Sabonis, Kings continue upward trend in gutsy road wins against Pelicans originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Things are clicking for the Kings.
With a few days of rest in sight, Sacramento kept their winning streak alive with a 111-109 win over the New Orleans Pelicans Thursday at Smoothie King Center.
Powered by standout performances from Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan, the Kings, who are on a three-game win streak and have won four of their last five, are at .500 (13-13) for the first time since Nov. 22.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” DeRozan told NBC Sports California’s Kyle Draper. ‘We have taken care of the home field and are heading out after a few days off.
“Tough road trip [in] come here and win. Now we have a few days to regroup and prepare for the next match.”
Trailing 55-53 at halftime, Sacramento had to come out running in the second half.
DeRozan did just that, hitting four consecutive three-pointers in the first four minutes of the third quarter. The veteran small forward finished the game with 29 points.
On the other hand, Sabonis kept his end of the bargain. The big man posted an impressive double-double after scoring a team-high 32 points and adding 21 rebounds on 11-of-15 shooting from the field.
The star center, who Brown said was crucial to Thursday’s win, joins superstar centers Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid as the only NBA centers to record those numbers in a game since 2020.
‘It’s clearly the man who carried us most of the night and did the farmer’s work [was Domas],” Brown told reporters. “Domas was incredible.
“Domas had 32 points and 21 rebounds in 34 minutes. That was a phenomenal, phenomenal, phenomenal job by him.”
Fighting to stay in the playoff conversation, Sacramento will enter another three-day break before hosting the Denver Nuggets on December 16.
Brown and Co. certainly hope that the hockey stick effect does not remain behind in New Orleans.
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