Injuries, illness and experimentation have affected the Kings' ability to establish much consistency with their starting lineup this season.

The Kings have used eight different lineups in their first 26 games.

Recently, though, it appears they have settled into a regular starting five.

The lineup of Tyreke Evans, Marcus Thornton, John Salmons, Jason Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins has started five consecutive games, and the Kings are 6-1 after Thursday night's victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder when running that lineup out for tip-off.

With that in mind, said head coach Keith Smart, "Why would I change it?"

Having an established starting unit, Smart said, allows those players to develop chemistry with each other and lets the Kings define roles for their reserves.

If a bench player were to make a consistent, strong case to start, Smart said, he might have to reconsider the lineup. But for now, he sees it staying the same.

Knuckle ball – Isaiah Thomas still showed some swelling Thursday night around the third metacarpal head (knuckle) of his left hand. He sustained a small chip fracture in the knuckle Monday night in New Orleans.

The Kings' rookie guard said he can deal with the pain. What bothers him is the lack of flexibility in the finger.

"It's tough to catch and shoot," he said. "I've been trying to adjust it by shooting a lot and seeing how I can do a little different. Once the swelling goes down, it'll be all right."

Blacked out – The Kings wore their black jerseys Thursday night as part of the team's "Black Thursday" promotion. Many in the announced crowd of 17,317 wore black, as well.

The game was the Kings' only one this season slated for national TV. The TNT broadcast crew included former Kings forward Chris Webber.

After the first quarter, Kings mascot Slamson presented Webber with a black jersey with Webber's name and old No. 4, and the Kings played a quick video tribute to Webber, who received a loud ovation.

Summer lessons – Kings center DeMarcus Cousins played in the same Washington, D.C., summer league as Thunder forward Kevin Durant last summer and said he noted Durant's work ethic.

"I did spend a lot of time around K.D.," Cousins said. "Just his whole aggressiveness toward the game, that was something I picked up – his work habits. He was in the gym every day."

Cousins also said he is "excited" about being one of the 18 players selected to appear in the Feb. 24 Rising Stars Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend. "Playing with the other Rising Stars," he said, "it'll be a lot of fun."

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