Oklahoma City Thunder edge out the Sacramento Kings on a high scoring night â€" NBA Recap
The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Sacramento Kings 118-110 here at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Tuesday night. The Thunder were trailing the Kings after three quarters but, led by their bench, they came alive in the final period to steal the victory. Kevin Durant played 3 quarters and scored 32 points for the night, grabbing 9 rebounds in the process. He is well on his way of becoming the leading scorer of the season for a third straight year.
DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Kings scoring. OKC coach Scott Brooks put his bench players in for the entire final period and they responded, outscoring the Kings 36-24 to come from behind and win the match. OKC have now won 7 of their last 10 games while Sacramento have lost 8 of their last 10 games.
Sacramento scored 40 points in the first period alone to open the game, the highest 1st quarter score for any opponent of OKC this season. They led 40-35 at the end of the first and 59-57 at half time. The Kings went on a 10-0 run in the 3rd quarter to extend their lead over OKC to 77-64, their largest lead of the night.
The Thunder, however, were not going away that easily. They responded with a 13-3 run of their own to trail 77-80 with 2:36 left in the third period. The Kings led 86-82 at the end of the period. The OKC bench then took command of the game in the final period, outscoring the Kings 36-24 to come from behind and take the game 118-110.
Russell Westbrook had 13 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists for the night, but was 4 of 13 from the field. Thabo Sefolosha added 11 points. Derek Fisher scored 11 points for OKC, all in the final quarter, and Daequan Cook had 19 points while going 4 of 7 from the distance.
All five starters of the Kings had double figure points but they got no support from the bench. Jason Thompson had 22 points and 6 rebounds, Travis Outlaw had 20 points and 7 rebounds, while Tyreke Evans managed 18 points and 4 assists for the night.
Both teams were red hot from the floor to open the game. Sacramento were 18 of 22 from the field in the first quarter while the Thunder were 11 of 18. Durant was 5 of 8 in the opening period while Cousins went 7 of 11 in the first half.
A combined 75 points were scored in the 1st quarter alone. However, the pace slowed down in the 2nd and 3rd periods until OKC came back in the final quarter to shoot 11 of 19 from the field and 10-11 from the foul line.
OKC shot better from the foul line and the 3 point line than the Kings. The Kings were, however better from the field. The Thunder also had a 43-34 advantage in rebounds. Sacramento managed 60 points from within the paint while holding OKC to 44, but could not capitalize on the advantage.
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