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The Sacramento Kings’ chances for a spot in the NBA play-in tournament suffered a blow when center Domantas Sabonis left Saturday night’s 113-103 win over the Houston Rockets just over a minute into the game with an apparent left hamstring injury.
Sabonis sustained the injury at the 10:45 mark of the first quarter while cutting down the lane for a pass before slowing down and grabbing at the back of his left leg. He attempted to stay in the game and moved to defend Alperen Şengün in the post before gingerly stepping out of bounds.
Kings interim head coach Doug Christie promptly called timeout, and Sabonis needed help getting off the court. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Jonas Valančiūnas replaced Sabonis in the Kings’ lineup, scoring 15 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in 30 minutes. DeMar DeRozan led Sacramento with 21 points and six assists, followed by Zach LaVine’s 20 points, six rebounds and four assists.
For Houston, Şengün capitalized with Sabonis out, tallying a game-high 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Jalen Green added 24 points, while Tari Eason scored 14. The loss dropped the Rockets to 37-23, but they maintain the No. 5 spot in the West.
Christie had no update on Sabonis after the game, saying that the team would have a better idea of his status in the next day or two.
“We’ll see in the coming days. Probably tomorrow or the next day, we’ll have have an idea,” Christie said, via the Associated Press.
Sabonis, 28, is having a career-best season for the Kings, averaging 19.9 points and 14.4 rebounds while shooting 43% on 3-pointers in 55 games. In nine NBA seasons, he’s averaged 16.1 points, 10.6 rebounds and 36% shooting from long range.
Saturday’s win pushed Sacramento up to the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference standings with a 31-28 record, ahead of the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Kings have won three consecutive games and six of their past eight. They visit the Mavs on Monday.
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