SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Domantas Sabonis recorded his NBA-leading 25th triple-double of the season on a highlight-reel night, leading the Sacramento Kings to a 108-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
Sabonis had 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to become the fifth player in NBA history with at least 25 triple-doubles in a season, joining Nikola Jokic, Russell Westbrook, Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson.
Sabonis also recorded his 54th consecutive double-double, breaking a tie with Kevin Love for the longest streak since the 1976-77 merger between the NBA and ABA. Sabonis is nowhere near Chamberlain’s all-time record of 227 consecutive double-doubles, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“Well done to Domas. What a job,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “What a phenomenal, phenomenal year he’s having. By all rights, he should have been an All-Star. Obviously, we should talk about him for the first, second, third All-NBA. And he should be in the MVP discussions with the way he’s playing. »
Keegan Murray and De’Aaron Fox each scored 23 points for the Kings, who ended a 10-game skid against the Sixers to move into a tie for sixth place in the Western Conference with Dallas. Sacramento hosts the Mavericks on Tuesday night as the teams fight to stay in the top six and avoid the play-in tournament.
Tyrese Maxey scored 29 points to lead the Sixers, who sealed off a third of the West Coast. Philadelphia fell to eighth place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind slow-moving Miami.
Maxey was held to three points in the second half.
“They started blitzing everything with him,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “We haven’t done a great job of taking advantage of it. We’ve been really good lately and tonight we weren’t as good.
Maxey scored Philadelphia’s first 16 points and was a one-man show offensively in the first quarter with 21 of 25 points (84%) for the 76ers.
No player in the last 28 seasons had scored a greater share of his team’s points in the first quarter with at least 20 points scored. Maxey surpassed the previous record of 82.8% set by Michael Jordan for Washington against Charlotte on December 29, 2001.
But Maxey didn’t get enough help and the Sixers trailed 60-48 at halftime.
Sacramento held a comfortable lead throughout the second half, with the biggest excitement coming in the third quarter when Sabonis reached his milestone. A tribute video was released in his honor after the first stop after reaching the mark.
“He didn’t really recognize that what he did was amazing to do in this league,” teammate Davion Mitchell said. “But it’s amazing to see him do this. Especially to be on the same team as him. It’s a blessing.
Philadelphia played without Kelly Oubre, sidelined with left shoulder soreness suffered in a fall Sunday against the Clippers. Buddy Hield also left the game early with an ankle injury. The x-rays were negative.
FOLLOWING
76ers: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
Kings: Host the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
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