If Garrett Temple had been healthy, this would have been a tough game for him to play.
His body would have been on the court, but his conscience would be outside with the protesters who had blocked the entrances to Golden 1 Center. They were demonstrating over the death of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by Sacramento police Sunday.
The tipoff would be delayed about 20 minutes, and the result – the Kings beat the Atlanta Hawks 106-90 – would be an afterthought.
Temple, one of the NBA's more politically engaged players, said he agreed "100 percent" with the protest, and, "If I didn't have a job to do, I'd probably be out there with them, peacefully protesting because what's going on has to stop, it has to stop.