Sabonis sustained an apparent right ankle injury during the third quarter of Monday's game against the Grizzlies and will not return, Matt George of ABC 10 Sacramento reports. He'll finish the game with six points (3-4 FG, 0-1 FT), four assists and one rebound across 12 minutes.
Sabonis exited to the locker room during the first quarter due to a laceration over his left eye, though he was able to return. However, the star big man seemingly rolled his right ankle in the third quarter and was unable to shoot the free throws before exiting to the locker room. Sabonis looked to be in a significant amount of pain as he limped off the floor, and he required assistance getting back to the locker room. Jonas Valanciunas and Trey Lyles will likely pick up the slack the rest of the way.
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Kings' Domantas Sabonis: Will return vs. Memphis
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Sabonis (laceration) will return to Monday's game against the Grizzlies, Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com reports.
Sabonis exited to the locker room early in the first quarter due to a laceration over his left eye, though he is set to return after presumably getting stitched up. The star big man will likely be able to shoulder his usual workload the rest of the way.
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Kings' Zach LaVine: Makes brief visit to locker room
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LaVine went to the locker room during the first quarter of Monday's game against the Grizzlies after rolling his left ankle but has been cleared return, Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com reports.
LaVine suffered the injury after stepping on Jaren Jackson's foot, though he appears to have avoided a significant injury. LaVine was spotted back on the bench after spending only a few minutes in the locker room, and he's since been given the green light to return to Monday's matchup.
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Kings' Domantas Sabonis: Exits to locker room Monday
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Sabonis sustained an apparent facial laceration and exited to the locker room in the first quarter of Monday's game against the Grizzlies, Brenden Nunes of KHTK Sactown Sports 1140 reports.
Sabonis left the court with a gash near his left eye, and he'll likely need to get stitched up before the club makes a decision on his status the rest of the way. If the star big man remains on the sideline, Jonas Valanciunas and Trey Lyles will likely see a bump in minutes.
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Kings' Trey Lyles: Cleared to play against Memphis
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Lyles (back) is available for Monday's game against the Grizzlies, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee reports.
Lyles will fight off a back injury to share the frontcourt minutes off the bench with Jonas Valanciunas. Across his last seven outings, Lyles has averaged 5.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.6 steals in 17.0 minutes.
Sabonis (hamstring) is not on the injury report ahead of Monday's game against Memphis.
Sabonis had missed games in March due to a left hamstring strain, but he was able to return against the Suns on Friday. He was seen grabbing at his hamstring in the fourth quarter and looked to have aggravated the injury. However, his absence from the injury report indicates that he should be able to play against the Grizzlies on Monday. If Sabonis were to be ruled out or face a minutes restriction, Jonas Valanciunas would be in line to see an uptick in playing time.
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Kings' Jae Crowder: Off injury report
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Crowder (back) is not listed on the Injury report ahead of Monday's game against the Grizzlies.
Crowder will be available for Monday's contest after being ruled out of Friday's game against the Suns due to a back injury. Although he is available, it doesn't seem likely he will see much run, considering he has not appeared in a game since Jan. 14.
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Kings' Trey Lyles: Questionable to play Monday
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Lyles (back) is listed as questionable for Monday's game against the Grizzlies.
Lyles was unable to play in Friday's loss to the Suns due to lower-back soreness, but he has a chance to return Monday. Jake LaRavia would be in line for increased minutes off the bench if Lyles is not cleared to return Monday.
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Kings' Malik Monk: Tough night from long range
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Monk closed with 18 points (8-18 FG, 0-8 3Pt, 2-2 FT), eight rebounds, five assists and one steal over 42 minutes during Friday's 122-106 loss to Phoenix.
The 27-year-old guard continues to have trouble finding his shooting form, and Monk has gone 0-for-13 from three-point range over the last two contests while scoring just 25 total points. It's not clear if the toe sprain that cost him three games earlier in March is still hampering him, but it's the most likely culprit. Monk will probably keep playing through the issue as the Kings fight to hang onto a spot in the Play-In Tournament, but the team has lost four straight and Domantas Sabonis' return from a hamstring strain Friday lasted only 30 minutes before he aggravated the injury. If the club's slide continues, Monk might get some time to rest and let his toe fully heal up.
