Luguentz Dort, OKC Thunder Blast Kings in Sacramento, 120-100

Oklahoma City Thunder, led by Luguentz Dort, easily defeated the Sacramento Kings this Wednesday night, 120-100.

Dort, the 20-year old undrafted rookie who started tonight’s game at the shooting guard position, closed the event with 23 points, hitting five threes in six attempts. He was something that the Kings didn’t expect to encounter, and was excellent during his 27 minutes on the court.

“I was playing good. The three-pointers is something I’ve been working a lot, and it was just playing good today” he said, adding that the Thunder’s offense was superb today. “We just played as a team. CP, and Dennis, they been just making the offense going.”

The most important part of the game took place in the final minutes of the first half. OKC had a solid lead, but the guests made 10-0 runs that lasted no more than two minutes, which dazzled the Kings, and left them 16 points behind, 59-43. After that, it was nothing but struggle for the hosts, who managed to come back under 10 points but experienced a massive blow in the late part of the third.

OKC made a 15-5 series, to gain a 20-point lead, 96-76, and to deflate the atmosphere at the Golden One Center.

Apart from Dort, Dennis Schroeder posted 24 points off the bench, and as usual, he was the driving force for the Thunder in the second unit. The German international also added 9 assists and four rebounds. Veteran forward, Danilo Gallinari had 19 points, and four threes, while Shail Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17 with seven points and rebounds each.

Chris Paul was in the mood for contributing otherwise than scoring, and the experienced point guard had 10 assists, 7 rebounds, and 9 points, shooting 3-for-12 from the field.

Among the hosts, Bogdan Bogdanovic had a team-high with 23 points, and five boards. De’Aaron Fox scored 19, and Buddy Hield 13. The hosts were more than awful for three points, hitting just nine of their 39 attempts.

It is obvious that the Kings are falling apart, and that one promising season, in terms of reaching the playoffs will be wasted. After a solid start during which they looked capable of pursuing that eight seed in the Western Conference, Sacramento just stopped and imploded. The issues with the chemistry inside the locker room, the undefined leadership of the team, and many more regarding hierarchy are still troubling this young crew.

For example, once he received a question about the status of Richaun Holmes’ and Marvin Bagley’s injuries, Hield answered like this.

“I’m not a trainer, bro. I don’t know what’s going on.”

It is just one of the hints which could tell a lot about the situation the team.

“This is a great fanbase and great home crowd we get every night. That should be a major advantage for us. We have to give more to receive,” said Walton about the fans who were pretty unhappy following the game.

The Kings (17-30) have a second of back-to-back games tomorrow night against the LA Clippers at Staples. After that, Luke Walton and his guys are coming back home to meet another team from LA, the Lakers. That match is on Saturday, and it is the first of four straight at the Golden One Center. Sacramento will also meet Minnesota, Miami, and San Antonio during that stretch.

As for the OKC (29-20), they travel to Phoenix this Friday to meet the Suns. Following that contest, Thunder awaits the Cavaliers, the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics in the next three events. Posting a win against the first two teams who are not playing well right now would be a great thing for Billy Donovan’s crew, who is battling for the fifth place in the Western Conference.