OKLAHOMA CITY — Tapping the brakes, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sent Keon Ellis sliding for the sidestep 3-pointer. The highlight outside shot capped off a much-needed afternoon for OKC.
The Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back with a 127-113 win over the Sacramento Kings. It snapped a two-game losing streak for them and marked their first win over Sacramento since Nov. 2021.
“I thought we were just a lot more edgy today than we were yesterday,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “It’s not about responding to one game, it’s certainly is about us recognizing where our standards are and getting the car back on the road when we’re not up to par.”
After a slow start plagued the Thunder against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, they emphasized getting off to a strong start for the second day of this back-to-back.
The Thunder led 29-27 following the first frame. At halftime, that lead grew to 67-57. A mammoth 22-6 run in the third quarter by OKC saw it enter the final frame leading by 17 points and totaled 100 points in the first three frames.
To start the fourth quarter, the Kings made one last push to make it a single-digit contest. A 20-10 run by Sacramento chopped OKC’s lead to seven points with a little over seven minutes left.
This proved to be the closest the Kings would get the rest of the way as Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams shut the door of a comeback attempt with elite shot-making.
The guard-wing duo combined for 70 points on 61% shooting. Overall, OKC shot 54% from the field and 13-of-27 (48.1%) from 3. They dished out 30 assists on 46 baskets.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points while Williams tallied a nearly 32-point triple-double. Chet Holmgren contributed with 14 points and four blocks. Lu Dort contributed with 17 points and stout defense.
“Those guys are advantage creators,” Daigneault said on Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams. “Shai tonight, I thought they got really aggressive with him with double teams, which volunteers an advantage. It allows to get the ball ahead of the defense. I thought we had good attacks off of that for the most part.”
Meanwhile, the Kings shot 49% from the field and went 16-of-42 (38.1%) from 3. They had 32 assists on 44 baskets. Six Kings players scored double-digit points.
Domantas Sabonis led the way with a triple-double of 21 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds. Malik Monk scored 26 points and went 6-of-10 from 3. Keegan Murray had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
De’Aaron Fox was limited to 15 points on 6-of-17 shooting and five assists. Kevin Huerter had four points on 2-of-7 shooting.
“Just make it tough for him,” Dort said on limiting Fox. “Especially after a game like yesterday where I feel like I didn’t do my job right.”
This was a nice palate cleanser for the Thunder after their disaster loss to the Mavericks on Saturday. OKC snapped an eight-game losing streak to Sacramento in a contest it controlled for the entire day.
“We came out really good today,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think it set the tone for the rest of the night. We played to our identity from the job.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.