Saturday, July 27, 2024
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NBA Preview: Memphis Grizzlies (23-45) at Sacramento Kings (38-28)

The Sacramento star seeks his 50th consecutive double-double when the Kings host the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

Sabonis last missed out on a double-double in Sacramento’s final game in November. He has 62 overall on the campaign, three shy of last season’s career-high total.

Sabonis also has accumulated a career-best 23 triple-doubles.

But with the Kings (38-28) having just 16 regular-season games remaining, Sabonis is more interested in Sacramento’s victory total than his averages of 20.1 points, NBA-leading 13.6 rebounds and 8.3 assists.

On Sunday, the Kings moved into sixth place in the Western Conference — the final guaranteed playoff position — by two percentage points without even playing.

The Phoenix Suns fell out by losing to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Dallas Mavericks won their game to leave all three teams 8 1/2 games out in the West.

Sacramento fell to 0-8 when scoring fewer than 100 points when it lost 98-91 to the visiting New York Knicks on Saturday.

Sabonis had 21 points and 14 rebounds and fellow star De’Aaron Fox contributed 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds despite being just 5-of-19 shooting from the field.

The setback was just the third in the past eight games for the Kings, who are 3-2 on a six-game homestand.

Sacramento is looking to complete a three-game season sweep of the Grizzlies. The Kings posted two wins in Memphis — 123-92 on Dec. 31 behind 27 points from Malik Monk and 103-94 on Jan. 29 when Sabonis collected a career-best 26 rebounds.

The Grizzlies (23-45) are experiencing a miserable campaign and have lost 18 of their past 23 games.

Memphis fell 118-112 to the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday despite getting standout guard Desmond Bane back from an ankle injury.

The Grizzlies went 9-20 without the services of Bane, who had 22 points and seven assists in his return.

Standout big man Jaren Jackson Jr. was thrilled to see Bane back on the court.

Jackson had 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Rookie GG Jackson also scored 19 points but was just 5-of-14 shooting. Still, he is averaging 23.5 points over the past four games.

Luke Kennard made three treys against the Thunder and is shooting 47.7 percent (21 of 44) from behind the arc in seven March appearances.

The Grizzlies are beginning a four-game road trip. Memphis is a respectable 15-18 on the road.

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