Hield Has Career-Best 37 Points, Kings Fall Short To Thunder 132-113

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Paul George scored 43 points, Russell Westbrook had a triple-double and Steven Adams grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 132-113 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.

George hit four 3-pointers and went 9 of 10 from the free throw line. Westbrook had 19 points, 17 assists and 11 rebounds for the 112th triple-double of his career.

George and Adams had double-doubles - George pulled down 12 rebounds and Adams scored 20 points - as the Thunder won for the eighth time in 11 games. Oklahoma City finished with a season-high 66 boards.

Buddy Hield had a career-best 37 points and De'Aaron Fox added 28 points and 12 assists for the Kings.

It was a matchup of short-handed teams. The Kings were missing Iman Shumpert, Marvin Bagley III and Bogdan Bogdanovic because of injuries, while Oklahoma City guards Raymond Felton and Dennis Schroder were serving one-game suspensions for leaving the bench area during a scuffle with the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

George had 19 points, Westbrook scored 17 and Adams added 14 in the first half, and the Thunder held a 71-52 lead at the break. Oklahoma City maintained a double-digit advantage for most of the third quarter, though the Kings pulled within nine entering the fourth quarter.

The Thunder opened the final period with a 9-0 run - with all the points coming from George - and had a comfortable lead the rest of the way.

TIP-INS

Thunder: Adams had a double-double by halftime with 14 points and 15 rebounds. . OKC missed seven of its first 14 free throws, including five straight misses in less than two minutes of the second quarter by Westbrook. . The Thunder broke a three-game road losing streak. . Jerami Grant had 22 points.

Kings: Had 43 rebounds, 23 fewer than the Thunder. ... Had won their two previous games this season against the Thunder, by 131-120 in Oklahoma City on Oct. 21 and 117-113 in Sacramento on Nov. 19. The teams meet for the final time this regular season Feb. 23 at Oklahoma City.

UP NEXT

Thunder: At Utah on Saturday. Oklahoma City has won four straight against the Jazz.

Kings: Play the second game of a three-game homestand when they host Memphis on Friday. Sacramento coach Dave Joerger coached the Grizzlies from 2013-16.

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

 

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.