Kings lead most of way, leave Thunder in dust / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports Credit Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Harrison Barnes led all five Sacramento starters in double figures with 24 points Saturday night as the Kings led most of the way and pulled away in the third quarter to beat the visiting Oklahoma Thunder 113-103.

Free throws this season

76%16,8Points made:16,8Accuracy:75,6%Place in standings:12Record max:31Record min:8Most made FTs:De'Aaron FoxTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

Moe Harkless had 18 points, Davion Mitchell 17, Richaun Holmes 14 and Tyrese Haliburton 13 to complement a career-high 17 assists as Sacramento's starters combined for 86 points in the Kings' second win in their last three games.

Rookie Josh Giddey led Oklahoma City with his season-best 24 points, Darius Bazley had 18, and Tre Mann 16. The Thunder saw a three-game winning streak come to an end.

The Kings never trailed in the first half, but found themselves down 66-65 after a Giddey 3-pointer in the third minute of the third quarter.

The game was subsequently tied twice before Haliburton had a three-point play in a seven-point Kings burst. The Thunder scored the next seven points, including a 3-pointer by Mann, to tie the game again at 75-all.

Down 89-79 after three periods, the Thunder never got closer than seven over the final 12 minutes.

The Kings won the game at the 3-point line, where they outshot the Thunder 37.5 percent to 30.0 percent and outscored them 36-27.

Harkless made four 3-pointers and combined with Mitchell (three) and Buddy Hield (three) for 10 of the Kings' 12 treys.

Barnes went 8-for-17 from the field, and added nine rebounds, two shy of Harkless' game-high total.

Haliburton's 17 assists were four more than his previous career-high. The double-double was his 14th of the season and 19th in his two NBA years.

Both teams shot well, with the Kings enjoying a 51.8 percent to 48.3 percent advantage. Holmes was the most accurate of the hosts on a 6-for-7 night.

Giddey added a team-high eight assists. His previous scoring high was 21 points.

Aleksej Pokusevski chipped in with 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds off the bench for Oklahoma City, which had opened a three-game trip with wins at Dallas and Portland.

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