On Wednesday night, Domantas Sabinis became the third Sacramento Kings player to record 10 rebounds in the first quarter of a game, joining Chris Webber and Billy Owens. The two-time All-Stars followed this up with a 134-120 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Sabides, Weber and Owens are the only Sacramento players in the last 25 seasons to reach that number in the first 12 minutes. The 26-year-old finished with 13 points, 21 rebounds, 12 assists and one steal in 38 minutes of play.
At several NBA betting sites, Domantas Sabonis and the Kings have the 19th best odds to win the championship in 2023. Few sportsbooks are expecting them to end their 16-year playoff drought this season.
From Kings PR: Domantas Sabinis is the third Kings player in the last 25 seasons to have 10 rebounds in the first quarter, joining Chris Weber and Billy Owens.
— Jason Anderson (@JandersonSacBee) December 22, 2022
“He’s getting the ball back,” Kings coach Mike Brown said after the win. It’s incredible how hard he plays even if he doesn’t get the stats.
In 30 starts this season, Sabonis is averaging 17.9 points, 12.3 boards and 6.6 assists. Not to mention, he shot 41.2% from beyond the arc and a career-best 62.3% from the field. The Gonzaga product also recorded 22 double-doubles and two triple-doubles.
Domantas Sabinis joins Chris Weber and Billy Owens as the only Kings players in the last 25 seasons to record 10 first-quarter rebounds.
Moreover, this is the first time the Kings have beaten the Lakers in back-to-back games since the 2015-16 season. Then Sacramento won all four games against LA
Kings rookie guard Keegan Murray had a game-high 23 points in 35 minutes. He finished 7 of 17 (41.2%) shooting from the floor and made one 3-pointer.
Yes https://t.co/DZGyUBcteb
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) December 22, 2022
“We played especially desperate today, and I think our starting five did a really good job of that,” Murray said. “We started to stick together and run and that was huge for us.”
When the Kings trailed by a point late in the opening quarter, Domantas Sabonis’ boards were the clear difference maker. Sacramento outshot the Lakers 46-39. Their biggest lead of the game was 23 points. And the Kings scored a combined 81 points in the second and third quarters.
