Thunder Fall to Kings at Home, Remain Winless Since All-Star Break

The Oklahoma City Thunder were defeated by the Sacramento Kings at the Paycom Center on Sunday evening, falling 124-115. OKC’s third consecutive loss drops the team’s season record to 28-32.

For the Thunder, sharpshooter Isaiah Joe led the way on offense with 24 points and three assists. For the Kings, all-star guard De'Aaron Fox scored 33 points and dished out eight assists.

Oklahoma City got off to a slow start in its second consecutive game without all-star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, falling behind 8-2 early in the opening frame. The Thunder battled back and tied the contest at 13 with a Lu Dort 3-pointer, but a quick five points from the Kings resulted in a timeout by Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault.

This was the start of a 13-2 run by Sacramento that would give the visiting team a 26-15 lead with just under five and a half minutes left in the first quarter. The Kings continued to grow their advantage, going up 34-21 with less than three minutes left in the period.

Oklahoma City was able to erase some of the deficit behind a triple from Lindy Waters III, but still trailed 36-26 heading into the second quarter.

OKC's offense continued to struggle, going 13-of-33 from the field in the first 18 minutes of play. With six minutes left in the first half, the Thunder trailed 46-36.

An impressive stretch from second-year guard Aaron Wiggins that saw the Maryland product score twice, grab a steal and dish an assist to rookie wing Jalen Williams, brought Oklahoma City within six, cutting Sacramento's lead to 48-42 with less than four and a half minutes left in the second period.

The Kings, however, quickly halted the Thunder's momentum, rebuilding a double-digit lead moments later.

At the end of the first half, OKC trailed Sacramento 58-50 behind 14 points from Fox. Jalen Williams was Oklahoma City's leading scorer at the break with eight points to go along with two assists, two rebounds and a steal.

The Thunder struggled coming out of the half, falling behind by 15 points less than five minutes into the third quarter. A steal and emphatic slam dunk by Fox brought the score to 74-59, and earned a showering of boos from inside the Paycom Center.

A few moments later, a 6-0 run capped off by a 3-pointer from second-year big man Jeremiah Robinson-Earl cut the Kings lead to eight. Two more triples from Joe brought OKC within six, as Sacramento called a timeout clinging to a 83-77 advantage with less than four minutes left in the third period.

Coming out of the timeout, Waters III connected on two shots from beyond the arc, cutting the Kings lead to 86-83. Oklahoma City's offense was firing on all cylinders, but every time the home team would start to get close, Sacramento seemed to knock down a big-time shot of their own.

The Thunder's eight triples in the third quarter marked a new season high for the squad, who ended the third period trailing the Kings 94-90.

Sacramento began to pull away again at the beginning of the final frame, taking a 105-97 lead with nine minutes left in the contest. Down 107-100, veteran forward Kenrich Williams missed a layup, which was followed up by a triple from Kings forward Trey Lyles.

On OKC's ensuing offensive possessions, Giddey and Kenrich Williams both turned the ball over, leading to a 113-100 Kings advantage. Coming out of an Oklahoma City timeout, Joe converted a four-point play to cut Sacramento's lead to nine.

Following a drawn charge by Robinson-Earl, Josh Giddey barrelled down the lane to finish a tough layup. Kings rookie forward Keegan Murray nailed a 3-pointer from the corner, but Giddey and Joe responded with triples of their own to keep Sacramento's lead in the single digits with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Similar to the third quarter, the Thunder struggled to get enough stops on defense to supplement an offensive comeback effort, ultimately falling 124-115.

The Thunder will get a rematch against the Kings on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7 P.M. CT in the Paycom Center.

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