Thunder 104, Kings 92
Russell Westbrook had 32 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals as visiting Oklahoma City defeated Sacramento for its seventh consecutive victory.
Kevin Durant scored 26 and went over the 15,000-career point mark as the Thunder won for the ninth time in 10 games to move within one game of .500. Steven Adams collected 10 rebounds and Serge Ibaka swatted away a season-best seven blocked shots.
Rudy Gay scored 22 points for the Kings, who were coached by Tyrone Corbin after the firing of Mike Malone earlier this week. Carl Landry added 14 points but Sacramento continues to struggle without star center DeMarcus Cousins (viral meningitis).
The Kings scored 11 consecutive points in the final quarter to take their first lead of the contest at 84-83 on Landry’s basket with 8:04 remaining. The Thunder ran off nine straight later in the quarter to take an eight-point lead and steadily pulled away to hand Sacramento its ninth loss in 11 games.
Oklahoma City scored the first nine points and led by as many as 15 points in the opening quarter before settling for a 61-54 halftime lead. The Kings pulled within four early in the third quarter before the Thunder pushed their lead back to 12 before taking an 81-71 advantage into the final stanza.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Durant (15,023 points in 550 games) is the fourth-fastest since 1975 to reach 15,000 points, behind Michael Jordan (460), LeBron James (540) and Shaquille O’Neal (547). … The Kings had a 48-41 rebounding edge but sabotaged themselves with 19 turnovers. … Westbrook has scored 20 or more points in nine straight games.