Coach Luke Walton admitted his team’s toughness, togetherness and resolve are being tested after the Kings lost their fourth in a row Friday night, falling 105-103 to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center.
“It’s being tested, but it’s not going anywhere,” Walton said. “We’re together. We’re a group that’s worked too hard. We’re 13 games into a season and, yeah, it’s a tough patch right now, but we’re not going anywhere. We’re sticking together. We’ll get through it together.”
The Kings still had a chance to win after squandering an 18-point third-quarter lead, but Luguentz Dort poked the ball away from De’Aaron Fox and drove to the basket for the game-winning layup with 1.7 seconds remaining.
The Kings went 5-4 to start the season despite playing the league’s toughest schedule, but now they’ve lost four in a row, conjuring memories of two nine-game losing streaks last season.
“I’m at a loss for words for tonight, but I think in general if we’re going to preach consistency, we have to live up to that, and right now there’s too many areas in our game where we’re not doing that,” Kings forward Harrison Barnes said.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort scored 22 points apiece for the Thunder (5-6), which has won four in a row. Oklahoma City finished with a 52-49 rebounding advantage despite getting outrebounded 33-25 in the first half.
Barnes scored 21 points to lead the Kings (5-8). Richaun Holmes had 16 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots. Fox had 16 points and five assists.
Tyrese Haliburton returned to the starting lineup after missing two games with back tightness. Haliburton finished with eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
The Kings will continue their four-game road trip when they visit the Detroit Pistons on Monday.
“I’m frustrated. I think we’re all frustrated,” Haliburton said. “If you’re not, you shouldn’t be here, so guys are mad. Nobody’s happy losing — nobody — so I’m not going to come up here and say everything’s fine. It’s not. We’re angry, but we can’t control tonight’s outcome anymore. We’ve got to just get in tomorrow, workout, get ready for Detroit. One game at a time. That’s all we can really do, but, yeah, obviously we’re frustrated.”
