Recap: Thunder vs. Kings

By Nick Gallo and Paris Lawson | okcthunder.com

Box Score: OKC vs. SAC

The Thunder came back home for its third game in four nights, kicking off a six-game homestand with a home-and-home series with the Sacramento Kings. Settling in at the outset of this one, the Thunder had to absorb the Kings first punch, which was a continuation of their recent hot scoring. 

On Friday against the LA Clippers, the Kings won 176-175 in the second highest scoring game in NBA history, and on Sunday in Paycom Center the Kings burst out with a 13-2 run and scored 36 first quarter points. Eventually, that lead ran out to 15 points in the third quarter, but the Thunder responded by going 8-of-9 from the 3-point line during one stretch in that same frame. That flurry cut the Kings lead to just one at 91-90 with 33.6 seconds remaining in the quarter. 

In the fourth, the Thunder had its chances, but ultimately the shot-making of players like De'Aaron Fox, Trey Lyles and Keegan Murray was too much to overcome for the Thunder. While OKC threatened throughout the fourth, the comeback attempt came up just short in a 124-115 loss. 

Paris: After a missed basket by the Thunder, Sacramento did what they do best and surged out in transition in the hunt for a fast break bucket. Terence Davis had the ball for the Kings, but Isaiah Joe sprinted back in front of the ball, set his feet and took on the contact for a charge. Joe is coming off one of his best offensive performances of his career with 28 points against Phoenix, but it was his defensive reliability that allowed Joe to stay on the floor for as long as he did. The guard drew two charges by the end of the game. 

Nick: The Thunder have used second-year guard Aaron Wiggins in a variety of ways this season and he seems to always be ready for his moment. In the first quarter tonight he was deployed as a roll man on a screening action. Catching the ball on a pass over the top of the defender, Wiggins got stopped by a helpside defender, but remained poised. His fellow second year guard Josh Giddey cut right behind him on an overlapping run and Wiggins was able to drop the ball off to Giddey for a driving layup. The dish was one of six assists for the Thunder in the first quarter, and one of 24 total in the game. 

Paris: Aaron Wiggins provided a big spark for the Thunder off the bench in the second frame. Offensively, the second-year wing attacked the left side of the floor, used a quick spin move on Kevin Huerter and laid the ball in for two points. A couple of possessions later, Wiggins swooped in for a steal from Domantas Sabonis under the rim and finished with a bucket on the left side of the floor. By the 4:28 mark of the second quarter, Wiggins racked up seven points on a perfect 3-for-3 from the field as well as three assists and a pair of rebounds. 

Nick: In the second quarter the Thunder’s defensive effort and energy amped up a level, and after giving up 36 points in the first quarter it only allowed 22 points to the Kings in the second frame. The Thunder was much stingier about allowing paint attacks which not only prevented layups but also created shorter closeouts to make sure every 3-point attempt was contested. In the second quarter the Kings hit just 36.4 percent of its shots overall, including only 2-of-12 from behind the arc. Meanwhile, the Thunder forced five Sacramento turnovers, a factor that Kings Head coach Mike Brown was worried about prior to the game. 

Nick: Jaylin Williams fired a fastball from the top of the key to Lu Dort in the right corner. While the defense wasn’t ready for the pass, Dort certainly was and was ready to attack immediately off the catch. Dort finished powerfully on the baseline attack, and that sparked a stretch of 10-straight points for Dort in the early stages of the third quarter. Dort hit a pair of 3s during the flurry, giving him at least three-made 3-pointers in 11 of his last 18 games. For the game, Dort finished with 18 points and five rebounds. 

Paris: After a slow offensive start by the Thunder in the third frame, the team broke out on a 14-6 run midway through the quarter. The run was punctuated by a highlight step-back 3-pointer by Isaiah Joe over Domantas Sabonis that forced the Kings to call a timeout. It was the second straight 3-pointer by Joe on back-to-back possessions and contributed to a stretch of seven consecutive made buckets. Three pointers were falling for the Thunder in the third who sank eight during the 12-minute stretch alone, marking the fourth time that the Thunder made eight or more triples in a quarter this season. 

Nick: As the “low man” in the Thunder’s defensive shell, there was pressure on Lindy Waters III to crash over and be in helpside position at the right time. When the ball went into Kings big man Chimeze Metu, Waters was there in the right spot and snatched the ball right out of his hands. Out of frustration, Metu then grabbed Waters and drew a take foul, which resulted in a three-point possession. Earlier in the day, Waters did the exact same thing in the OKC Blue’s home game inside Paycom Center against the College Park Skyhawks. Waters played 37 minutes for the Blue in the matinee of the double-header in downtown OKC, then turned around and played 17 minutes in the Thunder game, scoring 12 points and snatching seven rebounds while knocking down three 3s. 

Paris: Josh Giddey attacked hard to the lane and finished a blue-collar layup over his defender. The following possession, he sank a 3-pointer on a kick out, providing a big lift to the Thunder offense in the final five minutes of action. Giddey put together an efficient offensive performance as he finished the night with 18 points on 8-of-10 from the field. Giddey also dished out five assists and pulled down seven boards. 

“They're a great offensive team obviously. So there's got to be a little more resistance defensively to beat them. I thought we got to it in the second quarter a little bit and at different times throughout the game, but not consistently enough” –Coach Daigneault

“They were coming off a big game, they had guys feeling it and we made that run but we let it slip away in the fourth. We needed to kind of keep our foot down and keep playing with that aggressiveness on defense.” —Josh Giddey

The Thunder will square off with the Sacramento Kings again on Tuesday night as a part of this six-game homestand. That game is the front end of a home-home back-to-back with the Los Angeles Lakers coming to Paycom Center on Wednesday night.

By Zach Beeker | OKC Thunder