SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Sacramento Kings were missing three key players for their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
Star big man Domantas Sabonis was ruled out for at least 10 days after an MRI determined he had a moderate right ankle sprain after getting hurt Monday night against Memphis.
Sacramento also was without star guard Zach LaVine, who missed the game for personal reasons, and Jake LaRavia, who was out with an illness.
“We got players who are chomping at the bit to play,” coach Doug Christie said. “So the opportunity presents itself to you. I believe in all of them. It’s unfortunate. But when opportunity presents itself that’s why we’re a team. It's not an individual sport. It's a team sport. So we need to come together as a team this evening.”
Sabonis had just returned to the lineup last week after missing six games with a hamstring injury. Sabonis leads the NBA with 13.9 rebounds per game to go along with 19.2 points and 6.2 assists per contest.
Jonas Valanciunas is expected to replace him in the lineup starting in Wednesday night's game against Cleveland.
The Kings, who are 3-6 this season without Sabonis, entered the day in ninth place in the Western Conference.
Christie said he was hopeful that LaVine and LaRavia would be able to return on Thursday against the Bulls.
LaVine is averaging 22.7 points in 18 games since joining the Kings in a trade from Chicago in February.
LaRavia is averaging 5.4 points per game this season.
Cavaliers guard Darius Garland missed the game for rest after Cleveland played Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Josh Dubow, The Associated Press
