Kings hold off Thunder for third straight win

If you predicted that Tuesday night’s game between the Sacramento Kings and Oklahoma City Thunder would go down to the wire, congratulations, but also, why? The Kings were missing three of their starters — De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton and Harrison Barnes — and the Thunder were missing their leading scorer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. This shouldn’t have been an interesting game, and yet, it was, at least towards the end.

Prior to the run the Thunder went on in the fourth quarter, the Kings were in control of the game, leading by as much as 17 points at one point in the game. That’s not to say the Kings played well — in fact, against any other team, they likely would have been blown out, but against the Thunder, their play was just enough.

That being said, there wasn’t anything meaningful that could be taken away from the game given the level of competition and the number of players missing on both teams. Yes, it moved the Kings a half game closer to the No. 10 seed, but the New Orleans Pelicans also one on Tuesday evening, so their win didn’t move the needle too much.

If there was one positive to take away from the game, it’s that the Kings have someone that can be a floor general when Fox and Haliburton out in Delon Wright, who tallied 13 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals and 4 blocks on Tuesday. That trade looks better by the day.

The Kings will be back at it on Wednesday to take on the Indiana Pacers at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse.