National Basketball Association
Oklahoma City 112, Sacramento 105
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #33 Sean Corbin, #78 Evan Scott
Attendance: 17509

Chet Holmgren broke a tie with a free throw with 1:27 remaining, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander capped a 40-point performance with the game's final six points and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from a 20-point deficit to overtake the visiting Sacramento Kings 112-105 on Tuesday night.

Luguentz Dort backed Gilgeous-Alexander with 18 points while Holmgren finished with 15 and a team-high nine rebounds for the Thunder (54-25), who formally clinched no worse than the third seed in the Western Conference as they duel with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets for the top postseason spots.

De'Aaron Fox had a team-high 33 points and Keon Ellis supplied a career-best 26 for Sacramento (45-34), which suffered a costly loss in its tussle for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot in the West.

An Ellis 3-pointer with 2:48 to go gave Sacramento its last lead at 105-104 before the Thunder scored the next eight points, two on successive 1-for-2 free-throw efforts by Holmgren, and the next six on a Gilgeous-Alexander jumper with 1:16 to go and two free throws apiece with 35.7 and 18.5 seconds left.

After Ellis' late hoop, the Kings missed their final four shots -- all 3-pointers -- and mixed in a turnover.

Down by as many as 20 in the second quarter and 64-45 at the half, the Thunder got back in it with a 24-7 flurry that cut the Sacramento lead to 71-69 at the midpoint of the third.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who had missed six of the previous seven games with a bruised right quad, had nine points and Holmgren knocked down a pair of 3-pointers during the run.

The Kings led by as many as 11 later in the quarter, but the Thunder wouldn't go away, getting within 87-84 by period's end to set up the tight finish.

Fox had 21 points and Ellis scored 20 in the first half, helping the Kings build their big lead. They combined for 11 3-pointers in the half as Sacramento made 14 of 31, outscoring the hosts 42-12 from beyond the arc at that point.

Jalen Williams added 11 points and Isaiah Joe posted 10 off the bench for Oklahoma City, which was opening a regular-season-ending, four-game homestand.

Domantas Sabonis was the game's leading rebounder with 13 to complement eight points and five assists for the Kings, who wrapped up a 1-3 trip.

Keegan Murray recorded the game's only double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento, while Harrison Barnes chipped in with 10 points.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Sacramento   Oklahoma City
De'Aaron Fox 33 Scoring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 40
De'Aaron Fox 6 Assists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 4
Domantas Sabonis 13 Rebounds Chet Holmgren 9
Harrison Barnes 8 Free Throws Made Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 16
Keon Ellis 2 Steals Luguentz Dort 2
Keon Ellis 2 Blocks Josh Giddey 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Sacramento 105 34.4 20-58 19-26 23 56 4 8 17
Oklahoma City 112 48.8 11-30 23-31 21 42 8 11 14
Upcoming Games
  • Oklahoma City will play their next game at home against San Antonio. The Thunder have a W/L % of .679 after a win and .692 after a loss.
  • Sacramento will play their next game at home against New Orleans. The Kings have a W/L % of .522 after a win and .636 after a loss.