Game ID: 22301153
Sacramento Kings @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Tuesday, April 9, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
OKC 28 17 39 28 112SAC 31 33 23 18 105
OKC vs SAC ScoutingOKC vs SAC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
OKC availability going into 4/02 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 6 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 3/31 after 2, 35 min since (101% of 35)
NEW Wiggins 16 to 21 min over the last 4
OKC availability going into 4/03 · back-to-backOUT Dieng missed 7 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 3/31 after 2, 35 min since (101% of 35)
NEW Wiggins 16 to 24 min over the last 4
OKC availability going into 4/05 · 1 day's restOUT Gilgeous-Alexande missed 2 since 4/02, out tonight
OUT Jal. Williams missed 2 since 4/02, out tonight
OUT Dieng missed 8 since 3/22, out tonight
NEW Joe 18 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW Jay. Williams 13 to 18 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/07 · 1 day's restOUT Gilgeous-Alexande missed 3 since 4/02, out tonight
OUT Jal. Williams missed 3 since 4/02, out tonight
OUT Dieng missed 9 since 3/22, out tonight
NEW Joe 18 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 23 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restOUT Gilgeous-Alexande missed 4 since 4/02, returns tonight: 38 min (109% of 35)
OUT Jal. Williams missed 4 since 4/02, returns tonight: 36 min (111% of 32)
OUT Dieng missed 10 since 3/22, out tonight
NEW Giddey 24 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW K. Williams 14 to 20 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/10 · back-to-backOUT Hayward missed 2 since 4/07, returns tonight: 20 min (133% of 15)
OUT Dieng missed 11 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 38 min since (109% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 36 min since (111% of 32)
NEW Giddey 24 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Joe 18 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW K. Williams 14 to 20 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 12 since 3/22, returns tonight: 5 min (51% of 10)
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 32 min since (92% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 30 min since (92% of 32)
BACK Hayward back 4/10 after 2, 20 min since (133% of 15)
NEW Giddey 24 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW K. Williams 14 to 20 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restBACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 31 min since (89% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 29 min since (89% of 32)
BACK Hayward back 4/10 after 2, 23 min since (153% of 15)
BACK Dieng back 4/12 after 12, 5 min since (51% of 10)
NEW Giddey 24 to 31 min over the last 4
NEW Wiggins 16 to 22 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/21 · 6 days' restBACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 27 min since (78% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 25 min since (77% of 32)
BACK Hayward back 4/10 after 2, 22 min since (150% of 15)
BACK Dieng back 4/12 after 12, 12 min since (115% of 10)
NEW Wiggins 16 to 23 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/02 · 1 day's restBACK Lyles back 3/31 after 9, 19 min since (94% of 20)
BACK Vezenkov back 3/31 after 22, 10 min since (81% of 12)
NEW Ellis 17 to 31 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/04 · 1 day's restBACK Lyles back 3/31 after 9, 22 min since (112% of 20)
BACK Vezenkov back 3/31 after 22, 10 min since (80% of 12)
NEW Ellis 17 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 21 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/05 · back-to-backBACK Lyles back 3/31 after 9, 25 min since (123% of 20)
BACK Vezenkov back 3/31 after 22, 11 min since (91% of 12)
NEW Ellis 17 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 21 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/07 · 1 day's restBACK Lyles back 3/31 after 9, 23 min since (114% of 20)
BACK Vezenkov back 3/31 after 22, 12 min since (97% of 12)
NEW Ellis 17 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 23 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restBACK Lyles back 3/31 after 9, 24 min since (120% of 20)
BACK Vezenkov back 3/31 after 22, 10 min since (82% of 12)
NEW Ellis 17 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 25 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/11 · 1 day's restNEW Ellis 17 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 25 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/12 · back-to-backNEW Ellis 17 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 25 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restNEW Murray 34 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Ellis 17 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 24 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 120, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Giddey at 15 and Holmgren at 15 a game. Without Gilgeous-Alexander (4 straight), Jal. Williams (4 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 100, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Fox at 27 and Murray at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Sacramento allowing 100 a night to OKC's 120 and the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-7 a night and OKC minus-3. Call it Sacramento 114, OKC 112, OKC keeping it close.
