasn't able to win the title during his run with the team, he managed to pick up six All-Star selections and three All-NBA selections. He was one of the great big men Indiana had.
Sabonis is looking to add himself to that list. In his third season with the Pacers, he's averaging 17.8 points, 13.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists. While he wasn't as much of a rim protector compared to O'Neal, Sabonis is quickly carving a place in the team's rotation.
One of the reasons why he's getting a lot better is due to his growing compatibility with Myles Turner. The Lithuanian big man says that the two of them are finally finding how to coexist on the floor after struggling to get things going during the first months of the season.
“It is what it is at this point,” Turner said following Tuesday's practice at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, per Pacers.com's Mark Montieth. “I know I'm not going to get as many shots, but I have to make the shots I do get count.”
Domantas Sabonis can go nowhere but up after his latest performance, and Pacers fans hope to see more of this kind of outing from him.
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