The Sacramento Kings not only lost 129-102 to the Phoenix Suns on Friday, but they also dealt with an injury to one of their promising young players, as Maxime Raynaud had to be helped to the locker room in the final period.
Raynaud, who has been starting in the place of the injured Domantas Sabonis, sustained a left knee injury while trying to set a screen for Russell Westbrook with 4:19 remaining. The Sacramento Kings rookie finished with six points, five rebounds, and two assists on 3-for-7 shooting from the field in 25 minutes of action.
“He was smiling (after the game), so that’s always good,” head coach Doug Christie said of Raynaud via The Sacramento Bee’s Chris Biderman. “But always fingers crossed for young players. He plays so hard, and he plays with his heart. When you see stuff like that, it just doesn’t necessarily sit with you, but got my fingers crossed.”
“I’ll be fine,” Raynaud stated. “It was just scary… I think it was just an unpleasing sensation you’re not used to.”
Sacramento Kings News: Russell Westbrook hits new milestone in loss vs. Phoenix Suns
Russell Westbrook was among the bright spots in the defeat on Friday night. The Sacramento Kings star surpassed Oscar Robertson to be the NBA’s all-time leading scorer at the point guard position when he converted a layup at the 4:23 mark in the fourth quarter, which allowed him to move past Robertson’s 26,710 career points.
The one-time league MVP finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, and six assists on 6-for-12 shooting from the field in 26 minutes of action.
Earlier this season, Westbrook surpassed Magic Johnson on the NBA’s all-time assist list during the Sacramento Kings’ 113-107 home win against the Dallas Mavericks. He also became the 14th player in league history to hit the 2,000 career steals threshold.
