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The Sacramento Kings will have a glorious opportunity to gain some ground in the Western Conference play-in race when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Sacramento four of its previous outings, including a 28-point blowout win over OKC on Sunday. Seven Kings scored in double figures as the team dominated an Oklahoma team that has lost 21 of its last 22 games.
Game Information
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento
When: Tuesday, May 11 at 7:00 p.m. PT
How to watch/listen: NBC Sports California, KHTK Sports 1140 AM
Opposing perspective: Welcome to Loud City
Projected Starting Lineups
Kings (30-38): Delon Wright, Buddy Hield, Moe Harkless, Marvin Bagley III, Richaun Holmes
Thunder (21-48): Theo Maledon, Darius Bazley, Aleksej Pokusevski, Moses Brown, Isaiah Roby
Injuries/Absences
Kings: Harrison Barnes — DOUBTFUL; Chimezie Metu — QUESTIONABLE; De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Robert Woodard II — OUT
Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (foot) — OUT
After a slow start to Sunday’s matchup, the Kings dominated the Thunder the rest of the way. Luke Walton’s team got contributions from everyone in the lineup on both ends of the floor. Sacramento held Oklahoma City to just 39.1 percent shooting from the field.
The Kings currently hold the ninth-best odds to win the 2021 NBA Draft Lottery. With only four games left on the schedule, likely, Sacramento won’t be able to get anything higher than the eighth-best odds to get the No. 1 pick.
Although their chances aren’t great, the Kings can still sneak into a play-in spot if they get some help. Sacramento can get within 2.5 games of the 10th place San Antonio Spurs with a win against OKC. The Spurs have the toughest remaining schedule in the league and have faltered as of late, losing seven out of their last nine. Their lone wins coming in Sacramento and against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
Delon Wright, Moe Harkless and Terrance Davis have all played well since joining the team at the trade deadline. Walton has given the trio extended minutes with De’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes, and Tyrese Haliburton sidelined during the recent run.