Thunder-Kings Preview

By CHRIS ALTRUDA
Posted Jan 24 2013 3:32PM

On eight of nine previous occasions this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have won following a loss. Given Kevin Durant's play of late as well as the Thunder's recent dominance of the Kings, there is a good opportunity to make it nine of 10 on Friday night when the teams meet in Sacramento.

The Thunder own the league's best record at 33-10. They are 2-2 on their six-game road swing but have won eight of 11 in this current 13-game stretch that features 11 road contests. Making its third stop on the California portion of the trek, Oklahoma City is trying to avoid consecutive losses for only the second time after a 104-99 setback to Golden State on Wednesday night.

Durant scored 33 points - his 20th game with at least 30 - to lead five players in double figures, but Russell Westbrook was 3 for 16 from the field, matched a season low with 10 points and committed six turnovers.

Oklahoma City, which squandered an eight-point lead in the final 7:02, committed 19 turnovers that led to 24 points for Golden State and dropped to 6-4 when having that many miscues.

"We could have been much better defensively," coach Scott Brooks said. "They made a lot of plays inside the paint but they got a lot of points off of our turnovers, too. We didn't make enough plays down the stretch and they did. They deserved to win this game."

Durant, who leads the NBA in scoring at 29.6 points per game, has averaged 33.4 on 52.7 percent shooting over Oklahoma City's last 11 games and 35.7 points while shooting 93.1 percent from the foul line (94 for 101) in the nine road contests. He scored 31 in a 113-103 win over Sacramento on Dec. 14, and has averaged 29.5 points in helping Oklahoma City win 11 of 13 between the teams since the start of the 2009-10 season.

Westbrook was an effective distributor in last month's win, getting four of his 13 assists in a game-breaking 22-4 run during which ex-King Kevin Martin had nine of his 18 points. Serge Ibaka added 18 and 11 rebounds as the Thunder withstood a late rally that saw the Kings whittle a 24-point fourth-quarter deficit to five.

Sacramento (16-27) looks to avoid a third consecutive defeat after falling apart in the second half of a 106-96 home loss to Phoenix on Wednesday. The Kings were held to 19 fourth-quarter points, got outscored 57-39 in the second half and committed 24 turnovers that led to 27 points for the Suns.

"A very disappointing loss for our basketball team - 24 turnovers, 27 points we gave on those turnovers, and a lot of missed free throws (15 of 24)," coach Keith Smart said. "It's unfortunate for our team to lose this game."

A positive Smart could take away from the game was the effort from rookie Thomas Robinson, who matched a season high with 12 points and pulled down a season-best 14 rebounds in 26 minutes for his second double-double. The fifth overall pick had totaled four points and 11 rebounds spanning 31 minutes in his previous four games.

Guard Tyreke Evans had 16 points and four assists for the third consecutive game. He's averaged 14.2 points in nine games since returning from a knee injury, but has scored 15.8 points per game on 50.7 percent shooting in six since Smart put him back into the starting lineup Jan. 14.

Big 3 lead surging Thunder past Kings 105-95

By ANTONIO GONZALEZ
Posted Jan 26 2013 1:48AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) If the Oklahoma City Thunder never play in Sacramento again, they sure left quite a lasting memory.

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Martin overcame a slow start, and Oklahoma City overwhelmed the Kings 105-95 on Friday night behind its star trio.

Durant had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Martin scored 24 and Westbrook added 18 points and a season-high 14 assists to anchor a 28-10 run to start the third quarter. The spurt helped the Thunder go ahead by 25 points and improve to 3-2 on their season-long six-game road trip, which ends Sunday at the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Maybe one of our better quarters of the year," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.

With the Kings' pending purchase agreement to a group that wants to relocate the team to Seattle, there's no guarantee the Thunder - coincidentally the former SuperSonics, who moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008 - will be back in California's capital city next season.

An announced crowd of 15,022 showed up to root for the Kings and catch a glimpse of the Thunder, who have won eight of 10 to climb to the top of the NBA standings. Durant, who played his rookie season in Seattle, said he hopes the situation works out well for both West Coast cities.

Not that the Thunder showed any mercy to the Kings on the court.

Oklahoma City outshot Sacramento 48 to 41 percent, won the rebounding battle 47-39 and dished out 27 assists. The Kings had only one more assist than Westbrook, who had what Brooks called "one of his best overall games," especially considering the point guard shot 3 of 16 from the floor in a loss at Golden State on Wednesday night.

"We were passing up good shots to take great shots," Durant said.

Tyreke Evans scored 16 points and DeMarcus Cousins had 14 points and eight rebounds on a difficult shooting night for the Kings, who have lost three straight and four of five. Cousins finished 6 of 16 from the floor and had seven of Sacramento's 18 turnovers.

