Kings 114, Thunder 112
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Rudy Gay made two free throws with one second remaining, capping a 22-point night and adding his name to Sleep Train Arena lore as the Sacramento Kings bid farewell to their home with a 114-112 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
Gay, whose missed free throw with 11 seconds left opened the door for Russell Westbrook to make three free throws to tie the game with 7 seconds left, drove the key and was fouled with only a tick to go. His free throws lifted the Kings to a final 18-23 home mark in its 27-year-old building.
Darren Collison, getting only his 15th start with NBA assists leader Rajon Rondo out to rest, scored 27 points to pace the Kings. He knocked down a tiebreaking 3-pointer from just to the left of the arc to make it 104-101 with just over two minutes left, and canned a long jumper with 34.3 seconds to go to put Sacramento ahead 108-103.
Seth Curry scored 20 points and made six 3-pointers for the Kings (32-48), who will move into the Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento next season. DeMarcus Cousins added 15 points for Sacramento. He played without the aid of Rondo, who was held out to rest for the second consecutive contest and the third time in four games.
Kevin Durant scored 31 points for the Thunder (54-26), who are locked into the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference. Durant scored at least 20 points for the 63rd straight game.
Westbrook added 24 points, 10 assists and five rebounds for Oklahoma City. With three games left, he has 17 triple-doubles this season and needs one more to move past Magic Johnson for the most since the 1985-86 season.
Cousins, playing in his final contest this season, set a career high by averaging 26.9 points and grabbed 11.5 rebounds in 65 games despite persistent foot problems this season. He will sit out Sacramento's final two road contests and has told media outlets he'll have a procedure to alleviate tendinitis that has plagued him all season in an attempt to play for Team USA in the Rio Olympics.
NOTES: Among the tidbits of trivia left over from the final night at Sleep Train Arena, courtesy the team's official site: It hosted 12 playoff series and hosted sellout streaks of 497 and 354 (each among the NBA's Top 10). C DeMarcus Cousins' 56-point effort against the Charlotte Hornets on Jan. 25 was the most a King ever scored in the building. ... A game after sitting starters C Kevin Durant, G Russell Westbrook, and F Serge Ibaka, Thunder coach Billy Donovan used all three. Donovan said he wanted to use advantage of Oklahoma City's two days off leading into Saturday's contest, especially since the Thunder are locked into the third spot in the Western Conference. ... Despite his foot problems, Cousins played six more games this season than he did in 2014-15 for the Kings. Cousins missed 51 games over the past three seasons after missing 10 in his first three.