SACRAMENTO -- Not this time.
After coming back from a 22-point fourth quarter deficit against the Timberwolves on Monday, the Sacramento Kings allowed the Oklahoma City Thunder to build a similar lead Wednesday night on their home court.
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SIGN UP HERE The Thunder (29-20) aren’t the Timberwolves and the Kings learned that the hard way. OKC passed the ball, crashed the glass and hit their shots on their way to a 120-100 blowout over Sacramento.
Here are three takeaways as the Kings look lost on their home court and fall to 17-30 on the season. Sacramento is now just 8-14 at Golden 1 Center this season. They have one more win on the road than they do on their home court.
Who is Luguentz Dort?
The answer is, the guy who just dropped 23 points on the Kings.
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Undrafted out of Arizona State in the 2019 NBA Draft, the 20-year-old wing camped out in the corner and buried one big 3-pointer after another. He shot 8-for-12 from the field, including five makes from long range in 26 minutes of action.
Signed as a two-way player during the summer, Dort’s career-high was 10 points coming into the night.
Fox and Bogi shine
The Kings’ starting backcourt last season was supposed to be Bogdanovic and De’Aaron Fox, but a late summer knee injury to Bogi opened the door for Buddy Hield and he took full advantage of the opportunity.
With Hield struggling, head coach Luke Walton turned to Bogdanovic and for the first time as a starting backcourt, he and Fox played really well together.
Bogdanovic finished the game with a team-high 23 points on 10-for-19 shooting and chipped in five rebounds. Fox added 19 points and five assists. The Kings need these two to quickly develop some chemistry and Wednesday’s performance was a good sign.
The front line struggles
The trio of Nemanja Bjelica, Dewayne Dedmon and Harrison Barnes make up 60 percent of the Kings’ starting lineup. Against OKC, they combined for 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting.
Bjelica has been one of the most consistent players on the roster all season, so this was a bit of an anomaly. Barnes has been solid as well, but he’s had his ups and downs. Dedmon has struggled from the beginning of the season and his stat line is similar to what we’ve grown accustomed to.
OKC is big, but the Kings need more from the group if they are going to compete.