4/02 @ PHI 105-109 — OKC notes
OKC lost 105-109. OKC took 9 more shots (87 to 78), fed by 12 offensive rebounds, but shot 43% to PHI's 46%, 13 of 39 from three. Holmgren led with 22 (7 of 14, 3 of 6 from three); Dort added 15, Wiggins 15. Q2 was theirs, 32-19, turning a 3-point deficit into a 10-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 90-73 against them. They led by as many as 13. Holmgren's -11 in 29 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/03 @ BOS 100-135 — OKC notes
OKC lost 100-135. OKC shot 43% (35 of 81) to BOS's 54%, 5 of 24 from three, and went to the line 28 times to BOS's 19 — 25 points from the stripe to their 18. The glass went 31-46 against them. Giddey led with 17 (7 of 11); Dort added 15, Joe 13. Q3 was theirs, 36-32, the deficit cut from 14 to 10, but the other 3 periods went 103-64 against them. Wiggins's -30 in 29 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/05 @ IND 112-126 — OKC notes
OKC lost 112-126. OKC shot 49% (42 of 86) to IND's 52%, 8 of 30 from three. Dort led with 22 (8 of 15, 2 of 7 from three); K. Williams added 18, Holmgren 15. Q1 was theirs, 32-31, but the other 3 periods went 95-80 against them. They led by as many as 10. Wallace's -29 in 21 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/07 @ CHA 121-118 — OKC notes
OKC won 121-118. OKC shot 52% (45 of 87) to CHA's 54%, 18 of 36 from three. Wiggins led with 26 (11 of 20, 2 of 6 from three); Giddey added 20, Holmgren 20. The hinge was Q2, 34-26: a lead of 2 became 10.
4/09 vs SAC 112-105 — OKC notes
OKC won 112-105. OKC shot 49% (39 of 80) to SAC's 34%, 11 of 30 from three. The glass went 42-56 against them. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 40 (11 of 21, 2 of 3 from three, 16 of 20 at the line); Dort added 18, Holmgren 15. The hinge was Q3, 39-23: the deficit went from 19 to 3. OKC trailed 45-64 at the half and won the second half 67-41. Wiggins was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
4/10 vs SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 119, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Holmgren at 17 and Dort at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Second night of a back-to-back. San Antonio comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 16 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 25 and Branham at 16 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-4 a night and OKC minus-6 and the line, where OKC takes 24 free throws a game to San Antonio's 16. Call it OKC 116, San Antonio 113, San Antonio keeping it close.
4/12 vs MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 24 free throws a game; Dort at 17 and Giddey at 15 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 108, shooting 47 percent and 38 from three, 17 free throws a game; Lillard at 25 and Portis at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the line, where OKC takes 24 free throws a game to Milwaukee's 17 and the defense, Milwaukee allowing 108 a night to OKC's 115. Call it OKC 116, Milwaukee 113, Milwaukee keeping it close.
4/14 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 109, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 30 and Holmgren at 16 a game. That is 4 straight wins. One day's rest. Dallas comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 109, shooting 50 percent and 34 from three, 22 free throws a game; Dončić at 35 and Irving at 29 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Lively II (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Dallas has been plus-6 a night and OKC minus-1 and the arc, OKC at 38 percent from three to Dallas's 34. Call it OKC 117, Dallas 113, Dallas keeping it close.
4/21 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 101, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 26 and Holmgren at 16 a game. That is 5 straight wins. 6 days' rest. New Orleans comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 112, shooting 48 percent and 44 from three, 19 free throws a game; McCollum at 29 and Williamson at 24 a game. Without Marshall (2 straight), Hawkins (3 straight). 6 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 101 a night to New Orleans's 112. Call it OKC 118, New Orleans 110.
4/02 vs LAC 109-95 — SAC notes
SAC won 109-95. SAC shot 42% (39 of 92) to LAC's 41%, 12 of 42 from three. SAC turned it over 10 times to LAC's 15. The glass went 56-38 for them. Sabonis led with 22 (8 of 17, 0 of 3 from three, 6 of 10 at the line); Fox added 20, Murray 19. The hinge was Q3, 35-19: a lead of 5 became 21, and the lead reached 26. Len was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
4/04 @ NYK 109-120 — SAC notes
SAC lost 109-120. SAC shot 49% (42 of 86) to NYK's 55%, 18 of 42 from three, and got to the line just 12 times against 23 fouls committed. SAC turned it over 16 times to NYK's 11, and NYK turned those into 9 steals. Fox led with 29 (11 of 26, 6 of 13 from three); Murray added 18, Sabonis 17. Q1 was theirs, 35-20, but the other 3 periods went 100-74 against them. They led by as many as 21. Sabonis's -25 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/05 @ BOS 100-101 — SAC notes
SAC lost 100-101. SAC took 10 more shots (99 to 89), fed by 15 offensive rebounds, but shot 38% to BOS's 43%, 17 of 51 from three. Fox led with 40 (16 of 29, 7 of 13 from three); Sabonis added 16, Murray 10. Q4 was theirs, 28-17, the deficit cut from 12 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 84-72 against them. Edwards's -17 in 10 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/07 @ BKN 107-77 — SAC notes
SAC won 107-77. SAC shot 43% (40 of 94) to BKN's 35%, 15 of 48 from three. SAC turned it over 9 times to BKN's 16. Fox led with 20 (8 of 20, 3 of 11 from three); Murray added 19, Sabonis 18. The hinge was Q4, 29-13: a lead of 14 became 30, and the lead reached 33. Lyles was the night's best plus/minus at +37.
