Examining Previous Matchups of the OKC Thunder versus Sacramento Kings Ahead of Thursday's Meeting
The Oklahoma City Thunder is on the road Thursday night, taking on the Sacramento Kings before heading to Denver to take on the Nuggets on Saturday.
This contest kicks off a rough six-game stretch for the Thunder, where they'll have to take on the 13-9 Kings, reigning NBA Champions in the Nuggets and the No. 1 team in the West in the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It will be a proving run for Oklahoma City, who sit at 15-7 and are the current No. 2 team in the Western Conference.
But the team will first have to take on a highly talented, young Sacramento team.
This is the second meeting of the two teams this season, as the Kings took the first game, 105-98, in early November without their star guard De'Aaron Fox.
Though Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 on 25 shots, an immense 69 combined points between Kevin Huerter, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis proved to be too much to overcome in the contest, which was an NBA In-Season Tournament matchup.
Many may have thought this would've been the Thunder's game to lose as the Kings were competing without Fox. But behind a raucous Sacramento crowd inside Golden 1 Center, Oklahoma City ended up falling short.
But the Thunder has fell short a plethora of times against the Kings as of the past couple years.
Last year, in the matchup's three regular-season games, Oklahoma City fumbled all three contests, losing by no more than nine each night.
The year before that in 2021-22, Oklahoma City only claimed one win the matchup's four-game series, winning by just two in the two teams' first meeting of the season.
Noting that the Thunder has not won a game against the Kings in over two calendar years, Oklahoma City must have a certain game plan to attack this Sacramento team, especially considering they'll now be retain Fox alongside a healthy starting lineup.
The Kings enter the contest coming off a 20-point loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, while the Thunder are building on four wins in its last five, its most recent being a 14-point win against the Utah Jazz on Monday.
This will mark the second of four games to be played by Oklahoma City and Sacramento, as the Thunder will certainly be looking to break its seven-game losing streak Thursday night.
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