X-rays can confirm that Kings center Domantas Sabonis is playing through a broken thumb on his right hand. But the box score from Friday night reads otherwise.
Sabonis, playing in his second game since suffering the injury on Dec. 23, went off for 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in the Kings' 126-125 victory over the Utah Jazz at Golden 1 Center.
After the game, a reporter pointed out that Sabonis was a perfect 12-of-12 from the field, including two makes from 3-point range.
The star center immediately glanced down at the stat sheet at the podium to confirm this news and broke out into a smile. But there was one issue.
"I missed a free throw," Sabonis said with a laugh.
Sabonis did, indeed, miss one of his three free-throw attempts. That was the only time Sabonis didn't find the bottom of the basket in the Kings' 19th win of the season.
It doesn't appear that the broken right thumb is bothering the Sacramento center much.
NBA
"I definitely noticed it when Kevin [Huerter] high-fived me on my right hand when he was mad, so he owes me one," Sabonis said. "I’m trying to give it a go. I’m trying to play through it. It’s ups and downs, you know? Try not to think about it.
"It’s great, the crowd brings the adrenaline in so I just don’t feel it."
Sabonis now is the third player in NBA history to notch multiple games shooting 100 percent on 12 attempts or more, joining Wilt Chamberlain (six games) and Karl Malone (two).
He also achieved that stat line on Oct. 31, 2018, as a member of the Indiana Pacers in a 107-101 win over the New York Knicks when he scored 30 points on 12-of-12 shooting.
"I thought Sabonis hurt us getting into our body in the lane, getting to his left hand that was consistent throughout the game," Jazz coach Will Hardy said after the game. "I think that’s one thing we could have done a better job of was defending him in the lane, but that’s why he’s an All-Star-caliber player.
"He’s really tough to guard, he’s very physical, he has great footwork, great touch around the basket.”
Sabonis' improved outside shot has been a fun addition to his game this season. He doesn't let it fly from deep often -- just 1.2 attempts per game -- but he's hitting often enough that opponents have to start respecting the shot.
The 6-foot-11 big man began the season shooting 8.3 percent (1-for-12) from downtown over the first 11 games of the season. Since then, Sabonis has nailed 60.7 percent of his triples (17-for-28).
RELATED: Fox's thunderous dunk fires up father-in-law, announcers
But wait, there's more.
In 13 games in December, Sabonis averaged 21.7 points, 14.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game while shooting 68.6 percent from the field, 68.8 percent from deep and 73.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Sabonis is the first player in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists on 65 percent shooting in a single month since Chamberlain in 1968, per The Lead.
Not bad for a guy with a fractured thumb.