Gallinari Scores 24; Thunder Rally From 19 Down To Top Kings
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Danilo Gallinari scored 24 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from 19 points down in the third quarter to beat the Sacramento Kings 112-108 on Thursday night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points and Chris Paul added 17 for the Thunder, who have won five straight and 14 of 17.
Harrison Barnes scored 21 points and Harry Giles added a season-high 19 for the Kings, who had won three in a row. De'Aaron Fox, the Kings' No. 2 scorer, sat out with lower abdominal muscle tightness.
Sacramento led 61-50 at halftime. Giles scored 15 points and Buddy Hield scored 12 on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range.
The Kings quickly increased their advantage in the third quarter. A deep 3-pointer by Nemanja Bjelica put Sacramento up 75-57. Sacramento's biggest lead was 78-59 before Oklahoma City rallied. The Thunder went on a 15-0 run and held the Kings scoreless for nearly six minutes. Sacramento's lead was down to 82-81 at the end of the period.
The Thunder led 110-106 in the final minute and had possession when Hield stole the ball. He missed an open 3-pointer and the Thunder ended up gaining possession.
Sacramento's Cory Joseph stole the ball and Barnes made a layup to cut Oklahoma City's lead to two with 9.9 seconds remaining, but Paul made two free throws with 9.5 seconds left to put the game away.
TIP-INS
Kings: Made all 10 of their free throws in the first half. ... Sacramento's Kent Bazemore and Oklahoma City's Hamidou Diallo were called for a double technical in the third quarter. ... Hield, who played at the nearby University of Oklahoma, finished with 15 points.
Thunder: Made 11 of 18 field goals and all eight of their free throws in the third quarter. ... Had six players score in double figures.
UP NEXT
Kings: Visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
Thunder: Visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.