Kings' Ty Lawson: Out Sunday with right knee soreness

Lawson won't be available off the bench Sunday against the Rockets due to right knee soreness, Kings sideline reporter Kayte Christensen reports.

Analysis:

The Kings didn't list Lawson on the injury report prior to Sunday's game, so the point guard may have tweaked the knee in pregame warmups. It's likely not a major concern for Lawson, as the Kings have been holding out their veterans fairly liberally for minor injuries or rest purposes since the All-Star break in an effort to evaluate younger options and improve their odds in the draft lottery. Lawson was coming off a 20-point, two-assist performance over 24 minutes in Friday's loss to the Warriors, but don't expect him to deliver many outings of that caliber over the final two and a half weeks of the season. He was averaging just 8.0 points, 5.0 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 three-pointer in 22.8 minutes per game in his prior six appearances before the 20-point outburst.