Kings’ Domantas Sabonis Suspended 1 Game for Aggressively Confronting Official

Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis received a one-game suspension “for aggressively confronting and making contact with a game official.”

Sabonis was assessed a technical foul in the fourth quarter of Monday’s 131-115 loss to the New York Knicks. He reacted to the call and quickly received a second technical:

ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted the two-time All-Star will lose $127,586 because of the suspension—one the Kings disagreed with: 

The timing of his ban couldn’t be much worse since the Denver Nuggets and MVP candidate Nikola Jokic are coming to Sacramento on Wednesday night. The Kings will be without their two best centers, Sabonis and Richaun Holmes, as they look to slow down Jokic, who’s averaging 25.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.0 assists through three meetings against them.

Sabonis’ ejection and suspension add to the team’s continued frustrations this season.

The 25-year-old is putting up solid numbers (17.4 points on 56.8 percent shooting and 12.8 rebounds per game) in Sacramento, but the Kings are 4-7 with him in the lineup. They’re four games back of the New Orleans Pelicans for the final play-in berth. 

Getting Sabonis as the cornerstone of a trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana was at least supposed to make the franchise better in the short term. Instead, what was widely believed to be a lopsided deal is now looking even worse.