Sabonis posts triple-double to lead Kings over Thunder in first in-season tournament game

The Kings were preparing to play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday when director of basketball operations Robbie Lemons went to coach Mike Brown with a plan to fire up the team for its first game in the NBA’s new in-season tournament.

Lemons presented a series of slides showing players what they could buy with the $500,000 in prize money that will be awarded to each member of the team that wins the inaugural NBA Cup. Lemons showed them where they could buy an island, how many bottles of wine they could purchase and what kind of home they could buy if they lived in Oklahoma City.

Whatever their motivation, the Kings rose to the occasion, beating the Thunder to open play in West Group C with a 105-98 victory before a standing-room-only crowd of 18,097 at Golden 1 Center.

Domantas Sabonis recorded a triple-double while Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter broke out of their recent slumps in a big way, combining for 52 points for the Kings (4-4). Huerter had a season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds, just missing his career high of 30 points. Murray had 24 points and 11 rebounds, the third 20-point double-double of his career.

“Obviously, Kevin was big for us,” Brown said. “He opened up the game in a lot of different ways for us. He shot the ball well, made plays for us. Keegan was great for us, too. He made a couple of big 3s late in the second half. He looked good, shooting the ball with confidence, and it was fun to see it go in.”

Murray made 8 of 17 field-goal attempts and 3 of 10 from 3-point range. He wasn’t satisfied with his efficiency, but it was a step forward following a six-game stretch in which he shot 25.9% from the field and 21.3% from beyond the arc.

“I’m just trying to affect the game in different ways,” Murray said. “Obviously, everyone knows I’m not shooting the ball well at all right now, so I’m just trying to find ways where I can get easier shots, get a free throw, get a layup, something that will spark me, and hopefully that will help.”

Huerter made 11 of 19 from the field and 4 of 10 from 3-point range, continuing to emerge from his funk after going 5 of 25 (.200) from long distance over the first five games.

“Winning solves a lot of problems,” Murray said. “Everyone on our team has me and Kevin’s back whether we’re shooting the ball great or we’re shooting the ball bad. Nights like this really help our team camaraderie with everything that guys are going through.”

Sabonis recorded his first triple-double of the season with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists. It was his 15^th triple-double since joining the Kings in February 2022, setting a Sacramento-era franchise record to move ahead of Chris Webber for the second-most triple-doubles in franchise history behind Oscar Robertson.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Thunder (5-4). Chet Holmgren was held to 12 points and seven rebounds.

Oklahoma City was No. 1 in the NBA in true shooting percentage and No. 7 in offensive rating (115.2) going into the game, but the Thunder shot just 44.8% from the field and 23.3% from 3-point range.

“To be able to hold a really good offensive team to under 100 points on 44% from the field and 23% from the 3-point line, again, is who we want to be,” Brown said. “I know we can shoot the ball. The shooting is going to come. Where I’m going to continue pressing our guys is on the defensive end of the floor, and we had a lot of guys step up on that end of the floor.”

The Kings unveiled a colorful new court designed specifically for in-season tournament games while debuting their new City Edition uniforms. Brown was asked before the game how he feels about the in-season tournament, which will culminate with the NBA Cup Final Four Dec. 7-9 in Las Vegas.

“For me, it’s excitement because you’ve got the new floor, you’ve got the jerseys, so you can feel the excitement and all that other stuff behind it, and I’m excited to see how it turns out,” Brown said.

The Kings shot 54.2% from the field and tallied 11 assists on 13 made baskets with only two turnovers in the first quarter, all while holding the Thunder to 33.3% shooting. They led by as many as 17 points in the opening period and carried a 52-43 lead into the halftime break.

Oklahoma City cut the deficit to two late in the third quarter. The Thunder only trailed by five at the end of the third, but the Kings opened the fourth with an 11-3 run to take an 86-73 lead.

There were some anxious moments when the Thunder got within five on a basket by Gilgeous-Alexander with 2:44 remaining, but Huerter answered with his fourth 3-pointer of the night to help Sacramento secure the victory.

“It was a good win,” Brown said. “That’s a good team in the other locker room and they’ve been playing well all year, so for our guys to find a way, especially when we didn’t shoot the ball well. ... This is why we’re pressing our guys to defend and be physical defensively because we have to be able to find ways to win games when that shot’s not going in, and today was another day that was evident of it.”

Fox watch

Brown didn’t have much of an update on All-NBA point guard De’Aaron Fox, who missed his fifth consecutive game with a right ankle sprain. The Kings were also missing forward Trey Lyles, who has yet to play this season after straining his left calf during the preseason.

“Every day, (Fox) is getting closer,” Brown said. “But I’m not tracking it because when he comes back, he comes back. That’s kind of how I look at it with Fox and with Trey. They’re both getting better daily, but that doesn’t mean we have a return date for him.”

Up next

The Kings will conclude a three-game homestand when they play host to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday at Golden 1 Center.

The Cavaliers were coming off a 128-120 loss to Oklahoma City going into Saturday’s game against the Golden State Warriors. Donovan Mitchell is averaging 30.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.3 steals while shooting 36.4% from 3-point range. The Cavaliers have six players scoring in double figures, including Evan Mobley, who is averaging 15.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.1 blocks.

Upcoming schedule

Nov. 13 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Nov. 15 at Los Angeles Lakers

Nov. 17 at San Antonio Spurs

Nov. 19 at Dallas Mavericks

Nov. 20 at New Orleans Pelicans