Tag: Oklahoma City Thunder

Kings lose again in OKC 98-95

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA: Sacramento Kings at Oklahoma City Thunder
Photo Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings went into the game on Sunday having never won a contest in Oklahoma City (0-13). After the game on Sunday night, the Kings still have yet to win in OKC as they lost another winnable game 98-95.

One of the hardest things to do in the NBA is to win the second game of a back-to-back series on the road. The Kings lost a wild affair in Houston on Saturday and played well versus the Thunder but lost both ends of the back-to-back road games.

The Kings and Thunder played even in the first half. Neither was able to establish a solid lead as both teams played tough defense. At the half, the Thunder led the Kings 51-48.

Sacramento came out in the third quarter and played lifeless basketball. Early on they reverted to playing a one-on-one game and did so poorly. The Thunder outscored the Kings 25-16 in the quarter and Oklahoma City led the game 76-64 after three quarters.

The Kings came alive in the final quarter led by the solid play of Darren Collison (10 points) and Marco Belinelli (9) off the bench. Rajon Rondo added five rebounds and four assists. DeMarcus Cousins had a very quiet fourth period as he scored just two points shooting 1-for-6. Sacramento outscored the Thunder 31-22 in fourth quarter.

The Thunder was able to hang on in fourth due to the play of Kevin Durant and Dion Walters. Durant had a terrible game overall but scored six critical points at the end of the game. Walters added seven points in the final quarter to help lead his team to the victory.

Kings

Rudy Gay led the Kings scoring putting up 20 points but he had to take 18 shots to score those points. Gay shot 8-for-18 from the floor.

DeMarcus Cousins struggled shooting in the game going 5-for-20 from the field and 3-for-9 from the free throw line. Cousins scored 13 points.

Darren Collison and Marco Belinelli scored 16 points apiece. Collison was a perfect 6-for-6 free throw shooting. Belinelli shot 6-for-13 in the game.

Rajon Rondo added 10 assists, nine rebounds and seven points in the loss.

Sacramento shot just 39.8-percent (35-for-88) for the game. They converted just 18-of-30 free throw attempts. Hitting four additional free throws would have resulted in a Kings victory.

Thunder

Russell Westbrook posted a triple-double for OKC. He scored 19 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and distributed 10 assists.

Kevin Durant finished the game as the Thunder’s leading scorer. He scored 20 points but shot 1-for-6 from behind the 3-point line and turned the ball over 10 times.

Enes Kanter (14), Serge Ibaka (12) and Dion Walters (10) all scored in double figures.

The Thunder shot just 40.7-percent (35-for-86) well below their season average of 46.8-percent. OKC also shot below their average for free throws but their 22 conversions off 31 attempts was the difference maker in the game.

Up next

The Kings (7-15) return to Sacramento where they will host the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. That game will be the first of a three-game home stand.

The Thunder (12-8) travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies on Tuesday night.

Golden State blow by OKC

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — It’s no secret, the Golden State Warriors have the Oklahoma City Thunder’s number this season.

Harrison Barnes finished with a season-high 23 points and seven rebounds, helping Golden State pick up their third straight win over Oklahoma City this season, 117-91 in front of a sellout crowd of 19,596 at Oracle Arena.

“My teammates got me into the flow of the game,” said Barnes, who shot 5-for-5 from 3-point range. “It was a relief to shoot better tonight.”

Overall, the Warriors shot 15-for-28 (53 percent) on 3s.

Golden State (27-5), blazed out to a 17-6 lead in the first quarter over the Thunder, ignited by the Splash Brothers. Klay Thompson scored 13 of his 19 points in the first quarter, and Stephen Curry also finished with 19 points.

With both Curry and Thompson battling foul trouble, Golden State turned to reserve guard Justin Holiday in the second quarter. Holiday had his best game of the season, scoring 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting while playing a season-high 28 minutes off the bench.

“Coach [Steve Kerr], told me to be confident and take my shot,” Holiday said.

Draymond Green finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds as Golden State held Oklahoma City to 30 percent shooting (30-for-98) from the floor, while the Dubs shot 46 percent (41-for-88) from the floor.

Oklahoma City (17-18) couldn’t get their superstar duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook or the entire team into gear tonight.

Westbrook led all Thunder players with 22 points, but shot 5-for-21 from the field. Durant finished with just 14 points on 3-for-16 shooting after scoring 30 points in 20 minutes against Golden State back on Dec. 18 at Oracle Arena before leaving the game with a sprained ankle.

“Great job defensively tonight, I thought our defense was really good,” said Kerr. “Obviously when Durant and Westbrook won’t have bad shooting nights, but we played great defense, but we we’re lucky.”

With the win, Golden State have now won 12 straight games at home for the first since the 1989-90 season, and hold the best home record in the league at 14-1.

The Warriors and Thunder hook up for the final time this season on Jan. 16 in Oklahoma City. The Thunder should have newly acquired shooting guard Dion Waiters available for that game.

