‘Love it here’: Sabonis says he’s found a home after win over Timberwolves in Kings debut
Domantas Sabonis received a rousing ovation when he was introduced in the starting lineup. He got an even stronger response from the crowd after a new era of Kings basketball began with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Sabonis said he felt like he had found a home after posting 22 points, 14 rebounds and five assists in a 132-119 victory over the Timberwolves in his Kings debut Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center.
“Since the second I made it to the NBA, I figured out the hard way it’s a business,” Sabonis said. “I got traded on draft night, and then a year later, I got traded again. I’m just trying to find a home where I’m loved … and I feel like I found it here. I love it here.”
Sabonis, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb suited up for the Kings for the first time a day after coming to Sacramento in a six-player trade with the Indiana Pacers. All three said they were touched by the way they’ve been embraced by the Kings organization and the Sacramento community.
“I feel like this is a fresh start for me,” Sabonis said. “It’s going to be exciting. We want to be here. I want to be here. The fans were amazing tonight. I don’t even know what to say. I’m in shock. Today was a great day.”
Harrison Barnes had 30 points and eight rebounds for the Kings (21-36), who had lost nine of their last 11 games. De’Aaron Fox finished with 27 points and eight rebounds. Barnes went 8 of 11 from the field, 4 of 5 from 3-point range and 10 of 10 at the free-throw line.
Davion Mitchell and Lamb made big impacts off the bench. Mitchell had 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Lamb had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists.
D’Angelo Russell had 29 points and 10 assists for the Timberwolves (29-25), who had won five in a row to move up to seventh in the Western Conference. Anthony Edwards scored 26 points. Karl-Anthony Towns posted 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
The Kings acquired Sabonis, Holiday and Lamb on Tuesday in a blockbuster trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to the Pacers. The Kings had to wait for Haliburton, Hield and Thompson to complete their physicals after arriving in Indiana on Wednesday before the trade could be finalized. Interim Kings coach Alvin Gentry still didn’t know if Sabonis, Holiday and Lamb would be able to play when he held his pregame news conference at 5:15 p.m., but 45 minutes later the Kings announced all three would be available.
Gentry elected to start Fox and Holiday in the backcourt with Barnes at small forward, Chimezie Metu at power forward and Sabonis at center. Richaun Holmes, who had started 136 of 142 games over three seasons in Sacramento, came off the bench for the first time since March 2020 with heavy speculation he could be traded before Thursday’s deadline.
The new-look Kings looked like a different team 24 hours after suffering a 134-114 loss to the Timberwolves. They had some obvious timing issues and committed a couple of sloppy turnovers in the opening minutes, but it wasn’t long before they were passing, cutting, rebounding and running.
“Today, we had no idea how to play with each other, but we found a way to do it, so I think that’s very encouraging,” Lamb said. “The more we play together, the more we’ll get to know each other and each other’s games.”
The final numbers were pretty impressive. The Kings shot 51.6% from the field and 40% from 3-point range while making 24 of 27 free throws. They outscored the Timberwolves 72-52 on points in the paint and 20-8 on fast-break points. Going into the game, the Timberwolves were 12th in the NBA in rebounding and the Kings were 24th, but on this night Sacramento outrebounded Minnesota 51-34.
“Obviously, the new guys contributed a lot tonight,” Gentry said. “I thought everybody we put in the game did something that was really good. We shared the ball. We had really good ball movement. The other thing that was very, very impressive to me, that was like one of the old Arco (Arena) crowds. The fans were unbelievable.”
Holiday noticed, too.
“How we were accepted by the fans … how loud they were and how much they are excited for people who play hard, that’s something I appreciate because that’s what I can give you every day is all I have, and I know (Sabonis and Lamb) do that as well.
“…You want to go to a place where you’re accepted. Where we can feel like a team. That’s the reason why we play this game is to be part of a team and do things together and do things well, and tonight was just a little taste of how this thing can go.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 1:15 AM.
