NBA – In “back-to-back” after a big setback the day before against Dallas, the Thunder returned to victory by defeating Sacramento (127-113) thanks to an ultra hot SGA-Williams duo (38 and 32 points ).
The Thunder really wanted this victory after the previous day’s clash in Dallas (-35). Mark Daigneault’s men were able to put the necessary ingredients in 48 minutes to dominate a valiant Sacramento team, which however did not find the solution to stop Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.
The Kings chased the Thunder throughout the meeting, without really managing to shake up the locals. After a missed start due to its external clumsiness (0/7 to start), Sacramento managed to pass a 10-0 thanks to the remarkable entry of Malik Monk and the activity of Domantas Sabonis, the former of the house (18-18).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander then took responsibility to keep his team in the lead, with 15 points at 6/8 shooting and a big drive to end the first act (29-27). Jalen Williams took over by going 10-0 almost single-handedly, making people admire his entire offensive range, scoring or passing for Ousmane Dieng’s dunk (39-29).
An insoluble puzzle for the Kings
Harrison Barnes seemed alone to try to resist the assaults of Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams but also Kenrich Williams, author of a big 3-point basket to maintain the gap. De’Aaron Fox, largely absent from this first half, finally unlocked his counter by scoring his first basket in transition then to complete the first half (67-57).
So close, and at the same time so far, the Kings regained a volley in the third quarter, this time with a 16-0 during which SGA was again sparkling to bring the score to 88-66.
It was then up to the Kings to resist in order not to sink, relying on an untenable Malik Monk at the end of the period (100-83), and the welcome contribution of Davion Mitchell on two 3-point baskets until that De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis bring the gap to -8 (105-97).
With more than 8 minutes remaining to play, the Thunder did not tremble, managing to restart the machine thanks to the essential Jalen Williams, author of a 3-pointer, two throws and a mid-distance basket to calm the ardor of the Californians (112-103). SGA finished the job straight away with three baskets including a liberating 3-pointer for OKC (121-108), until Chet Holmgren’s service for Jalen Williams’ dunk to secure the victory, 127-113.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– OKC widens the gap. Fourth in the Western Conference before receiving the 5th, the Thunder managed to widen the gap a little further between the top 4 and the rest of the contenders in the West. The stakes were indeed high as Mark Daigneault’s men had lost the two previous meetings. For their part, the Kings find themselves once again ejected from the top 6 with their 22nd loss of the season.
– Mr. 38. Alongside Jalen Williams who was still impressive in everything he did, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was once again the perfect leader for his team. Author of 38 points and 7 assists, the leader first started his team in the first quarter with 15 points, but it was undoubtedly his third quarter which was the most impressive. “SGA” took the match into his own hands to guide his team to a 16-0 lead from which the Kings were unable to recover. It was the 38th time this season that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander exceeded 30 points this season. No player has done better in the NBA so far.
– Domantas Sabonis au rendez-vous. Back on the land of his first exploits in the NBA, the Lithuanian pivot rose to the occasion with a lot of activity materialized by a new triple-double at 21 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists. Insufficient, however, to worry this OKC team on mission.
Oklahoma City / 127 Tirs Rebonds Joueurs Min Tirs 3pts LF O D T Pd Fte Int Bp Ct +/- Pts Eval C. Holmgren 31 5/9 0/2 4/4 1 3 4 2 3 2 2 4 +22 14 20 Jal. Williams 37 13/19 2/4 4/4 0 7 7 9 3 0 2 0 +26 32 40 S. Gilgeous-Alexander 39 15/26 3/4 5/9 0 3 3 7 0 1 1 2 +16 38 35 J. Giddey 20 2/6 1/3 0/0 0 5 5 4 3 0 0 1 +29 5 11 L. Dort 33 5/9 3/5 4/4 2 7 9 0 3 3 2 1 +31 17 24 Jay. Williams 22 0/3 0/1 5/6 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 -13 5 4 O. Dieng 6 1/1 0/0 0/0 0 2 2 1 0 1 1 1 +7 2 6 K. Williams 11 2/3 2/2 0/0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 -2 6 7 I. Joe 16 1/1 1/1 0/0 1 2 3 2 2 1 0 0 -11 3 9 A. Wiggins 16 2/4 1/2 0/0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 -22 5 4 C. Wallace 10 0/3 0/3 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -13 0 -3 46/84 13/27 22/27 4 31 35 30 17 8 9 9 127 157 Sacramento / 113 Shots Rebounds Players Min Shots 3pts LF ODT Pd Fte Int Bp Ct +/- Pts Eval D. Sabonis 42 9/14 1/2 2/3 4 7 11 14 3 1 5 0 -7 21 36 H. Barnes 21 4/7 1/4 5/5 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 -27 14 12 K. Murray 34 6/12 1/6 0/0 2 8 10 3 0 1 1 2 -17 13 22 D. Fox 33 6/17 2/8 1/3 0 1 1 5 3 0 3 0 -27 15 5 K. Huerter 17 2/7 0/3 0/0 1 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 -20 4 0 T. Lyles 0/2 0/2 1/2 1 4 5 0 2 1 1 1 +6 1 4 A. Len 3 0/1 0/0 0/0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 +3 0 1 D. Mitchell 5/6 4/4 0/0 1 3 4 2 2 1 1 0 +23 14 19 M. Monk 29 10/20 6/10 0/0 1 3 4 5 3 0 4 1 -4 26 22 M. Jones 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 K. Ellis 17 2/4 1/3 0/0 0 1 1 1 5 0 0 1 0 5 6 44/90 16/42 9/13 10 30 40 32 22 5 18 5 113 127
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
2024-02-11 22:42:26
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