Kings vs. Thunder gameday live: De’Aaron Fox injury update; Oklahoma City scouting report

De’Aaron Fox will be sidelined for the fifth game in a row when the Kings open group play in the NBA’s new in-season tournament against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday at Golden 1 Center.

Fox has been ruled out due to the right ankle sprain he suffered in an overtime win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 29. The injury was initially described as a moderate sprain with one report suggesting Fox could return six days later when the Kings (3-4) visited the Houston Rockets, but it has lingered for nearly two weeks.

Kings forward Trey Lyles has also been ruled out as he recovers from a left calf strain. Lyles sustained the injury before a preseason game against the Golden State Warriors and has yet to suit up for a regular-season game.

The Thunder (5-3) is fully healthy with the exception of Kenrich Williams, who averaged 8.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 37.3% from 3-point range as a key reserve last season. The 6-foot-7 small forward is out with lower back spasms.

Scouting Sacramento

The Kings scratched out a 121-118 overtime victory against a depleted Portland Trail Blazers squad Wednesday to snap a three-game losing streak.

Kings coach Mike Brown made a change to his lineup after two blowout losses to the Rockets, starting Keon Ellis in place of Davion Mitchell, who had started the three previous games in place of Fox. Mitchell responded by coming off the bench to score 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, going 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

Malik Monk and Domantas Sabonis spearheaded the victory for Sacramento in the absence of Fox, who averaged 31.3 points over the first three games of the season. Sabonis is averaging 17.4 points, 12.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists. Monk is averaging 14.7 points and 5.3 assists.

Kings guard Kevin Huerter seems to have come out of his shooting slump over the past couple of games, but now forward Keegan Murray is fighting through a funk of his own. Over the past four games, Murray has shot 29.1% from the field and 14.8% from 3-point range.

“He’ll be fine,” Huerter said. “Keegan is someone who’s always in the gym. He’s a worker – before practice, after practice. It’s going to come. It’s going to get there. There’s ups and downs to every season and Keegan’s a great shooter. You guys have seen that.”

Scouting Oklahoma City

The Thunder is coming off back-to-back victories over the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points in a 126-117 win over the Hawks. He had 43 in a 128-120 win over the Cavaliers.

Chet Holmgren, who sat out last season after coming out of Gonzaga as the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA draft, has been outstanding. The 7-foot-1 center is averaging 16.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.5 blocks while shooting 57.5% from the field. He’s also shooting an absurd 55.6% from 3-point range on 3.4 attempts per game.

Oklahoma City’s lineup also features guards Josh Giddey and Luguentz Dort and forward Jalen Williams. Williams is averaging 16.8 points per game. Dort is averaging 15.1 points. Giddey, the 6-foot-8, third-year guard from Australia, has seen his numbers dip with a drop off in efficiency this season after averaging 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists last season.

The Thunder is No. 1 in the NBA in true shooting percentage (.611), No. 5 in pace (103.0), No. 7 in offensive rating (115.2) and No. 20 in defensive rating (113.9). Oklahoma City leads the league in free-throw shooting (.864) and ranks in the top 10 in scoring, field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage and blocked shots.

Thunder at Kings

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Golden 1 Center

TV: NBC Sports California

Radio: Sactown Sports 1140

Odds: TBD

Over/under: TBD

Injury report

Thunder: OUT — Keyontae Johnson (G League); Kenrich Williams (back).

Kings: OUT — De’Aaron Fox (ankle); Trey Lyles (calf).

Upcoming schedule

Nov. 10 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

Nov. 13 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Nov. 15 at Los Angeles Lakers

Nov. 17 at San Antonio Spurs

Nov. 19 at Dallas Mavericks