The NBA announced that Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green would be suspended one game for stepping on Kings forward Domantas Sabonis in Game 2 of the teams’ first-round Western Conference matchup. With Green out and the Warriors down 2-0 in the series, the team will now turn to Kevon Looney to support stars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson as they look to come back in Game 3.

“Everybody’s locked in, our level of focus has raised, our back’s against the wall so we have to go out there and play with a level of focus we haven’t played with all year,” Looney said after practice Wednesday. “I think we’re ready and I think we’re excited.”

In the first two games of their first-round playoff game, the Warriors have been struck by a wave of historic momentum, as the Kings have enjoyed a pair of rabid home crowds at the Golden 1 Center. Sacramento fans, who have not seen the team make a playoff run in 17 years, have propelled the Kings to two straight wins against the defending NBA champions.

On the floor, Curry and Thompson have been effective while key contributor Andrew Wiggins has done his part as well. But injury and performance concerns surrounding guard Jordan Poole proved to be a setback in Game 2, and Green’s suspensions will only make matters worse for Golden State.

Players like Looney, a six-foot-nine bench player capable of playing center and power forward, will need to provide size in the paint to counter Sabonis while giving the team’s army of shooters space at the perimeter. He will lead a group of players that coach Steve Kerr plans to cycle through in an effort to compete with a weakened roster.

“It’s more than likely going to be a game where we play a lot of people and we just have to put our best foot forward,” Kerr said after practice. “I believe in our guys. I have no doubt we can go out there and get this done.”

While Golden State has struggled to band together on the road, the Kings have performed incredibly well to earn their lead in the series. De’Aaron Fox and Sabonis have been extremely effective around the perimeter and down low, respectively, with Fox turning in a particularly strong 38-point performance in Game 1. Meanwhile, shooting guard Malik Monk has been a revelation for the team, scoring 50 points combined early in the series.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that superstar forward LeBron James entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Currently, LeBron has missed Tuesday night’s 117-92 win over the Kings in Sacramento and is likely to miss at least ten days if he is protocols because of a positive coronavirus test.

While the Lakers only place twice in the first eight days of December, the team also has three games lined up between Dec. 9 and 12. So if James is sidelined for ten days, he will miss a minimum of four games. However, there is always the chance he could return earlier with two negative tests.

So far, the Lakers have not confirmed if James has tested positive or not, but after the game, his teammate Anthony Davis hinted that this could, in fact, be the case.

“He said he’s good,” Davis, who led the team with 25 points on Tuesday, told ESPN. “I think he’s asymptomatic, which is a good sign, but we want to make sure that he gets back. Health is most important. This is bigger than basketball. He has a family. We want to make sure that he’s good no matter what.”

Another teammate, Russell Westbrook, who contributed 23 points with six assists in the win, had plans to call James after the game.

Tuesday’s game was the 12th game that James had missed this season. He missed ten games due to various injuries. He also missed the Lakers’ game against the Knicks earlier this month after being suspended for the first time in his career.

This season, the Lakers are 7-4 with James and 5-7 without him. So far this season, James is averaging 25.8 points, 6.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds in his 19th season.

Los Angeles Kings forward Milan Lucic is known for being a tough player on the ice during games. On Saturday night, Lucic showed his rather vicious side that could have caused serious injury to the opposing player.

During the third period against the Arizona Coyotes, Lucic was in front of the goalie crease going for the puck when Coyotes defenseman Kevin Connauton was slashing his left arm with his stick. When the play was called dead, Lucic went after Connauton and hit him right in the face with a hard right hook to the face with Connauton going right to the ground.

This resulted in a misconduct against Lucic and an ejection for the rest of the game with 13:05 to play still. “Thankfully, X-rays came back negative,” Lucic said after the game. “If I don’t react, I don’t even think he calls a penalty. Same guy, [referee] Brad Meier. I think that’s the fourth time he’s kicked me out of a game. It’s always the same thing with him.” The Kings ended up losing 3-2 against the Coyotes on Saturday night.

The NHL later suspended Lucic from playing with the Kings against the San Jose Sharks, with the Kings winning 3-2. He also had to forfeit $32,258.06 for the one-game suspension out of his salary.

Photo: GLENDALE, AZ – DECEMBER 26: Milan Lucic #17 of the Los Angeles Kings in action during the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on December 26, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona. The Kings defeated the Coyotes 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Sacramento Kings point guard Rajon Rondo has always been a sensation to watch on the basketball court ever since joining the NBA. Even though his temper gets the best of him which results in ejections and even suspensions from playing, he will sometimes be the playmaker on the court that will awe a crowd.

In a regular season game last night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Rondo went up for an offensive rebound in the fourth quarter. When landing with the ball, he pulled a fantastic behind-the-back pass from under the basket to fellow Kings guard Marco Belinelli which resulted in a three-point play.

Rondo, who leads the league in assists with a 10.9 APG rating, finished the night off with 10 assists and seven points, but the Kings would lose to the Thunder 98-95.

The San Antonio Spurs seem to always amaze the NBA world with their persistent lineup and work ethic when playing great basketball, especially this year with the amount of depth the team has. Last night, they continued this run when they played the Sacramento Kings last night in Sacramento, winning in high fashion with a 106-88 defeat.

After a close game through the first three quarters, the Spurs went on a 34-19 run in the fourth quarter and burying the Kings offensively throughout the 12-minute timeframe, thanks to the Spurs bench who put up 24 points of their own. Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs in points with 24 points, followed by LaMarcus Aldridge with 16, and longtime Spurs veterans Tony Parker and Tim Duncan having 13 and 11, respectively. The Spurs bench were the stars of the game with reserve guard Patty Mills having seven points and four steals. “I understand you can’t live and die off your shot, so if my shot is not falling I have to do other things,” Mills said.

The Kings were on hand with the Spurs throughout the night, especially in the third quarter when returning star center DeMarcus Cousins dropped 13 points and 9 of 12 free throws to bring the outing to a three-point game before the fourth quarter meltdown by the Kings. Cousins would finish the game with a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds. The overall picture for the Kings is not a good start for the season with their record at 1-7 and losing their last six games. “I’ve been in positions where you have bad starts. I’ve had everything in my life, from six straight to nine straight,” newly hired Kings coach George Karl said. “We just have to play more 48 minutes of basketball, more solid basketball and more together basketball.”

Upcoming games for both teams include the Spurs going to Portland to face the Trailblazers while the Kings stay home to play the Detroit Pistons, both happening on Wednesday night.