Kings offence shines again in win over Thunder

Isaiah Joe scored 24 points to lead Oklahoma City, while Luguentz Dort and Josh Giddey had 18 apiece. Jalen Williams added 15, and Lindy Waters III scored a season-high 12.

Published : Feb 27, 2023 12:04 IST

Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox goes up for a dunk.
Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox goes up for a dunk. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
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Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox goes up for a dunk. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

De’Aaron Fox scored 33 points and Keegan Murray added 20 as the visiting Sacramento Kings led wire-to-wire in a 124-115 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

Trey Lyles scored 16 points and Domantas Sabonis tallied 14 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for Sacramento, which moved a season-best 10 games over .500 with its third straight win. Malik Monk scored 12 points and Harrison Barnes chipped in nine points and eight rebounds.

Isaiah Joe scored 24 points to lead Oklahoma City, while Luguentz Dort and Josh Giddey had 18 apiece. Jalen Williams added 15, and Lindy Waters III scored a season-high 12.

The Thunder played without All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who sat out his second straight game due to an abdominal strain and right ankle soreness.

Two days after playing in the second-highest scoring game in NBA history, Sacramento jumped to a 13-point lead and held a 36-26 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

After outlasting the Los Angeles Clippers 176-175 in double overtime on Friday, the Kings needed another strong offensive effort to get past Oklahoma City.

Fox has scored 30 or more points in seven consecutive games for Sacramento, which shot 52.9 percent from the field and 18 of 43 (41.9 percent) from 3-point range.

Fox scored 14 points in the first half for the Kings, who took a 58-50 lead into the break. Oklahoma City was 4 of 19 (21.1 percent) from 3-point range for the half.

Sacramento led by 12 with 4:13 left in the third quarter before Joe and Waters combined to score the Thunder’s next 17 points to cut the deficit to 91-88.

After allowing 40 points in the third quarter, Sacramento took a four-point lead into the final period. Oklahoma City was 8 of 12 from 3-point range in the third quarter.

Giddey’s trey cut the Kings’ lead to 107-100 with eight minutes remaining before Lyles hit consecutive 3-pointers to help turn away Oklahoma City’s comeback effort.

Joe has averaged 26 points in his past two games for the Thunder, who face the Kings again on Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

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