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Moments after Jaylin Williams blocked Keon Ellis' floater attempt, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander found Kenrich Williams for the running dunk in transition. That was enough for Sacramento as Doug Christie yelled, 'Uncle!' and called a timeout to clear his bench with less than two minutes left.
The Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to a 121-105 win over the Sacramento Kings. The second half was briefly interesting but OKC held firm control to get its 60th victory.
Juggling injuries have been a theme for the Thunder this season. In tonight's iteration, they were without Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins. No problem. Let's pivot to Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein to help out Gilgeous-Alexander this time.
The double-big duo connected for the Thunder's first two buckets. They ended the first quarter with a 31-21 lead. With Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench, Holmgren and Hartenstein commanded OKC's bench lineup to balloon its lead in the second frame. It scored 33 points and entered halftime with a controlling 64-42 advantage.
An elephant-sized halftime lead has become business as usual for the Thunder. They've had the most 20-plus point advantages at the break since the 1997-98 season at 14 already this season. But that said, you just knew the Kings would fight back. They had to with their postseason lives on the line.
The Kings came out of the break strong with a 16-0 run. It catapulted them back into the contest. What could've been another mundane second half turned into must-watch TV as Keegan Murray did his best prime Klay Thompson impersonation.
Behind a red-hot quarter from the outside, the Kings scored 39 points in the third frame. That shaved the Thunder's lead to 89-81. A manageable deficit considering where they were just an hour ago. And then any faint hopes of a comeback were quickly erased.
The Holmgren-Hartenstein duo manned the second unit again. It didn't take long for the Thunder to get back up by double-digit points as Alex Caruso got to the free-throw line early on. OKC's bench lineup ballooned its lead back up to 105-89. Isaiah Joe's stepback 3-pointer forced the Kings to call a timeout with a little under seven minutes left.
By the time Gilgeous-Alexander checked back in, the Thunder had a 107-94 lead with five minutes left. The MVP candidate put the finishing touches of another blowout win to sweep their three-game season series against the Kings. Considering they might be the eighth seed, you must feel extra good about OKC's chances in a possible Round 1 playoff series.
The Thunder shot 52% from the field and went 19-of-32 (59.4%) from 3. They shot 16-of-20 on free throws. They had 30 assists on 43 baskets. Six Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 32 points. Holmgren had an 18-point doube-double. Caruso scored 15 points and Joe scored 14 points off the bench. Lu Dort had 13 points and Williams had 11 points in the starts.
Meanwhile, the Kings shot 41% from the field and went 23-of-48 (47.9%) from 3. They shot 8-of-12 on free throws. They had 32 assists on 37 baskets. Five Kings players scored double-digit points.
Murray went off for 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting and six rebounds. He shot 9-of-13 from 3. Zach LaVine had 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting and seven assists. Domantas Sabonis was limited to eight points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. DeMar DeRozan had a quiet 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting and six rebounds.
This was another ho-hum pure domination performance from the Thunder. They led the Kings by as many as 25 points. They've normalized these types of outings. Even when they have nothing to play for and are short-handed, they chug along as a winning machine. Opposing teams playing for their seasons can only feel helpless.
Let's look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-minus
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Continuously attacking the paint, Gilgeous-Alexander could've lost a limb and still likely wouldn't have received a call. It was one of those nights. Beyond the five Kings players on the court, he also fought against a tight whistle. The MVP candidate didn't get the calls he's accustomed but he didn't let that prevent him from putting on a show.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 32 points on 10-of-23 shooting, eight rebounds and five assists. He shot 3-of-6 from 3 and went 9-of-10 on free throws.
Attacking the Kings' defense, Gilgeous-Alexander had plenty of pretty finishes around a packed paint. The drive-heavy scorer didn't go away from his bread and butter. He led the Thunder to a lopsided score and had 29 points after three quarters.
At this point, this was your average Gilgeous-Alexander outing. He's reached the elite status that his floor is most players' ceiling. The Kings tried to bully him out of the paint and all that did was motivate him to continue to headbutt his way through multiple defenders at the rim.
Gilgeous-Alexander made history with this 20-point outing. He's scored 20-plus points in 65 straight games. That's a new Thunder record that Kevin Durant previously owned. Throughout the broadcast, he was referred to simply as the MVP frontrunner. It's hard to debate otherwise.
Clear the lane,is coming through
pic.twitter.com/HTpLceWezz
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 26, 2025
Chet Holmgren: B-plus
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Cutting to the basket, Hartenstein found Holmgren for the open layup. One possession later, he swung the ball back to him for the 3-pointer. An alley-oop connection between the two centers where Holmgren got the easy dunk showed off the duos' growing rapport.
Holmgren finished with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting, 10 rebounds and two assists. He shot 1-of-2 from 3 and went 3-of-4 on free throws. He also had two steals.
Without Williams, Holmgren stepped up as the Thunder's second-best scorer. The double-big lineup is a walking mismatch and the 21-year-old was the beneficiary of that when Murray couldn't contain him inside the paint with plenty of easy looks.
The two most significant stretches were in the second and fourth quarters. With Gilgeous-Alexander off, the Thunder have struggled to keep up with their historic dominance for most of the season. But they don't need that. All they need to do is stomach through his absence. And as the playoffs are near, OKC hasn't only survived without Gilgeous-Alexander in recent weeks — but thrived.
After early growing pains, Holmgren and Hartenstein have materialized into a deadly duo. The Thunder's bench lineups have changed ownership from Williams to theirs. Those two mid-quarter stretches saw OKC blow the scoreboard open. The remainder of the regular season will be about the two seven-footers finding their flow and they've already found it.
Alex Caruso: A
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Starting the fourth quarter, Caruso's and-one layup and a reverse circus layup in the opening minute changed the game's trajectory. What could've been a game that came down to the final moments was quickly re-established as a blowout thanks to his activity.
Caruso finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, six assists and five rebounds. He shot 2-of-3 from 3 and went 3-of-3 on free throws. He also had two blocks.
This mini-West Coast road trip showed what Caruso brings to the court — even if his box-score stats look pedestrian. The 31-year-old is the textbook defensive sparkplug who recks Sacramento possessions by sheer effort.
Another example happened later in the fourth quarter. After he turned it over, Caruso quickly recovered and blocked Jake LaRavia's attempt. He turned a mistake into a defensive highlight in just a few seconds. Expect those types of sequences to grow louder in the playoffs.
Isaiah Joe: A
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Facing off against Ellis, Joe went into his Gilgeous-Alexander bag when his side-step 3-pointer created enough separation for him to drill the attempt despite a tight contest. Those are the types of looks the Thunder love to see from him instead of the standard catch-and-shoot approach.
Joe finished with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, three rebounds and three assists. He shot 4-of-6 from 3. He also had three steals.
This was a nice bounce-back for Joe after he went scoreless against the Clippers. Without Wiggins and Wallace, he needed to step up as a scorer for the Thunder. That was no problem again for OKC. The classic "Next Man Up" sports cliche has been its reality this season.
Poke it awayHustle in transition
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 26, 2025
Anyone need a hot cuppa Joe for this late night?️ pic.twitter.com/y1UjkkylvU
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 26, 2025
Highlights:
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder get 60th victory with 121-105 win over Kings
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