Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie got the effort he wanted in Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but not the outcome.
The Kings suffered their seventh consecutive loss, falling 113-99 to the defending NBA champions at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Dennis Schroder came off the bench to score 21 points for the Kings (3-12), who matched their longest losing streak since the 2021-22 season. Sacramento is off to its worst start through 15 games since going 2-13 to start the 1990-91 season.
DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points. Malik Monk added 16. Precious Achiuwa had 15 points and nine rebounds.
Kings scoring leader Zach LaVine was held to eight points for the second game in a row. LaVine attempted only 10 shots after taking just seven shots in Sunday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points for the Thunder (15-1), which has won seven in a row since suffering its only loss of the season.
Chet Holmgren had 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Luguentz Dort had 14 points.
Kings coach Doug Christie deployed his 13th different starting lineup of the season with Drew Eubanks filling in for Sabonis, who was ruled out due to right knee soreness. The Kings could have another new lineup when they face the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday with Keegan Murray expected to make his season debut after recovering from thumb surgery.
Halftime report
Sacramento kept the game close during a closely contested first quarter. The Kings got a nice spark from Dennis Schroder, who came off the bench to score nine points on 4-of-6 shooting in the opening period.
Schroder seems to have found an offensive rhythm since moving into a backup role at the start of this road trip. He scored 14 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves and 22 against the Spurs.
Oklahoma City led 27-25 at the end of the first period. The Kings took the lead on a couple of occasions early in the second quarter. The Thunder went up by eight on a dunk by Holmgren with 3:54 to play and carried a 58-50 lead into the halftime break.
Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 17 points in the first half. Schroder had 15.
Second-half summary
Oklahoma City opened up a 65-52 lead after outscoring Sacramento 7-2 to start the second half. The Kings came back to cut the deficit to six on a 3-pointer by Monk midway through the third quarter, but they trailed 83-69 going into the fourth.
The Kings committed seven turnovers in the third period. They were outscored 11-4 on points off turnovers while going 8 of 23 (.348) from the field and 1 of 8 (.125) from 3-point range.
There was a glimmer of hope for the Kings when they got within nine on a 3-pointer by Monk with 8:42 to play in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder responded with a 9-0 run to extend its lead to 18.
Up next
The Kings will visit the Grizzlies in the fourth game of their five-game road trip Thursday at FedExForum.
The Kings will be facing the Grizzlies (4-11) for the first time this season. Memphis has lost five in row and nine of its last 10.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant is out with a right calf strain. Jaren Jackson Jr. is doubtful due to a right ankle sprain.
This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 7:30 PM.
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Jason Anderson
The Sacramento Bee
Jason Anderson is The Sacramento Bee’s Kings beat writer. He is a Sacramento native and a graduate of Fresno State, where he studied journalism and college basketball under the late Jerry Tarkanian.