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Kings' Zach LaVine: Drops 21 in Phoenix
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LaVine chipped in 21 points (7-13 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 5-6 FT), three rebounds and two assists over 36 minutes during Friday's 122-106 loss to the Suns.
After failing to score 20 points in either of the prior two games while attempting only 16 total field goals, LaVine's shot volume started to creep up again Friday. The 30-year-old wing has drained at least one three-pointer in 16 straight contests since being blanked from beyond the arc in his Kings debut Feb, 5, and over that stretch LaVine has averaged 23.3 points, 4.1 boards, 3.8 assists, 3.2 threes and 0.8 steals while shooting an impressive 53.3 percent from the floor and 44.3 percent from long distance.
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Kings' DeMar DeRozan: Hits for team-high 23 in loss
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DeRozan finished with a team-high 23 points (9-13 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 2-3 FT) and one assist across 34 minutes during Friday's 122-106 loss to Phoenix.
The 35-year-old forward scored 20-plus points for the seventh time in eight March contests, a stretch in which DeRozan has averaged 23.3 points, 5.6 assists, 4.0 boards and 1.3 threes. Domantas Sabonis aggravated his hamstring injury and could be headed for another absence -- he'd missed the prior six games before returning Friday -- so DeRozan could continue to be leaned on as a consistent source of offense for the Kings.
Sabonis checked out of Friday's 122-106 loss to the Suns with 6:50 remaining in the fourth quarter after he appeared to aggravate a left hamstring strain, Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee reports. The center finished the contest with 12 points (4-11 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 4-4 FT), 12 assists, 11 rebounds, three steals and one block in 30 minutes.
Though he had missed the Kings' previous six games with the hamstring injury, Sabonis didn't seem to be operating under any restrictions in his return to action. Sabonis took back his spot in the starting five and came away with his ninth triple-double of the season, but his status will now warrant monitoring again heading into Monday's game against the Grizzlies after he was spotted grabbing at his hamstring around the eight-minute mark of Friday's contest. Sabonis initially stayed in the game before exiting for good during a timeout a minute later. Though the Kings were trailing by 21 at the time of Sabonis' departure, Sacramento's other four starters stayed in the game coming out of the timeout, which suggests that Sabonis' exit wasn't merely precautionary. If Sabonis ends up sitting out again Monday, Jonas Valanciunas would likely step back into the starting five and take on heavy minutes.
Kings' Jonas Valanciunas: Shifts to bench against Suns
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Valanciunas is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game the Suns.
With Domantas Sabonis returning from a hamstring strain Friday, it's not surprising to see Valanciunas shift back to the second unit. Over nine outings off the bench since joining the Kings, the veteran big man has averaged 8.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks in 16.0 minutes.
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Kings' Jae Crowder: Ruled out Friday
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Crowder (back) is out for Friday's game against the Suns.
The veteran forward hasn't appeared in a game since Jan. 14, though most of those absences were due to coach's decisions rather than because of an injury. His absence Friday won't affect interim head coach Doug Christie's rotation.
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Kings' Trey Lyles: Not playing Friday
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Lyles (back) has been ruled out for Friday's game against the Suns.
Lyles will miss just his second game since Jan. 1, this time due to lower back soreness. His next chance to take the floor will come Monday against the Grizzlies.
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Kings' Domantas Sabonis: Cleared to play Friday
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Sabonis (hamstring) is available for Friday's game against the Suns.
The Kings waited until shortly before the 10 p.m. ET tipoff to provide confirmation on Sabonis' status, but the star big man will be back in action following a six-game absence due to a left hamstring strain. With Sabonis set to take back his spot in the starting five, Jonas Valanciunas is expected to return to the second unit.
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Kings' Domantas Sabonis: Viewed as game-time decision Friday
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Sabonis (hamstring) will go through pregame warmups ahead of Friday's game against the Suns before the Kings decide if he will play, Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee reports.
Sabonis looks like a true game-time decision Friday as he works his way back from a left hamstring strain, which has kept him out for the last six games. Clarity on the star big man's status should arrive closer to the 10 p.m. ET tipoff. Jonas Valanciunas would continue to hold down the fort in the middle if Sabonis remains sidelined for another game.
