Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) drives on Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) in the second half at Little Caser’s Pizza Arena in Detroit on Fri Dec 16, 2022 (AP News photo)
By Daniel Dullum
Friday, December 15, 2022
A dominant performance by Sacramento’s starting five, led by center Damontas Sabonis, sparked the Kings to a decisive 122-113 win over Detroit Friday night in The Motor City.
Sabonis scored 23 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, as the Kings’ starters outscored the Pistons’ starters 99-66. The Kings had seven players reach double-figures, including all five starters.
De’Aaron Fox had 24 points and nine assists for Sacramento, with Keegan Murray next with 20 points, Harrison Barnes had 19 points and Kevin huerter had 13. Malik Monk had 11 points and six assists off the Kings bench, and Terence Davis scored 10 points in 17 minutes.
The Kings’ starters outscored Detroit’s 35-8 in the third quarter.
Bojan Bogdanovic was the top scorer for Detroit with 22 points, followed by Jalen Duran with 15 points and 13 rebounds. The Pistons (8-23) also had 14 points from Saddiq Bey and a 13-ooint effort from Marvin Bagley III.
Sacramento led 93-86 after three quarters. The Pistons pulled to within 106-100 midway through the fourth quarter, but Harrison Barnes stepped up with a 3-pointer, stripped Bogdanovic and converted a layup to put the Kings up by 11 points with 5:46 to play.
BROWN FINED BY NBA
The NBA announced on Friday that Kings head coach Mike Brown was fined $25,000 by the league for what was termed “an explosive ejection” in the Kings’ 124-123 win in Toronto on Wednesday. The NBA said in a statement that Brown was fined for “aggressively pursuing and directing profane language toward a game official.”
Brown was assessed two technical fouls and ejected with 9:09 remaining in the third quarter of Sacramento’s win over the Raptors.
The Kings (16-12) host Charlotte on Monday night.
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