Creating four quality looks from outside range in the final two minutes, OKC couldn’t hit a single critical 3-pointer that could’ve cut its deficit or taken the lead.
The Oklahoma City Thunder had chances late, but came up short to the Sacramento Kings, 128-123. The game marked OKC’s eighth consecutive loss to Sacramento.
“They deserved credit, they played really well, they made a lot of tough shots,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the loss. “That’s why the easy stuff and the controllable stuff is so critical. We were still able to make it a one-possession game down the stretch — even with all that on a bad shooting night for us.
“In the game flow, we’re gonna look back and see some plays that were controllable. If you can just shave some of those down, it could be the difference in the game. I thought that was the case tonight.”
In the exciting back-and-forth contest, neither team led by more than 16 points. The Thunder entered halftime with a 59-53 deficit as the non-SGA starters combined for 13 points on 17 shots.
The third quarter featured a much more energized version of both teams. A 41-39 scoring advantage by the Kings sent the Thunder into the final frame trailing, 100-92.
A 7-2 run by the Kings in the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter helped give Sacramento a 13-point lead. That deficit remained with six minutes left. After that, an OKC 13-2 run resulted in a two-point contest with three minutes on the clock.
That proved the closest the Thunder drew. A second successful coach’s challenge provided OKC two quality looks — a Chet Holmgren 3-pointer and Josh Giddey 2-pointer — that came up short.
On the next two Thunder possessions, Holmgren and Jalen Williams each missed quality looks from outside in a four-point deficit that could’ve turned the tide for OKC.
One last missed 3-pointer by Isaiah Joe with 21 seconds left was the final death kiss for the Thunder as they simply couldn’t buy a timely bucket down the stretch.
To continue the disturbing recent trend, the Thunder struggled to generate offense at Sacramento. OKC shot 43% from the field and went 11-of-36 (30.6%) from 3. The free-throw line was the saving grace. It shot 24-of-27 (88.9%) from there.
Meanwhile, it was the complete opposite for the high-scoring Kings. They shot 50% from the field and went a sizzling 18-of-45 (40%) from 3. Sacramento dished out 32 assists on its 47 made shots.
Per usual, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was phenomenal for the Thunder. The problem was, he was the only constant for OKC. The 25-year-old scored 43 points — one off from tying his career high. Giddey also had a strong second half to finish with 18 points.
Outside of those two though, the rest of the Thunder starters combined for 36 points. OKC’s bench production was bare as nobody scored more than six points.
Meanwhile, the Kings had five players score 15-plus points. De’Aaron Fox led the way with 41 points on 14-of-25 shooting and went 5-of-11 from 3. Domantas Sabonis had 18 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists.
Off the bench, the duo of Malik Monk and Keon Ellis combined for 35 points. Monk finished with 18 points and nine assists while Ellis scored 17 points and went 5-of-7 from 3.
The Thunder have been off to a great start this season and a 15-8 record is nothing to sneeze at, but it feels like the Kings own the Thunder’s number. It looks like beating Sacramento will be another hurdle OKC will have to clear soon.
“It’s really important for our development,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on their crunch time performance. “The teams that win late-game situations are the best teams in the league for sure. … You see that at the highest level with the playoffs and championships and all the things people want to get to.
“The more we experience it, the more we’ll learn from it and we’ll get better from it.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
Gilgeous-Alexander was magnificent for the Thunder. In 38 minutes, he scored 43 points on 13-of-27 shooting, nine assists and six rebounds. He shot 16-of-18 from the free-throw line.
The Kings had no answer for Gilgeous-Alexander as they tried to double him as often as they could to no avail. The 25-year-old did most of his work inside of the paint, where he shot 12-of-20.
The All-NBA guard was the only reason OKC kept within striking distance in the first half. He scored 20 points while the other starters had 13 total points. He proceeded to score an additional 23 points in the second half as he tried to will the Thunder to a win.
It was an entertaining duel between two of the best guards in the league, Gilgeous-Alexander and Fox. The latter finished with 41 points and the win. Neither team had an answer for the opposition’s best player.
A signature steal and score from @shaiglalex pic.twitter.com/Bd5AsShnwC
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 15, 2023
SGA Stepback 🥵#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/r309WNPoLD
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 15, 2023
Pushin’ the pace before the buzzer pic.twitter.com/zFKR48oztc
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 15, 2023
Dort -> SGA 😮💨#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/2XRClk2mof
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 15, 2023
Professional scorer 💪 pic.twitter.com/4QqoE1BfvT
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 15, 2023
Smooth SGA stepback @OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/OzdHVCnYDc
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 15, 2023
Josh Giddey: B-plus
Results were looking rough for Giddey in the first half. After passing up on a layup underneath the basket despite being defended by the shorter Fox, it looked like it was going to be another night where the 21-year-old was going to be a negative on the court.
To Giddey’s credit, he turned it around in the second half. He scored 10 consecutive points for OKC to make it a one-point game.
Overall, Giddey had his best game in a while. In 29 minutes, he had 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. He shot 2-of-3 from 3.
Giddey scored 16 of his points in the second half as he was easily OKC’s second-best player on the court tonight. An encouraging performance after being in a rut for several weeks now.
Tough take in the paint pic.twitter.com/f5RPOkx4Km
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 15, 2023
FOUR POINT GAME 😮💨#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/FIvfjiQcxA
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 15, 2023
Chet Holmgren: C-minus
Amid a quiet night, Holmgren had a pair of chances late in the game to make up for it by hitting monumental 3-pointers. Instead, his misses highlighted a forgettable game for the seven-foot rookie.
In 30 minutes, Holmgren had 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 11 rebounds and three blocks. In the first three quarters, he was limited to eight points on 3-of-6 shooting. Those numbers need to be much higher in his non-fourth-quarter minutes.
The Kings did an excellent job neutralizing the 21-year-old. He was a negative-10 in his 30 minutes. It appears centers like Sabonis, elite playmaking bigs, are Holmgren’s Achilles’ heel thus far.
“They put together a lot of good runs throughout the game, especially there at the end of the third,” Holmgren said.
Lu Dort: B
Returning from a one-game absence due to an ankle sprain, Dort scored an efficient 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting for OKC. He shot 3-of-5 from 3 and also had four rebounds and two steals.
Dort was OKC’s third-best offensive player of the night as Holmgren and Williams didn’t have much going — the duo combined for 19 points on 8-of-26 shooting.
This included eight points in the fourth quarter to help attempt to mount a comeback against the Kings. With that said though, Dort — along with the rest of the team — struggled to contain Fox, who exploded for 41 points.
The Thunder had no answer for the All-Star guard as he entered the game averaging a career-high 29.5 points.
Dort from distance 🎯 pic.twitter.com/T5A2jwsw1Z
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 15, 2023
LU DORT AND 1! 😤#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/CIyuSCMXqz
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 15, 2023
