Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) is defended by Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Oklahoma City . (AP Photo/Nate Billing)
OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points in his return from injury, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from a 20-point deficit to defeat Sacramento 112-105 Tuesday night as the Kings’ Domantas Sabonis her NBA double-double streak stopped at 61 games.
Gilgeous-Alexander had missed six of the team’s previous seven games with a right thigh contusion, and the team went 2-4 without him. He gave Oklahoma City a much-needed boost against the Kings, scoring the team’s final six points to seal an important victory.
“Just some emotions,” he said. “It feels good to be back. I haven’t played in front of my audience in a minute.
????s on return pic.twitter.com/ztfYn0ChRt
– OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) April 10, 2024
Gilgeous-Alexander had struggled by his standards before being rested.
“In the last two games I tried to play through my injury, but it wasn’t healing fast enough, so I thought I’d have (a) break and work and not come back until to be 100%. But I felt 100% tonight, that’s for sure.
READ: Thunder clinches first playoff berth since 2020, top Knicks
The Thunder entered the contest one game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for the best record in the Western Conference with four games remaining.
De’Aaron Fox scored 33 points and Keon Ellis scored a career-high 26 points for the Kings.
Sabonis had eight points and 13 rebounds. He now has the seventh-longest double-double streak in NBA history.
“I mean, it’s awesome,” he said. “You are mentioned among some of the greats. At the end of the day, you’re just trying to play your game and win. That’s my job as a big man: get rebounds and finish.
The game was also important for the Kings. They entered the night eighth in the Western Conference standings with a chance to avoid the Play-In tournament.
Sacramento led 64-45 at halftime behind 21 points from Fox and 20 points from Ellis, a career-high in just two quarters. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 14 before the break for the Thunder.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored a 3-pointer to open the scoring in the second half. He scored 17 points in the third quarter as the Thunder outscored the Kings 39-23.
“I just wanted to be aggressive,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think it started defensively. I just wanted to come out semi-aggressive overall. We were down 19 and we kind of didn’t have time to waste, so I wanted to go straight for it.
A baseline layup by Jalen Williams cut the deficit to 71-69 midway through the third.
The Kings scored nine straight points after a timeout to temporarily regain control, but the Thunder scored the final five points of the quarter and trailed 87-84 heading into the fourth.
Cason Wallace’s 3-point basket early in the fourth gave the Thunder their first lead of the game at 89-87.
Sacramento coach Mike Brown said his team strayed from what worked in the first half. He said the Kings stopped shooting open shots and played too many individual balls.
“I thought in the first half our ball movement was magnificent,” he said. “And I thought we were bored in the second half.”
NEXT SCHEDULE
Kings: Host the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.
Thunder: Host the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
