Sacramento Kings forward Chimezie Metu, left, and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort collide under the basket during the first half at Golden 1 in Sacramento on Fri Jan 20, 2023 (AP News photo)

Kings Extend Winning Streak Beating OKC 118-113

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Sacramento Kings (26-18) took on the OKC Thunder (22-24) at Golden 1 Center. The Thunder have been rolling winning their last four games most recently against the Pacers 126-106. The Kings are coming off a win over the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday night 116- 111. The Kings picked up their sixth straight win against the Thunder 118-113.

The Kings got a slow start in the first quarter unable to score in the first three minutes. The Thunder had led by as much as nine points in the opening quarter but the Kings fought back and won the first 12 minutes by the slimmest of margins 33-32.

The Thunder finished the first half leading 66-59 after winning the second quarter 34-26. Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, Kevin Huerter and De’Aaron Fox all had double digits with Fox leading the starters with 13 points. Harrison Barnes had a slow start with only two points and would need to heat up in the second half.

The Kings only had seven turnovers and were shooting at 50% from the field and 54% from downtown. The Thunder were struggling from beyond the arc shooting 21% and the Kings needed to force OKC to shoot long balls.

The Kings came out in the third quarter erasing the deficit to tie up the game at 76 with 5:05 left and led after three quarters 91-88.

Sacramento continued to maintain a minimal lead through the first half of the fourth quarter. With 2:37 left in the game the Kings extended their lead and the entire starting roster had shot in double digits. They had a ten point lead 112-102 with two minutes left in the game. Sacramento held on to finish the game winning it.

Murray finished with the high score 29 points followed by team leader Fox with 23 points. Sacramento had a great defensive effort: Murray had 14 rebounds and Sabonis finished with 13. After the slow start in this game, the Kings kept the pressure on for the remainder of the game.

Sacramento (26-18) will host the Philadelphia 76ers (29-16) on Saturday night in another home game. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.