SACRAMENTO -- De’Aaron Fox had another huge night for the Kings, scoring 11 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter, Keegan Murray made four clutch free throws in the final six seconds, and the Kings held off a late run by Oklahoma City to beat the Thunder 128-123 on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center.
Domantas Sabonis added 18 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists as the Kings won for the fourth time in five games. It’s the 29th game in a Kings uniform that Sabonis has had at least 15 rebounds, the eighth most in franchise history. Malik Monk also scored 18, one of five Sacramento players in double figures.
The Kings needed that type of offense on a night when Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander torched Sacramento for 43 points, one shy of his career high.
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The Kings controlled the game and pace most of the night before the Thunder got within 123-119 on a Chet Holmrgren dunk off an offensive rebound. Gilgeous-Alexander’s final bucket of the night made it 124-121 but Murray’s work at the free throw line, including two with 1.4 seconds left, helped Sacramento seal the win.
Mike Brown’s team improved to 14-9 while the Thunder dropped to 15-8.
The win was critical for the Kings, who are entering one of their roughest stretches of the season, They play Utah, Washington, Boston, Phoenix and Minnesota in the next eight days.
Sacramento led most of the game and never really was threatened until the end.
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For Fox, it was the third time this season he has dropped 40 or more points on a team. He shot 14 of 23 from the floor, sank five 3-pointers, had seven assists and went 8 of 11 on free throws to offset his team-high six turnovers.
Sacramento had trouble holding onto the ball all night. The Kings committed 18 turnovers that led to 22 points for the Thunder. But Oklahoma City’s offense was sporadic and never really found a steady rhythm, except for Gilgeous-Alexander.
Here are three takeaways from the Kings' win:
Murray's foul trouble opens door for SGA
When Keegan Murray picked up two fouls in the first five minutes of the game and went to the bench later in the first quarter, it opened up the door for Gilgeous-Alexander to break out.
Murray had been defending Gilgeous-Alexander but gave way to Keon Ellis after his second foul. SGA, who had a 22.9 career scoring average against the Kings going in, got busy after that and scored 14 points, had two assists and went to the free-throw line six times in the first quarter.
Murray had been playing some of his best offense in recent weeks but his absence on defense against the Thunder was a major factor.
Monk makes things happen off bench
Monk has been one of the Kings’ most consistent players this season while coming off the bench, giving Sacramento’s second unit a much-needed spark.
He continued that trend against the Thunder while dishing out seven assists to go with his scoring. Monk’s ball distribution has been key lately and he keeps getting better at it seemingly each game.
He made a bounce pass in the key to Sabonis, who was cutting through the lane and made an easy layup. Monk made two similar passes with traffic in the key earlier this season. He has given Sacramento another steady scorer, and the combination of he and Fox in the backcourt together is proving lethal. The two made consecutive 3s late in the third quarter after the Thunder got within 94-90.
Ellis comes through in clutch
He might have had trouble containing Gilgeous-Alexander, but Ellis countered that with the best offensive game of his career.
He made five of his seven 3-point attempts, including two key shots in the fourth quarter. Ellis has been a key backup for the Kings this season and has done a good job keeping the offense flowing when Fox is out.
Brown rewarded Ellis at the end of the game, sending him out to light the beam at Golden 1 Center as the crowd erupted.