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Sacramento Kings still barely in playoff race after beating Thunder

May 11, 2021; Sacramento, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Moses Brown (9) drives in against Sacramento Kings forward Richaun Holmes (22) during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Terence Davis came off the bench to score 27 points, leading the Sacramento Kings to a 122-106 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.

With their sixth victory in seven games, the Kings (31-38) kept their faint playoff hopes alive for at least another day. With three games remaining, Sacramento needs to win out and have the San Antonio Spurs lose the rest of their games to have a chance at making the Western Conference play-in tournament.

The Thunder (21-49) saw their losing string stretch to eight, and they fell for the 22nd time in 23 games.

Kenrich Williams led Oklahoma City with 20 points. Darius Bazley had 18 points, and Moses Brown finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

After trailing for much of the first half, the Kings blitzed the Thunder in the third, fueled by a hot start and hot finish to the quarter by Delon Wright.

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Wright got Sacramento going coming out of the half with a quick steal to help create a bucket and then scored a basket of his own moments later.

Wright hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds of the period to give the Kings a 20-point lead after a 41-point quarter.

Wright scored 13 of his 21 points in the third, making all five of his field goals in the period. Buddy Hield also finished with 21 for the Kings.

The Thunder were without a true point guard in the game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Theo Maledon were both out due to plantar fasciitis, and Ty Jerome was sidelined due to a calf strain.

Oklahoma City initially thrived with its bigger lineup, jumping ahead with a 12-0 first-quarter run to go up by nine. The Thunder produced a 15-6 run to start the second quarter, giving them a double-digit lead.

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After starting the second quarter just 1 of 7 from the floor and falling behind 47-33, the Kings were 12 of 18 the rest of the way until halftime to cut the deficit to three by the break.

Oklahoma City shot 62.2 percent from the floor in the first half but hit just 34 percent after the break.

–Field Level Media

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