Oklahoma City Thunder Weekly: Likely The 2nd Seed, Looking At Potential 1st-Round Foes
By Phil Watson
Tuesday, April 8: Thunder 107, Sacramento Kings 92 (Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento)
Oklahoma City arrived with two straight losses, while the Kings also came in losers of two in a row.
The Thunder had Grant Jerrett and Russell Westbrook inactive, with Thabo Sefolosha in the lineup for the first time since Feb. 28 because of a calf injury. Sacramento did not dress Reggie Evans (sore lower back) or Rudy Gay (lower back strain) and had Carl Landry, Jason Terry and Isaiah Thomas inactive.
The Thunder took a 30-27 lead at the first quarter break, with Kevin Durant scoring 12 points and Reggie Jackson adding eight. DeMarcus Cousins went for 13 points and five rebounds and Travis Outlaw added nine points for the Kings.
Oklahoma City stretched the lead out to 61-49 by halftime. Caron Butler logged 14 points in the period and Serge Ibaka added nine. Ben McLemore led Sacramento with seven points and Cousins had six rebounds. The Thunder also went through the entire first half without a turnover.
The Kings got the game back to single digits by the third quarter break, trailing 85-77. Outlaw scored eight points in the period for Sacramento. Durant had seven points.
Sacramento was held to just 4-for-18 shooting in the fourth quarter as Oklahoma City put the game away. Jeremy Lamb had 10 points in the period and Derek Fisher handed out four assists. Jared Cunningham scored eight points for the Kings.
For the game, Durant and Butler had 23 points each. Ibaka chipped in with 19 points, Jackson finished with 13 points and five assists and Lamb notched 10 points. Nick Collison had seven rebounds, Fisher also logged five assists and Steven Adams blocked three shots.
Outlaw and Cousins each scored 24 points, with Cousins adding 14 rebounds for the Kings. Jason Thompson and McLemore each had 11 points. Ray McCallum finished with five assists.
Oklahoma City was 38-for-80 (47.5 percent) overall, 12-for-22 (54.5 percent) from long range and 19-for-27 (70.4 percent) at the line. Sacramento was 34-for-82 (41.5 percent), 3-for-14 (21.4 percent) and 21-for-28 (75 percent). In the other categories, it was:
Rebounding: 44-39 SAC
In the Paint: 36-32 SAC
Second Chance Scoring: 22-12 SAC
Fast break: 13-11 SAC
Turnovers (Points off): OKC 6 (10), SAC 10 (11)