OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook collected his third triple-double of the season to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 98-95 win over the Sacramento Kings Sunday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The victory broke a two-game losing streak for the Thunder and improved their record to 12-8. The Kings fell to 7-15.
Westbrook scored 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Forward Kevin Durant added 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Guard Rudy Gay led the Kings with 20 points on 8 of 18 shooting. Center Demarcus Cousins added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Guards Marco Belinelli and Darren Collison each came off the bench to score 16 in the defeat.
With 7:57 left in the fourth, Kings forward Omri Casspi drained a 3-pointer to cut Thunder lead to six points. But Thunder center Enes Kanter responded with a lay up to push Oklahoma City back by by eight.
The Kings then proceeded to go on a 9-0 run to take an 85-84 lead with 5:30 left in the game.
Oklahoma City missed two shots at the rim and it led to a Ben McLemore 3-pointer for Sacramento.
After forward Serge Ibaka was called for goal-tending, he tipped in a rebound on other end. But Belinelli hit another 3-pointer to give Kings a 93-86 advantage.
Westbrook answered with a 3-pointer of his own and the Thunder trailed 93-89 with 2:46 left in the game.
Kings guard Rajon Rondo put the Kings by six with a layup. Guard Dion Waiters was fouled and drained a pair of free throws with 1:50 left in the game.
Oklahoma City got the ball back and Durant missed an open 3-pointer, but Thunder center Steven Adams got the rebound. After a timeout, Durant was fouled while knocking in a jumper. He missed the ensuing free throw and Thunder were down 95-93.
Oklahoma City got the ball back and Westbrook was fouled. He hit 1-of-2 from the stripe. Cousins was then fouled and he missed both of his free-throw attempts.
Down by one, Durant nailed a mid-range jumper with 23 seconds on the clock to give Thunder a 96-95 lead.
The Kings went to Gay to try and answer. But Durant forced him into a turnover with just 5.3 seconds on the clock. Durant hit a pair of free throws to close out the game.
NOTES: Through one-quarter of the season, Oklahoma City is not happy with its overall play, but according to F Kevin Durant, they are not panicking. “You always want to start off well, but you always want to figure out what you have as a team, what’s your identity, especially when you have new coaches, new teammates,” Durant said. “We’ve got to find out our identity and what works for us. We’re still trying to figure it out.” … Sacramento coach George Karl said Thunder PG Russell Westbrook and Kings PG Rajon Rondo are both similar in mentality. “Russ is trying to kill you. He’s trying to destroy you each possession,” Karl said. “He’s coming right down your throat if you’re not ready for it. I loved Rajon for the short period we’ve had him. He’s very good at feeling out players. I think he’s only going to get better.”