Domantas Sabonis led seven scorers in double figures with 24 points as the Sacramento Kings led nearly wire-to-wire in a 123-96 blowout of the host Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.
The Kings attacked the short-handed Clippers on the interior, outscoring Los Angeles in the paint, 62-44. Sabonis keyed Sacramento’s offensive approach with 10-of-11 shooting from the floor and dished a game-high six assists.
All five Sacramento starters scored in double figures. Keegan Murray erupted in the fourth quarter to effectively snuff any hope of a Los Angeles comeback, connecting on five field goals — including three 3-pointers — in the period.
Murray finished with 23 points and led the Kings with seven rebounds. De’Aaron Fox added 14 points, Kevin Huerter finished with 12, and Harrison Barnes shot 4-of-6 from the floor for 10 points.
Malik Monk came off the bench for 13 points, and Chimezie Metu — who played his college basketball just a few miles south of the Clippers’ Crypto.com Arena at USC — added 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting from the floor.
The Clippers — playing once again without All-Stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, 3-point specialist Luke Kennard and spark-plug Norman Powell — were out-of-sorts offensively throughout the contest.
Los Angeles shot just 33-of-93 from the floor and committed 17 turnovers. No Clipper scored more than 18 points, which came from Brandon Boston Jr. with his season-high off the bench.
Boston shot 4-of-6 from 3-point range, but the rest of the Clippers went just 5-of-27 from deep.
Ivica Zubac finished with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, and Terance Mann added another 13 points. John Wall rounded out the double-figure scoring for Los Angeles with 12 points off the bench.
Jason Preston — a G League call-up helping the Clippers patch the various holes injuries have created in the lineup — scored a career-high nine points. He had five total points in his NBA career prior to Saturday.
–Field Level Media