Domantas Sabonis carries a minor left leg injury while playing in the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers for Lithuania. Even though he admitted he plays through pain, he downplayed the seriousness of his injury.
Sacramento Kings and Lithuania national team star Domantas Sabonis plays through an injury in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
It's unclear what injury exactly bothers Sabonis, but it's in the left leg area.
Sabonis himself confirmed that he's not 100% healthy but didn't go into details.
"This is basketball; you have to play through pain. I can't say anything more, sorry," Sabonis told BasketNews' Lukas Malinauskas after the win against Ivory Coast about having his leg massaged during the game.
However, in the post-game press conference, Sabonis downplayed the seriousness of his injury.
"I'm just keeping it [ankle] warm, making sure I'm ready for the game," Sabonis noted.
Even before the game started, Sabonis was already receiving treatment in his left ankle area. The Kings center made the starting five and was subbed after 7 minutes. However, he didn't sit on the bench and left standing.
Throughout the time off the court, Sabonis was being treated by the Lithuanian national team medical staff.
In a close 97-93 win, Sabonis had a performance of game-high 22 points (9/12 FG, 0/1 3PT, 4/6 FT), 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, and 20 EFF in 28 minutes of play.
"They are a very good team, they played physically and disrupted our rhythm, but in the fourth quarter, we showed character," Sabonis said about the Ivory Coast. "In this tournament, everyone plays extremely physically. The referees let everyone play tough, and it's an exciting kind of basketball."
Lithuania was in trouble in the 4th quarter. At one point, the Ivory Coast had a 9-point lead (74-65).
"We want to win this qualifying [tournament] and had to make some changes. Everyone locked in in the fourth quarter. It's good to play games like this, in which we were down by 9 points and needed to focus on defense, come back, and secure the win. We will gain a lot from such games," Sabonis concluded.
Throughout his first two games in the Olympic Qualifiers, Sabonis averages 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 16.0 EFF per game.
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