Thunder at Kings
THE STORY: In their quest for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder will get the luxury of playing the lowly Sacramento Kings twice in their final four games. Trailing the San Antonio Spurs by a game in the loss column and on the wrong side of the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Thunder will also need some help to lock down home court advantage throughout the West. The Kings are hoping to avoid dead last.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSOK (Oklahoma City), CSCA (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (45-17): Oklahoma City only has itself to blame for even being in a race after putting up a middling 6-5 record in its first 11 April games. After totaling 77 points in a loss at the Clippers on Monday, the Thunder looked more like themselves in a 109-97 victory at Phoenix on Wednesday. James Harden scored a career-high 40 points and Kevin Durant collected 29 points and 11 rebounds in the easy win. It was even easier last Friday, when Durant again scored 29 points in a 115-89 thrashing of the Kings. Oklahoma City finishes its five-game road trip at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday before closing with two at home.
ABOUT THE KINGS (20-42): Sacramento may be down to its final two games at Power Balance Pavilion after a deal to keep the team in place with a new arena fell apart. After hosting the Thunder, the Kings go on the road for two games before finishing up by hosting former rivals the Los Angeles Lakers. Sacramento did not help Oklahoma City on Wednesday, when it suffered its eighth loss in the last nine games, 127-102, to the Spurs. Defense has been a huge problem for the Kings, who have allowed at least 100 points in 16 of the last 17 games.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Harden had not even reached 20 points in any of his previous 10 games.
2. Oklahoma City has taken seven of the last eight in the series.
3. Sacramento leads the New Orleans Hornets by one game in the race to avoid the worst record in the West.