Kings vs. Cavaliers: Good news for Cleveland, bad news from Sacramento, 3 things to watch

The Kings will have to resume life without Domantas Sabonis when they face one of the top NBA championship contenders at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

Sabonis has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he won’t be back anytime soon. The Kings announced Tuesday their All-NBA center will be reevaluated in 10 days after suffering a moderate right ankle sprain in Monday’s 132-122 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Cavaliers are back at full strength after All-Star big man Evan Mobley missed Sunday’s game against the Orlando Magic due to a right foot contusion. Mobley returned to post 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting with three rebounds and one assist in a 132-119 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood.

The Kings (34-33) are ninth in the Western Conference, five games behind the Golden State Warriors for the No. 6 seed and an automatic playoff berth. Sacramento has a two-game lead over the No. 10 Dallas Mavericks and a three-game lead over the No. 11 Phoenix Suns in the battle for the play-in spot.

The Cavaliers (56-12) are coming off back-to-back losses to the Magic and Clippers. They are still tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the NBA with a 6 ½-game lead over the Boston Celtics for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Here are three things to watch in Wednesday’s game.

Absence of Sabonis

Based on the timeline provided Tuesday, Sabonis will probably miss at least the last six games of Sacramento’s current seven-game homestand.

Sabonis has appeared in 58 games this season, averaging 19.4 points, 14.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists while shooting 59.2% from the field and 42.5% from 3-point range. The Kings are 31-27 with Sabonis in the lineup. They are 3-6 in the nine games he has missed.

Value of Valanciunas

The Kings might be lost right now if not for Jonas Valanciunas, one of their key trade deadline acquisitions after sending franchise cornerstone De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs.

The Kings acquired Valanciunas from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Sidy Cissoko and two-second round draft picks. The 6-foot-11, 265-pound center is serving as a backup to Sabonis, but he started all 235 games he played for the New Orleans Pelicans over the past three seasons, averaging 14.6 points and 10.1 rebounds.

Valanciunas recently started six games while Sabonis was out with a strained left hamstring. During that stretch, Valanciunas averaged 14.5 points and 12.2 rebounds.

Containing the Cavs

The Kings will have their hands full with the Cavaliers, who have the second-best point differential in the NBA at +10.5.

Donovan Mitchell is averaging 24.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.3 steals. Darius Garland averages 21.0 points and 6.7 assists.

Mobley averages 18.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Jarrett Allen is averaging 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds.

Cavaliers at Kings

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Golden 1 Center

TV: NBC Sports California

Radio: Sactown Sports 1140

Odds: Cavaliers -4.5

Over/under: 234.5

Injury report

Cavaliers: OUT — Darius Garland (rest).

Kings: OUT — Mason Jones (G League); Domantas Sabonis (ankle).

This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM.