The Sacramento Kings, a team that entered Friday on a five-game winning streak, hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder last night. The Kings, behind a strong performance from Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis, won the game in a contest that was fairly close as time expired. The result provides clearer evidence that Sacramento is emerging as a significant player in both their division and their conference.
They, the Kings, put up a single-digit margin of victory in the game, winning by 5 points. The final score was OKC 113, and Sacramento 118 as the Kings extended their winning streak to six games.
Thunder @ Kings: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 37
With the loss, the Thunder are now 22-24 overall on the season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC’s best player, had another outstanding performance. He scored 37 points in the loss to lead all scorers.
OKC has generally been playing well of late and they are now 11-6 in their last seventeen games. A small-spread road loss to the Kings is not really that discrediting as the Thunder continue to look like a low-seed/play-in tournament team.
Sacramento Kings: #9 Ranked Team at a Glance
- Overall record: 26-18
- Home record: 15-9
- Away record: 11-9
- Winning/losing streak: W6
- Last ten games: 7-3
Meanwhile, the Kings improved to 26-18 with the 5-point victory. Domantas Sabonis, who missed the team’s last game with an illness, had a triple-double in the contest. He had 18, 14, and 14 for points, rebounds, and assists respectively. Meanwhile, Keegan Murray had the best scoring performance of his career. The rookie had 29 points to lead the Kings in a game that he started.
The Kings continue to contend for the Pacific Division. Heading into the weekend, they are first in the Pacific and actually have a healthy four-game lead. Sacramento fans have to be asking themselves: is this the team that ends their long playoff drought? For bettors, there’s a question as to whether the Kings will hit at odds of 150 to 1, which were their early-season odds to win the Pacific Division with bet365 sportsbook.
Sacramento Kings: Recent Form Alert
- Sacramento Kings were 14-12 (December 14th, 2022)
- Following Friday’s game, they are 26-18
- Sacramento is 12-6 over roughly the last five weeks
Further reading: NBA Power Rankings