The Wright Stuff: Kings Outlast Thunder To Win Third Straight
May 4, 2021, 7:49 PM | Updated: 7:59 pm
(Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
Sacramento has won three games in-a-row and pulled themselves to within 3.5 games of the 10th seed
With De’Aaron Fox & Tyrese Haliburton both out of commission on Tuesday night, the Sacramento Kings turned to Delon Wright as their starting point guard.
Wright would answer with an incredible near-triple-double performance–including a basket to ice the game late–in a 103-99 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
With the win, Sacramento (28-37) has won three games in a row and four of their last five contests as they now are only 3.5 games back of the 10th seed San Antonio Spurs with seven games left in the regular season.
Both teams got off to sluggish starts in the first quarter as the Kings and Thunder would combine for only 45 points on sub-40-percent shooting from the field over the first 12 minutes of action.
The Sacramento offense would come alive in the second quarter behind strong performances from Terence Davis (13 first-half points) and Buddy Hield (12 first-half points) to take a 56-46 lead into the halftime break.
Sacramento would lead by as many as 16 points en route to another strong quarter, one that would end with the Kings up 81-69 heading into the fourth period.
Oklahoma City would chip away at Sacramento’s lead, cutting the deficit to 98-96 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation after an 13-3 run erased a double-digit Kings lead.
Delon Wright would pick up his fourth steal of the game with just over 1:30 remaining for a basket to put the Kings in front 100-96. The Thunder would respond with an and-one opportunity to make it 100-99 with 51.4 seconds remaining.
After an out-of-bounds review on a strip play by Wright, Sacramento was awarded the basketball with 37.6 seconds remaining. Wright would come through in the clutch with an acrobatic up-and-under to to put the Kings up 102-99 with 18.1 seconds remaining.
Oklahoma City would be unable to answer, as the Kings would hold on to win their third-straight game and pull themselves to within 3.5 games of the 10th-seed spot in the Western Conference.
Rounding out the box score
Wright was all over the place in the win, scoring 13 points to go along with 10 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and four blocks over 37 productive minutes.
Buddy Hield tallied his second double-double of the season in the win, finishing with 18 points and a career-high tying 11 rebounds on five-of-13 shooting from three-point range.
Terence Davis scored 18 points (6/13 FG) and pulled down five rebounds over 31 minutes off of the bench.
Richaun Holmes and Marvin Bagley both scored 13 points in the winning effort, while Justin James also added 13 points over a very impressive 18 minutes that included a poster of a jam in the second quarter.
Injury Updates
- After almost 48 painful, quiet hours of waiting, the Kings released a statement following the game against OKC saying that Tyrese Haliburton has suffered no structural damage to his left knee and will not need surgery. Haliburton is expected to make a full recovery. The rookie could bee seen on the sideline–walking on his own power–cheering on his teammates during the game against OKC.
- Harrison Barnes (abductor strain) and Chimezie Metu (back soreness) both tried to play on Tuesday night, per Walton. Both players were unable to suit up for the contest against Oklahoma City, but there is a chance that one or both could return on Wednesday night in Indianapolis.
- De’Aaron Fox (health & safety protocols) will not join the team for Tuesday’s game against Indiana. Walton said that there is no update on when the star guard will return to action.
- Rookie forward Robert Woodard II missed another game due to back soreness.
Coming Up
Sacramento will play the second game of a back-to-back on Wednesday night when they face the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
In their only meeting this season back on January 11th, the Kings defeated the Pacers by a final of 127-122 at Golden 1 Center behind a 30-point performance from Harrison Barnes.
Be sure to tune in for all of the action right here on Sports 1140 KHTK, with pregame coverage beginning at 3:00pm PST prior to a 5:00pm PST tip-off.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule
- May 5 @ Indiana Pacers
- May 7 vs San Antonio Spurs
- May 9 vs Oklahoma City Thunder
- May 11 vs Oklahoma City Thunder
- May 13 @ Memphis Grizzlies
