Preview: Sacramento Kings look to hand Thunder first 3-game skid of season

Feb 11, 2024, 1:01 AM | Updated: 7:38 am

Domantas Sabonis #10 of the Sacramento Kings passes the ball against Luguentz Dort #5 and Chet Holm...

(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Sactown Sports

Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown said he will be watching the Super Bowl because his son Cameron is a defensive quality control coach for the San Francisco 49ers.

“I’m excited,” Mike Brown said earlier this week. “I’m watching it. I’m carrying my 49ers shirt with me. I’m going to have it on and I will be into it 100 percent for sure.”

Just before that game, though, Brown will coach the Kings as they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City. Sacramento is coming off perhaps its biggest win of the season, beating the Denver Nuggets 135-106 on Friday. Domantas Sabonis recorded his NBA-leading 16th triple-double.

Sabonis already has a triple-double this season against the Thunder, finishing with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists in the Kings’ 105-98 win Nov. 10.

The Kings are looking to keep building momentum as they start a three-game road trip.

“It’s up to us to lock in, focus on the small details and go out there and perform for 48 minutes from start to finish,” Brown said. “If we do, we’ll be happy where we are at the end of the year.”

The Thunder have lost back-to-back games six times this season but Oklahoma City has yet to lose three in a row.

Outside of Chris Duarte (OUT, ankle sprain), the Sacramento Kings have no injuries to report for tomorrow’s game vs. the Thunder.

Jordan Ford, Mason Jones and Jalen Slawson are on G-League assignment .

12 PM PST tip-off from OKC.

— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) February 10, 2024

The Thunder are coming off their most lopsided loss of the season, a 146-111 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks. Oklahoma City gave up 47 points in the first quarter.

“We’ve been over 50 games here and we’ve only had a handful of games where you could say that about us,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “We can’t overreact to it.

“We certainly have to learn from it. We don’t want to be happy with it or content with it or numb to it either but we also need to be able to put it into perspective and get ready for tomorrow and get ready to compete for 48 minutes.”

Josh Giddey struggled badly against the Mavericks, hitting just 3 of 14 shots from the floor.

“All you can do is be aggressive and work hard and he does both of those,” Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said.

Oklahoma City has won three consecutive home games but the Kings have won eight consecutive games against the Thunder, who haven’t beaten Sacramento since November 2021.

Oklahoma City announced the signing of veteran big man Bismack Biyombo on Saturday night. Biyombo was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 10. He averaged 5.2 points and 6.4 rebounds in 30 games with the Grizzlies this season.