"It's frustrating," Cousins said. "I'm going to keep my mouth closed and stay positive."

The worse news for the franchise still remains off the court.

The Maloof family has a signed agreement to sell the Kings to a group led by hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, who intend to move the franchise to Seattle and restore the SuperSonics name next season. The NBA Board of Governors must still approve the sale.

Ironically, Thunder owner Clay Bennett is the head of the league's relocation committee now.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who sat courtside, is mounting a counteroffer to try to block the move. Fans still keep coming to games at the outdated arena, though outside of a few "Save Our Kings" signs and others supporting Johnson's efforts, the focus surprisingly stayed on watching the defending Western Conference champions.

With a rowdier home crowd than in recent weeks since the sale surfaced, Sacramento stunned the Thunder at the start. Evans made a 3-pointer and Cousins followed with a dunk to cap a 23-9 run to open the game.

Once Oklahoma City found its stride, the Kings couldn't keep pace.

Durant, Westbrook and Martin, who played for the Kings from 2004-10, eventually mowed down Sacramento on both ends of the floor. The trio helped the Thunder shoot 52 percent from the floor in the first half, with Westbrook taking an outlet pass from Durant for an uncontested dunk in the final seconds to go ahead 58-51 at the break.

About the loudest noise the Kings made in the second half came from the sideline.

Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas was called for a technical foul for barking out something from the bench in the third quarter. Both teams were given a warning to stop the back-and-forth chatter at each other and the officials.

The Thunder's leading men quieted the Kings with near-flawless basketball. Serge Ibaka shut down Cousins, Westbrook orchestrated the offense and Durant often finished in spectacular fashion during the 28-10 spurt to start the second half that gave Oklahoma City an 86-61 lead and put the game away.

"That's what got us to the top of the West right now," Westbrook said. "That's what got us to the record we have now."

NOTES: Brooks, who grew up in nearby Manteca, declined to discuss the possibility that Sacramento could lose its NBA franchise but said Kings fans "have supported the team for many years. There's probably a few years in there they shouldn't have supported them." ... Westbrook had 13 assists two other times this season. ... Kings rookie Thomas Robinson was called for a technical foul for slapping away Hasheem Thabeet's hand in frustration in the fourth quarter. ... Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker, who lives in Northern California in the offseason, also attended the game.

Notebook: Thunder 105, Kings 95

James Ham, For NBA.com
Posted Sat Jan 26, 2013 1:33 AM - Updated Sat Jan 26, 2013 2:13 AM

THE FACTS: The Oklahoma City Thunder had no trouble handling the Sacramento Kings Friday night on their home floor, winning 105-95.

Kevin Durant led the way for the Thunder (34-10) with 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Russell Westbrook added 18 points and 14 assists, while Kevin Martin finished with 24 points off the bench against his former team.

DeMarcus Cousins scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but shot 6-for-16 from the field in the loss for the Kings (16-28). Tyreke Evans scored a team-high 16 on 6-for-11 shooting, while Marcus Thornton kicked in 13 points off the bench.

QUOTABLE: "I know these rims well. I've had some great times in this arena."

-- Kevin Martin on his big night against his former team

THE STAT: Westbrook finished with 14 assists in 32 minutes of action. The entire Kings team finished with 15 total assists on the night.

TURNING POINT: After an entertaining and competitive first half, the Kings forgot to come out of the locker room in the third quarter and the Thunder ran them out of the gym.

QUOTABLE II: "That's how we play. We're an aggressive team. We play for each other and I thought that was really good, maybe one of our best quarters of the year in that third quarter"

-- Thunder coach Scott Brooks on his teams stellar third quarter

HOT: Sacramento got off to an early lead in this one, but the former Kings' player Martin came off the Thunder bench hot, scoring 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting before the break. Martin finished with 24 points in 34 minutes in the win.

NOT: Jimmer Fredette missed his first six shots before hitting two 3-pointers late in the game. He finished with six points on 2-for-8 shooting.

GOOD MOVE: Whatever the Thunder's Brooks said to his team at halftime, it worked. The Thunder came out in the third and destroyed the Kings' starting unit.

NOTABLE: More than 15,000 fans were in attendance tonight in Sleep Train Arena, including mayor and former Suns player Kevin Johnson who is fighting to keep the team in Sacramento.

UP NEXT: For the Thunder, Sunday @ Lakers, Thursday vs. Memphis, Saturday @ Cavaliers. For the Kings, Saturday @ Denver, Monday @ Wizards, Wednesday @ Boston.

• Thunder: Lamb, Orton
• Kings: Honeycutt

• Thunder: --
• Kings: Robinson, Thomas

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, CA
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #35 Kane Fitzgerald, #26 Pat Fraher
• Attendance: 15022
• Duration: 2:16