OKLAHOMA CITY — Much like their last meeting two days prior, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for a third consecutive game, struggled against the Sacramento Kings in a 123-117 loss.
Outside of the two opening points, the Thunder never led against the Kings. The Thunder concluded their season series against the Kings with an 0-3 record.
Outside of Dario Saric and Jalen Williams, it was a tough night for the Thunder, especially Josh Giddey and Lu Dort. The duo were a minu-32 and minus-28, respectively, when on the court in limited time.
The duo averaged 20 minutes in the loss but according to Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, their below-average playing time was more about other players on the roster.
“It’s never an indictment on the guy that’s not playing. It’s always usually a reward for the guys that are,” Daigneault said. “First of all, Josh and Lu are important players for us. They’ve been important players for us. They’re going to be important players for us.
“I think when you’ve got 82 games — and we’re building on a timeline much longer than 82 games — I think guys on the team feeling like they can touch the outcome of the games and add value and add impact to the team is important and part of that is us rewarding opportunity when they do that.”
After trailing by as many as 17 points, the Thunder reserves tied the game at 98. Unfortunately, the Kings outscored the Thunder, 25-19, during the remaining 8:50.
“(The bench) turned the tone of the game. I thought they gave good resistance,” Daigneault said. “They were physical. Moved the ball on offense. I thought a lot of good things happened once they were out there.”
Without De’Aaron Fox, the Kings starters stepped up in their All-Star guard’s absence as all five scored at least 13 points.
Harrison Barnes scored a quiet 29 points on 8-of-13 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. Domantas Sabonis finished with another near triple double of 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, 13 rebounds and nine assists. Kevin Huerter scored 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting and had nine assists.
The Kings continue to show why they’re ranked first in offensive rating as they went 43-of-82 (52.4%) from the field and 15-of-42 (35.7%) from 3.
Despite the Thunder taking 16 more shot attempts than the Kings, the extra attempts never translated to the scoreboard due to high-efficiency scoring from the latter.
The Thunder are winless since the All-Star break and have their first four-game losing streak since mid-December. With losses piling up, the Thunder are 1.5 games out of 10th place in the Western Conference.
If the Thunder want to cling onto their playoff hopes, they need Gilgeous-Alexander to return sooner rather than later.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.
Dario Saric: A
Let’s dive into a pair of positives before sulking on the two negative elephants in the room.
The first positive being Dario Saric, who turned in his best performance in his brief Thunder stint.
In 27 minutes off the bench, Saric finished with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds. Saric tied with Kenrich Williams for the best plus-minus on the Thunder at plus-14.
“He’s kind of a magnet to the ball. I think he’s a security blanket. Guys throw it to him,” Daigneault said about Saric. “This is the best he’s played competitively since he’s been here.”
Despite being one of the newer members of the team, Saric was the second-best player on the floor for the Thunder in this loss. What makes this performance more impressive is Saric admitted after the game that he still doesn’t fully know the Thunder playbook and was playing off feel.
This was a good performance for Saric in a game where good Thunder performances were few and far between.
The new guy is showing up tonight 😤
That's 21 points for Dario Saric!@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/ycNKJoj2iS
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 1, 2023
Šarić remains patient off the pump fake and finish pic.twitter.com/bFCdQsWZog
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 1, 2023
Coast to coast 💪 pic.twitter.com/3LaWqtJRKx
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 1, 2023
Jalen Williams: A-plus
Speaking of good performances, Jalen Williams was the Thunder’s best player of the night.
In 33 minutes, Williams finished with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting and went 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. Williams also collected eight assists and five rebounds. The 21-year-old also had the best plus-minus among Thunder starters; he was a plus-5.
Like most games, Williams was a monster inside of the paint; he shot 8-of-11 from that area.
Williams did most of his scoring in the fourth quarter, in which he scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
“I said before the season he’s going to be a future All-Star,” Kenrich Williams said about Williams. “I’m super excited about the future and right now for him.”
Veteran-type move from the rookie 😳@okcthunder | #ThunderUp | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/AMqWteYp0H
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 1, 2023
JDub gets to the paint off the quick first step! pic.twitter.com/zZehjCcItd
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 1, 2023
J-Dub turns on the jets 🛩️😤@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/h8Ym2TAf0a
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 1, 2023
Josh Giddey: F
Now onto the two negatives for the Thunder in this six-point loss.
When looking through the box score, two players stick out like a sore thumb, Josh Giddey and Lu Dort.
In his limited time, Giddey finished with eight points on 4-of-10 shooting, five assists and six rebounds. Giddey played a career-low 19 minutes and collected a career-low minus-32 plus-minus.
Giddey also picked up three fouls in the first half.
When Giddey checked back into the game in the fourth quarter with 8:50 left, the Thunder trailed by one point. By the time Giddey checked out with 5:46 left, the Thunder trailed by 10 points.
It obviously wasn’t all Giddey’s fault, but it’s a bad omen to see the Thunder’s comeback attempt die with the starters when it was brought back to life with the reserves to start the fourth quarter.
Since All-Star break, sans the first Kings game, Giddey has struggled. In four games since the break, Giddey is shooting 23-of-57 (40.4%) from the field.
Great passing meets great cutting! 😌 pic.twitter.com/Ys96taiyxv
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 1, 2023
Giddey with back-to-back finishes 😤 pic.twitter.com/5TNaA7J68J
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 1, 2023
Lu Dort: F
Everything said about Giddey can be applied to Lu Dort, too.
Dort played 21 minutes and had an eye-popping minus-28 plus-minus in his time on the court. Dort finished with 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting and went 2-of-5 from 3. This comes a game after Dort shot 4-of-9 from 3.
It was a tough high-volume, low-efficiency night for the streaky scorer. Dort’s extreme ups and downs is something Thunder fans have grown accustomed to during his time with the team.
LUUUUUUUU 🔥@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/6Zznt0othO
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 1, 2023
