Kings vs. Thunder game highlights: Malik Monk returns but Sacramento’s slide continues
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 130-109 victory over the Kings on Monday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Oklahoma City spoiled the return of Malik Monk, who missed the past seven games due to a right ankle sprain.
Jalen Williams scored 28 points for the Thunder (13-4). DeMar DeRozan scored 30 for the Kings (8-10), who have lost four in a row and seven of their last 10.
The Kings will be back in action Wednesday when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Stat leaders
Domantas Sabonis had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento. Keegan Murray had 14 points and 10 rebounds. De’Aaron Fox had 14 points and five assists. Monk came off the bench to score 14 points in his first game since Nov. 10.
Lineup change
Kings coach Mike Brown wouldn’t tip his hand when asked before the game about the possibility of lineup or rotation changes, but he had a change in mind.
Brown chose to start Keon Ellis instead of Kevin Huerter, giving Sacramento a peskier defender to guard Gilgeous-Alexander. Ellis had some nice moments early, twice tying Gilgeous-Alexander up in the paint, including one play that resulted in a 3-second violation.
Halftime report
The Thunder led 63-62 following a first half that featured 13 ties and 15 lead changes.
DeRozan led all scorers with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Gilgeous-Alexander had 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
Oklahoma City shot 60% from the field and 46.7% from 3-point range in the first half. The Kings shot 53.2% from the field and 36.8% from long distance.
Second-half surge
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the third quarter to help Oklahoma City open up a 13-point lead. The Kings only trailed by five with three minutes to play in the third, but the Thunder closed the quarter with a 12-4 run to take a 97-84 lead.
Oklahoma City went up by 18 early in the fourth quarter and led by as many as 21 in the final minutes.
Up next
The Kings will visit the Timberwolves on Wednesday at Target Center in Minneapolis.
The Timberwolves (8-8) are coming off losses to the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics as they prepare to play the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.
The Timberwolves will be facing the Kings on the second night of a back-to-back. They are 1-2 this season in the second game of a back-to-back.
Sacramento Kings schedule
Nov. 27 at Minnesota Timberwolves
Nov. 29 at Portland Trail Blazers
Dec. 1 vs. San Antonio Spurs
Dec. 3 vs. Houston Rockets
Dec. 5 at Memphis Grizzlies
This story was originally published November 25, 2024 at 9:22 PM.
