Oklahoma City Thunder storms back to beat Kings after trailing by 19 in second half
The Kings have won games in a variety of ways while thrusting themselves back into the playoff race over the past few weeks. They almost did it again Thursday without De’Aaron Fox, but they let it slip away.
Danilo Gallinari scored 24 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder rally from a 19-point second-half deficit to beat the Kings 112-108 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points for the Thunder (37-22), which is fifth in the Western Conference.
Harrison Barnes scored 21 points to lead the Kings (24-34), who had won three in a row and nine of 13. Harry Giles III had a season-high 19 points and eight rebounds.
Nemanja Bjelica added 18 points and nine rebounds for Sacramento, which will conclude a four-game road trip in Memphis on Friday. Buddy Hield came off the bench to score 15 points. Alex Len had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Kings announced before the game that Fox would sit out with lower abdominal tightness. The injury is correlated to the right groin tightness Fox experienced in Tuesday’s win over the Golden State Warriors. He is considered day-to-day and will continue to be monitored by the team’s medical staff.
Fox said he hopes to be able to play against the Grizzlies.
“Right now I feel like I’ll be able to play tomorrow,” Fox said.
The Kings went 9-9 in 18 games without Fox earlier this season. He missed 17 games with a grade-3 ankle sprain in November and December and later missed a game due to back spasms.
Kings coach Luke Walton started Cory Joseph in place of Fox on Thursday. Walton said the Kings could take comfort knowing they’ve won games without Fox before.
“We’ve been dealing with this a lot this season, so it’s the same idea – next-man-up mentality,” Walton said before the game. “We’ll throw Cory into the starting lineup tonight and we’ll have to adjust a little bit how we play, but all the principles stay the same on what we’re trying to do and what we’re trying to accomplish.”
The Kings led by two at the end of the first quarter and carried a 61-50 lead into the locker room at the halftime break. They extended their lead to 17 early in the second half and went up 78-59 on a 3-pointer by Bjelica with 7:03 to play in the third period, but the Thunder closed the quarter with an 18-2 run to cut the deficit to one going into the fourth.
“Halfway through that third quarter, they did a really nice job of picking up the pressure and we didn’t do a good enough job of keeping our composure,” Walton said.
Oklahoma City took an 83-82 lead on a basket by Gilgeious-Alexander early in the fourth quarter, but the Kings reclaimed the lead on a 3-pointer by Hield. The teams continued to exchange leads until Gallinari made a 3-pointer with 4:49 remaining to spark a 7-0 run for the Thunder.
The Kings committed nine turnovers and committed 23 personal fouls in the second half. The Kings made 14 of 14 free-throw attempts, but the Thunder shot more than twice as many, converting 21 of 29 from the line.
“Obviously tonight was a tough loss for us,” Barnes said. “We felt like we let one go tonight, but tomorrow we have a great opportunity to finish up this road trip strong.”
Bogdanovic in good health
Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic said he is as healthy as he has been since the start of the season.
The Kings went 2-8 when Bogdanovic missed a total of 10 games earlier this season due to hamstring, ankle and knee injuries. Those injuries lingered for a while, but Bogdanovic said they are causing no discomfort now.
Bogdanovic is averaging 14.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists this season. The Kings are 9-5 since he moved into the starting lineup.
Looking ahead
The Kings will visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday in a game with major playoff implications for both teams. The Kings are four games behind the Grizzlies for the eighth spot in the Western Conference.
Memphis had a four-game lead over the ninth-place Portland Trail Blazers coming out of the All-Star break, but the Grizzlies have lost four in a row. Jaren Jackson Jr. is out with a left knee sprain. Brandon Clarke is out with a right quadriceps injury.
Looking further ahead
The Philadelphia 76ers could be shorthanded when they visit the Kings on March 5. Point guard Ben Simmons is expected to miss at least two weeks with a nerve impingement in his lower back. The 76ers announced Thursday that Joel Embiid will miss at least a week due to a sprained left shoulder.
Injury report
Kings: OUT — De’Aaron Fox (lower abdominal tightness); Richaun Holmes (shoulder); Marvin Bagley III (foot).
Thunder: OUT — Darius Bazley (knee); Andre Roberson (knee).
Kings upcoming schedule
Feb. 28 at Memphis, 5 p.m.
March 1 vs. Detroit, 3 p.m.
March 3 vs. Washington, 7 p.m.
March 5 vs. Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
March 7 at Portland, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 7:38 PM.
