As the NBA regular season enters its final stretch, the Lakers find themselves in a dogfight to secure a playoff berth. With the Mavs and Warriors in the mix for the final playoff spot, any slip can be detrimental to their playoff hopes. The Lakers did just that, thanks to Domantas Sabonis and the Kings.
However, the beating not only exposed the Lakers’ internal conflicts but also had a significant impact on Anthony Davis, who stretched an unwanted record to a new low.
Domantas Sabonis prolongs his win streak against Anthony Davis
Domantas Sabonis now has prolonged his win streak over Anthony Davis to 10-0 with the latest Kings victory. In the 120-107 win for the Sacramento-based franchise, Domantas dominated the game.
Before the game, Anthony Davis who never backed away from shouldering responsibilities was reminded of the awful streak and he had a response to that. AD told the media, “I’m all about the team … the 1-on-1 thing, it doesn’t bother me.”
The duo first faced off in 2016 when Anthony Davis was with the Pelicans and Domantas was with the OKC. They tussled four times in those colors, with a clean sweep for OKC, winning all four games.
After Sabonis went to the Pacers in 2017, the trend continued, making it 5-0 in favor of the Lithuanian when the Pacers won 126-111. The next meeting came with their current teams, the Lakers and the Kings, in the 2022-23 season. The Kings again edged forward with a 120-114 win.
This season the Kings have cleared the house with the Lakers with a 4-0 sweep, the latest of which came on Wednesday. While Sabonis has the streak for himself, AD certainly performed better in the head-to-head scenario.
Davis has scored 23.1 points per game in those games compared to 13.3 of Domantas. Even in rebounds, AD has the edge with 10.8 to that 10.6 of the Kings center.
Hence even after the 10-0 streak, AD’s pre-game message shows the actual story of the supposed rivalry.
Sabonis’ performance against Lakers
Domantas Sabonis showed again why he is in the race for the NBA MVP this season. In the 120-107 win over the gold and purple, Domantas logged his 23rd triple-double of the season, putting him two clear of the second-placed Luka Doncic in the list.
Sabonis also extended his double-double streak to 48 games on Wednesday and needs only six more games with the specific stat line to break Kevin Love’s record of 53. The Sacramento number 10 logged 17 points, a game-high 19 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The 2016 NBA draft pick is having a month to remember, averaging 22.2 points, 16.5 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. In the 65 games he has featured this season, Sabonis has scored 20.1 PPG, 13.5 rebounds per game with a healthy assist rate of 9.4. The Kings remain in the playoff picture with their unchanged 6th spot in the Western Conference table and will face the Knicks on Mar. 17 next.
