In need of a win to snap a two-game skid, the Sacramento Kings travel to Oklahoma City to face one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
Sacramento lost another tough game to Warriors on Thursday evening, falling to the Champs 125-123. Buddy Hield hit a pair of 3-pointers in the closing minutes, but came up short on a 12-footer that would have tied the game as time expired.
OKC pulled out a stunning double-overtime win over the Utah Jazz. With Russell Westbrook out of the game with six fouls, Paul George hit a runner in the lane to pull out the 148-147 win. The Thunder are 12-2 over their last 14 games and currently sit in third place in the Western Conference standings.
Kings Pregame Live on NBC Sports California begins at 4:30 p.m., with tipoff scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Warriors coverage begins at 6:30 on NBC Sports Bay Area. All coverage can be seen on the MyTeams by NBC Sports app.
Following the game, the Kings head to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves before returning home to host the Milwaukee Bucks next Wednesday.
Line
Thunder by 6
NBA
Projected Lineups
Kings
PG De’Aaron Fox
SG Buddy Hield
SF Bogdan Bogdanovic
PF Harrison Barnes
C Willie Cauley-Stein
Thunder
PG Russell Westbrook
SG Terrance Ferguson
SF Paul George
PF Jerami Grant
C Steven Adams
Injury Report
Kings
No injuries to report.
Thunder
SG Andre Roberson (knee) out.
Rotation Outlook
Kings
Coach Dave Joerger mixed up his starting lineup last game and it appears the changes are a more permanent solution. Bogdan Bogdanovic is now starting at the small forward position with newcomer Harrison Barnes sliding over to the four.
Nemanja Bjelica was the odd man out against the Warriors. After starting 55 out of the 56 games this season, the veteran power forward failed to see the court in the Kings' loss.
Marvin Bagley III was a force off the bench against Golden State. The rookie went into attack mode, finishing the night with 28 points and 14 rebounds in 34 minutes.
Thunder
Back-to-backs are never easy in the NBA, but a double-overtime thriller on Friday evening should be a concern for coach Billy Donovan. George played 50 minutes in the win. Adams played 47 and Westbrook and Grant crested the 40-minute mark as well.
Like Sacramento, the Thunder love to play with pace. The two teams are tied at 103.4 possessions per 48 minutes, which is tied for second in the NBA behind the Atlanta Hawks.
The Thunder shoot plenty of 3-pointers, although they rank just 13th in the league in percentage. They rank third in the league in rebounding, which is an issue for Sacramento.