4/09 @ OKC 105-112 — SAC notes
SAC lost 105-112. SAC took 16 more shots (96 to 80), fed by 21 offensive rebounds, but shot 34% to OKC's 49%, 20 of 58 from three. The glass went 56-42 for them. Fox led with 33 (12 of 29, 7 of 17 from three); Ellis added 26, Murray 15. Q2 was theirs, 33-17, but the other 3 periods went 95-72 against them. They led by as many as 20. Sabonis's -18 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/11 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 101, shooting 41 percent and 34 from three, 18 free throws a game; Fox at 28 and Murray at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 111, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; McCollum at 28 and Williamson at 24 a game. Without Ingram (10 straight), Marshall (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-8 a night and New Orleans minus-1 and the defense, Sacramento allowing 101 a night to New Orleans's 111. Call it Sacramento 112, New Orleans 109, New Orleans keeping it close.
4/12 vs PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 43 percent and 36 from three, 17 free throws a game; Fox at 31 and Murray at 16 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 103, shooting 44 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Booker at 25 and Durant at 24 a game. One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-3 a night and Phoenix minus-3 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 103 a night to Sacramento's 109. Call it Phoenix 112, Sacramento 111, Sacramento keeping it close.
4/14 vs POR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 107, shooting 42 percent and 35 from three, 18 free throws a game; Fox at 30 and Murray at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest. Portland comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 110, shooting 41 percent and 32 from three, 18 free throws a game; Ayton at 23 and Banton at 22 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Simons (11 straight), Sharpe (44 straight), Thybulle (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Sacramento 114, Portland 106.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
SACAL A. Len
CJ C. Jones
DF D. Fox
DM D. Mitchell
DS D. Sabonis
HB H. Barnes
KE K. Ellis
KM K. Murray
TL T. Lyles
OKCAW A. Wiggins
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
IJ I. Joe
JG J. Giddey
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
JW Jay. Williams
KW K. Williams
LD L. Dort
MM M. Muscala
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
SAC/OKC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Gilgeous-Alexander scores 40 as Thunder top Kings; Sabonis' double-double streak ends at 61 games
OKLAHOMA CITY -- — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points in his return from injury, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from a 20-point deficit to defeat Sacramento 112-105 on Tuesday night as the Kings' Domantas Sabonis had his double-double streak halted at 61 games.
Gilgeous-Alexander had missed six of the team’s previous seven games with a bruised right thigh, and the team went 2-4 without him. He gave Oklahoma City a much-needed boost against the Kings, scoring the team's final six points to seal an important win.
“Just a few emotions,” he said. “Felt good to be back. I haven’t played in front of the home crowd in a minute."
Gilgeous-Alexander had been struggling by his standards before resting.
“The past couple games, I tried to play through the injury, but it wasn’t healing fast enough, so I figured I’d get (a) break and get some work and not come back until I was 100%. But I felt 100% tonight for sure.”
The Thunder entered the contest a game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for the best record in the Western Conference with four games remaining.
De'Aaron Fox scored 33 points and Keon Ellis scored a career-high 26 points for the Kings.
Sabonis had eight points and 13 rebounds. He now owns the seventh-longest streak of double-doubles in NBA history.
“I mean, it’s awesome,” he said. “You’re mentioned with some of the greats. At the end of the day, you’re just out there trying to play your game and go out there and win. That’s my job as a big man — to get rebounds and to finish.”
The game was important to the Kings, too. They entered the night eighth in the Western Conference standings with a shot at avoiding the Play-In Tournament.
Sacramento led 64-45 at halftime behind 21 points from Fox and 20 points from Ellis, a career high in just two quarters. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 14 before the break for the Thunder.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring in the second half. He scored 17 points in the third quarter as the Thunder outscored the Kings 39-23.
“I just wanted to be aggressive,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think it started defensively. I wanted to just come out at half aggressive overall. We were down 19 and we kind of didn’t have any time to waste, so I wanted to get right to it.”
A driving baseline layup by Jalen Williams cut the deficit to 71-69 midway through the third.
The Kings scored nine straight after a timeout to temporarily regain control, but the Thunder scored the final five points of the quarter and trailed 87-84 heading into the fourth.
Cason Wallace 's 3-pointer early in the fourth gave the Thunder their first lead of the game at 89-87.
Sacramento coach Mike Brown said his team got away from what worked in the first half. He said the Kings stopped taking open shots and played too much individual ball.
“I thought in the first half our ball movement was beautiful," he said. “And I thought we got bored with it in the second half.”