Chimezie Metu was named Defensive Player of The Game on his return to rotation for the Sacramento Kings in their 136-111 win over the Orlando Magic at the Golden 1 Centre on Tuesday.

Metu also Reached 1,000 career points in the NBA in the encounter. He scored a total of 109 points during his time with the San Antonio Spurs while he’s been able to amass a total of 898 points with the Kings. 

The 25-year-old contributed 11 points, nine rebounds and two assists in 14 minutes off the bench while being solid defensively during his time on the court keeping some of Magic’s best players at bay. 

Despite having just 14 minutes on the court, head coach Mike Brown says he was extremely delighted with Metu’s effort in the game as it was instrumental for them in the win. 

“He had six defensive rebounds and not only that, he went vertical twice. Him just being in the middle of the paint, I don’t even know if he had any blocks, just him going vertical at the right time, being physical without picking up a foul was fantastic and he switched out on certain guys and guarded them without getting blown bye. He just gives us a different look than what Domantas Sabonis does and you kind of see that as your back up,” Brown said after the game.

Metu’s D’Tigers teammate, KZ Okpala, was also in action for the Kings. He contributed five points, one rebound and one assist to the win. Okpala had been named the Defensive Player of the Game in the Kings win against the Utah Jazz last Wednesday despite featuring for just seven minutes. 

Metu is currently averaging 5.1 points per game, 3.2 rebounds per game and 0.7 assists per game.