Domantas Sabonis returned from a lengthy injury absence and the Sacramento Kings continued their recent resurgence, extending their winning streak to four games with a victory over the Washington Wizards.
Russell Westbrook had 26 points to lead six players who scored in double figures for the Kings in a 128-115 victory before a crowd of 16,339 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Westbrook went 9 of 14 from the field and 6 of 9 from 3-point range for the Kings (12-30). DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points, Precious Achiuwa had 16 and Dennis Schroder added 15 for Sacramento.
Sabonis suited up for the first time since Nov. 16 after missing 27 games with a partially torn meniscus in his left knee. He came off the bench to post 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Alex Sarr scored 19 points for the Wizards (10-30). Tre Johnson had 18. Kyshawn George and Justin Champagnie scored 15 points apiece.
Sacramento led by as many as 21 points in the first half. The Wizards came back to cut the deficit to three early in the third quarter, but the Kings led 101-84 going into the fourth.
Sabonis is back
Sabonis received a huge ovation from the Sacramento crowd when he entered the game for the first time with 5:11 to play in the opening period. He came off the bench for the first time since 2021-22, when he was a member of the Indiana Pacers.
Sabonis made his presence felt right away, grabbing a rebound, scoring a basket and picking up an assist on a pretty pass to Precious Achiuwa in his first 1:20. The Kings led 22-20 when Sabonis entered the game. They led 41-22 at the end of the first period after closing out the quarter with a 19-2 run.
Sabonis’ second stint didn’t go as well. The Kings led by 12 when he checked in with 5:38 to play in the second quarter. The Wizards came back to cut the deficit to three before the Kings carried a 67-61 advantage into the halftime break.
Rookie big men
One of the biggest questions going into the game was what Sabonis’ return would mean for rookie centers Maxime Raynaud and Dyland Cardwell, each of whom has played well in his absence.
With Sabonis coming off the bench, Raynaud started his 20th consecutive game, but he will presumably return to a backup role going forward. When asked before the game if he would still be able to find minutes for Cardwell, Kings coach Doug Christie said: “Dylan affects winning.”
Christie wants to experiment with playing two big men together. Sabonis and Cardwell shared the floor in the first quarter. Raynaud and Cardwell played together briefly in the second quarter.
Raynaud, a second-round draft pick from Stanford, had four points, eight rebounds and five assists in 21 minutes. Cardwell, an undrafted two-way player, had eight points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes.
Dennis Schroder returns
Sabonis wasn’t the only player who returned to action for Sacramento.
The Kings also welcomed back Schroder, who was suspended for three games without pay for attempting to assault Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic in a Crypto.com Arena hallway following a game on Dec. 28.
Up next
The Kings will entertain the Portland Trail Blazers in the fifth game of a season-long seven-game homestand on Sunday at Golden 1 Center.
The Kings lost their first two games against the Blazers this season, falling 134-133 in an overtime thriller in Portland on Dec. 18 before losing 98-93 in Sacramento on Dec. 20.
The Blazers (20-22) will be on the second night of a back-to-back after playing host to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. They are led by Deni Avdija, who is averaging 26.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.9 assists.
The Blazers have played well since going 12-19 to start the season, winning eight of their last 11 games.