OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points in his return from injury, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from a 20-point deficit to defeat Sacramento 112-105 on Tuesday night as the Kings’ Domantas Sabonis had his double-double streak halted at 61 games.
Gilgeous-Alexander had missed six of the team’s previous seven games with a bruised right thigh, and the team went 2-4 without him. He gave Oklahoma City a much-needed boost against the Kings, scoring the team’s final six points to seal an important win. The Thunder entered the contest a game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for the best record in the Western Conference with four games remaining.
D’Aaron Fox scored 33 points and Keon Ellis scored a career-high 26 points for the Kings. Sabonis had eight points and 13 rebounds. The game was important to the Kings, too. They entered the night eighth in the Western Conference standings with a shot at avoiding the Play-In Tournament.
Sacramento led 64-45 at halftime behind 21 points from Fox and 20 points from Ellis, a career high in just two quarters. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 14 before the break for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City scored the first six points of the second half to get the home fans going. The Thunder continued to dominate, and a driving baseline layup by Jalen Williams cut the deficit to 71-69 midway through the third. The Kings scored nine straight after a timeout to temporarily regain control, but the Thunder scored the final five points of the quarter and trailed 87-84 heading into the fourth.
Cason Wallace’s 3-pointer early in the fourth gave the Thunder their first lead of the game at 89-87.
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