Kings 104, Thunder 83
Kings 104, Thunder 83: Rudy Gay had 28 points and nine rebounds as Sacramento pounded visiting Oklahoma City.
Darren Collison added 24 points and seven assists and DeMarcus Cousins finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds to overcome a 6-for-23 shooting performance for the Kings, who shot 10-for-19 from 3-point range. Ben McLemore contributed 11 points and four steals and Carl Landry led the Sacramento reserves with 10 points.
Kevin Durant bounced back from a slow start to score 24 points but high-scoring teammate Russell Westbrook did not as he finished with 10 points on 3-for-19 from the field for the Thunder. Reggie Jackson contributed 14 points off the bench and Serge Ibaka had 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks for Oklahoma City, which committed 24 turnovers.
Oklahoma City was coming off a 26-point loss against the Golden State Warriors in which Durant and Westbrook combined to shoot 8-for-37 from the floor—their second-worst shooting percentage together—and they started cold against the Kings, shooting 2-12 in the opening 12 minutes as the Thunder fell behind by 28-16. The Kings managed to stretch the advantage to 10 at the half as Westbrook, Ibaka and starting center Steven Adams each picked up their third fouls in the second quarter.
Things didn’t improve for Oklahoma City as a layup by Cousins with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter stretched the lead to 20 points. The advantage increased to 21 entering the fourth and the Kings maintained a comfortable distance, finishing one point shy of their largest margin of victory this season.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Oklahoma City G Dion Waiters made his debut after his trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday and scored four points on 1-for-9 shooting. … Cousins has reached double figures in points and rebounds in 15 of the last 17 games he has appeared. …. The eight blocks by Ibaka tied for the fourth-highest total in his career.