Oklahoma City was part of a three-team trade, sending a protected 2015 first-round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Waiters. The New York Knicks received reserve Lance Thomas from Oklahoma City, and sending J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to Cleveland.

Golden State has won the first four games of their six-game home stand, which continues Wednesday night with the visiting Indiana Pacers coming to town.

 

Warriors slip by Thunder behind Curry’s 34 points

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Stephen Curry scored 34 points and handed out nine assists, elevating the Golden State Warriors to a 114-109 home win over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night after clawing back from a 17-point deficit early in the game.

“We stepped up tonight,” Curry said after the game. “We had to battle tonight and once we got stops and transitions, we felt good.”

Golden State (22-3), bounced back tonight after snapping their franchise-record 16-game winning streak in Tuesday’s 105-98 loss at Memphis. The Warriors improved to 9-1 at home this season, and have won 17 of their last 18 games.

Oklahoma City came out and jumped ahead of Golden State, building a 40-32 first quarter lead. Kevin Durant scored 16 of his 30 points in the first quarter sinking 6 of his first 7 shots from the floor, including 5 for 6 from 3-point range. Oklahoma City made 15 of its first 25 shots.

The 40 points scored by the Thunder in the first quarter were the most points surrendered by Golden State in any quarter this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Durant appeared to be heading for big night, but sprained his right ankle late in the second quarter and didn’t return to the game.

The reigning league Most Valuable Player finished with 30 points in 20 minutes on 10 of 13 shooting, becoming the first player since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976 to score at least 30 points in 20 minutes, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“I wanted to go back out and play, but thought I should be cautious about it,” said Durant after the game.

Russell Westbrook picked up the scoring slack for the Thunder, finishing with a team-high 33 points and eight assists. Serge Ibaka had 12 points, while Andre Roberson finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Six players finished in double figures for Golden State, who converted 32 assists into 48 made field goals (48 of 64) and shot 51 percent from the floor. Golden State shot the lights out from from 3-point range, draining 12 of 31 from behind the arc.

Draymond Green finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, and a career-high nine assists.

Harrison Barnes and Shaun Livingston each scored 12 points, and Marreese Speights had 8 points. Barnes also grabbed seven rebounds.

The Warriors dominated the Thunder in the paint, outscoring Oklahoma City 52-36 and forced 15 Thunder turnovers, while only committing just nine. Golden State rattled off a 35-18 run in the second quarter to pull ahead of Oklahoma City, 49-48, which led to a 65-63 halftime lead for the Warriors who never looked back.

It took a total team effort for Golden State to snap Oklahoma City’s (12-14) seven-game winning streak, after continuing to play without center Andrew Bogut (right knee) and forward David Lee (left hamstring).

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reaffirmed general manger Bob Myers’ recent comments that Lee could be back on the court Monday for the Warriors’ next home game Monday night against Sacramento

“David Lee will be back next week, probably,” Kerr said.

Bogut is a different story.

Bogut is expected to be out a number of weeks after undergoing platelet-rich plasma therapy on his right knee Wednesday.

 

 

Durant’s Career Night Overshadows Curry in Warriors 127-121 Loss

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew Harrington

In a battle of two of the top stars of the NBA, Stephen Curry’s Warriors dropped a 127-121 shootout to Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder (30-10) Friday night from Chesapeake Energy Arena. Curry collected his fifth-career 30 point, 10 assist game for the Warriors (25-16), but Durant’s career night spoiled Curry’s performance.

Most Valuable Player candidate Durant accounted for over a third of the Thunder’s baskets, torching the Warriors for a career-best 54 points on 19 of 28 shooting and 11 free throws. Curry led the Warriors with 37 points on 11 of 18 shooting, including six three-pointers, and added 11 assists to complete the double-double. Back court mate Klay Thompson nailed six treys to add 26 points of his own, while Thunder forward Serge Ibaka produced 21 points over 35 minutes of play. Thunder center Kendrick Perkins led all players in rebounds with 12, while David Lee reeled in nine for the Warriors. In total, the Thunder out-boarded the Warriors 41-33.

The two sides played it neck-to-neck to open the first nine minutes of play with Golden State leading with a slim 25-23 lead. The Thunder then went on a 14-7 run to close out the first leading 39-32. The Dubs took their first lead of the second quarter after Curry knocked down a shot from the charity stripe on a technical foul to give the Warriors a 56-55 lead with 3:48 left in the half. The Thunder closed out the half on a 16-9 run to hold a 71-65 lead at the midway point.

The home team expanded their lead 101-91 after the first 12 minutes of the second half before breaking the game open for a game-high 14 points lead, 123-109, with 2:45 left. Golden State outpaced their hosts 12-4 down the stretch for a respectable seven-point defeat to the third-place Thunder.

The Warriors hit the hardwood again tomorrow night, traveling to New Orleans for a Saturday night tip-off against the New Orleans Pelicans in Golden State’s sixth road game of the month.