Gallinari Scores 24; Thunder Rally From 19 Down To Top Kings

Danilo Gallinari scored 24 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from 19 points down in the third quarter to beat the Sacramento Kings 112-108 on Thursday night.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points and Chris Paul added 17 for the Thunder, who have won five straight and 14 of 17.

Harrison Barnes scored 21 points and Harry Giles added a season-high 19 for the Kings, who had won three in a row. De’Aaron Fox, the Kings’ No. 2 scorer, sat out with lower abdominal muscle tightness.

Sacramento led 61-50 at halftime. Giles scored 15 points and Buddy Hield scored 12 on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range.

he Kings quickly increased their advantage in the third quarter. A deep 3-pointer by Nemanja Bjelica put Sacramento up 75-57. Sacramento’s biggest lead was 78-59 before Oklahoma City rallied. The Thunder went on a 15-0 run and held the Kings scoreless for nearly six minutes. Sacramento’s lead was down to 82-81 at the end of the period.

The Thunder led 110-106 in the final minute and had possession when Hield stole the ball. He missed an open 3-pointer and the Thunder ended up gaining possession.

Sacramento’s Cory Joseph stole the ball and Barnes made a layup to cut Oklahoma City’s lead to two with 9.9 seconds remaining, but Paul made two free throws with 9.5 seconds left to put the game away.

TIP-INS

Kings: Made all 10 of their free throws in the first half. ... Sacramento’s Kent Bazemore and Oklahoma City’s Hamidou Diallo were called for a double technical in the third quarter. ... Hield, who played at the nearby University of Oklahoma, finished with 15 points.

Thunder: Made 11 of 18 field goals and all eight of their free throws in the third quarter. ... Had six players score in double figures.

UP NEXT

Kings: Visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.

Thunder: Visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.