Game Recap: Thunder at Kings

By Paris Lawson | Broadcast and Digital Reporter | okcthunder.com

THE BIG PICTURE

OKC wrapped up its stretch of three road games in four nights on the second night of a back-to-back against the Sacramento Kings. Despite Sacramento’s hot shooting throughout the night and a lead of as many as 17 points, OKC never let go of the rope and brought the game down to single digits in the final frame. Timely buckets from the Kings helped to preserve the separation and secure the 113-103 victory. In the effort, Thunder rookie Josh Giddey set a new career high with a team-high 24 points and Aleksej Pokuševski stepped up in his 26 minutes of action with 12 points and nine rebounds. 

MOMENTS FROM THE 48

Fighting to the Finish

Both teams got out to a high scoring start offensively scoring a collective 66 points in the first quarter alone. Sacramento shot above 50 percent from the field and the 3-point line through the entire first half which allowed them to maintain a constant lead. OKC remained close while shooting over 50 percent from the field itself thanks to ball movement, balanced scoring and opportunities in transition. 

It remained a tight ball game until the Kings opened the score on a 12-0 run midway through the third quarter to build up a sizeable double-digit lead. Thunder turnovers coupled with timely 3-pointers helped to fuel the Kings’ offense. 

OKC wouldn’t go away easily though. Sacramento built up a lead of as many as 17 points in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Thunder responded with 11 straight unanswered points to bring the game back to single digits.

It would be the closest OKC would come for the remainder of the game as the Kings kept the Thunder at bay with timely buckets and free throws in the final minutes of action. 

“This was our fourth game in six nights and in four different cities. So as this a tough pocket of schedule. A lot of travel, a lot of tough travel and I give our guys a lot of credit, because we just kind of fought through that,” said Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault. 

“Overall I was pretty pleased with the effort. We gave ourselves a couple different chances but credit them – they kept coming, they responded to our runs and ultimately got the game.”

Josh’s Career High

With a pair of free throws at the 1:50 mark of the fourth quarter, Josh Giddey set a new career high as he surpassed 21 points. 

Giddey was in attack mode from the opening minutes, especially when attacking downhill. The Australia native scored 14 of his 24 points inside the paint and three from the free throw line. By the end of the night, Giddey scored 24 points on 10-of-19 from the field. Giddey was also responsible for an additional 18 Thunder points thanks to his eight assists for the night. 

Defensively, Giddey was tasked with the assignment of defending Sacramento’s second-leading scorer in Harrison Barnes. It was a developmental opportunity for Giddey to continue his development and growth as a young defender while the Thunder is missing some of its key defensive stoppers. 

“He was playing fast and he was downhill. I thought he had a lot of pop, had a good floor game,” said Daigneault. “He was guarding Barnes tonight too, which a is good learning good experience. Left some stuff to be desired there, but if he's going to be a long term starting level player, he's going to have to draw those matchups and that's a pretty good matchup for him to have to chew on tonight.”

Poku’s Solid Minutes

He drained a pair of 3-pointers in the opening quarter, finished a euro step layup in transition and wrestled a rebound away from Harrison Barnes making his presence known on both ends of the floor. Thunder forward Aleksej Pokuševski finished the night with 12 points on 5-of-9 from the field and a team-high nine rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.

It was Pokuševski’s first game back in the Thunder rotation in 11 games after he rotated between games with the OKC Blue and the Thunder.

“It felt good to be back with the guys on court,” said Pokuševski. “I'm trying to take advantage of every minute I have on the court.”

“I thought he competed. Which is the most important thing for him,” said Daigneault. “I thought he played really pretty sharp on offense. He was really decisive with the ball, whether he was shooting it or moving it. And I thought he had a really, really good night. I'm really impressed with how he played that's why we played him so many minutes.”

THE LAST WORD

Darius Bazley on the effort of the night…

“We definitely gave ourselves a chance, but it just wasn't enough. It's a challenge but there’s also a beauty in it. For us to win games, we have to put together so many things. We have to do it at such a high level and consistently and we didn't do that tonight.”

WHAT'S NEXT

The Thunder returns to Oklahoma City where it will face off against the Golden State Warriors on Monday before closing out the homestand against the Raptors on Wednesday.