Wins could be hard to come by for the Sacramento Kings over the first quarter of the season with Keegan Murray out due to injury and a daunting schedule ahead.
The Kings will get their toughest test yet when they face reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder to start a four-game road trip Tuesday at Paycom Center.
The Kings (1-2) are coming off a 127-120 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Domantas Sabonis is back after missing the season opener against the Phoenix Suns with a strained hamstring, but Murray (thumb) and rookie first-round draft pick Nique Clifford are still out due to injuries.
The Thunder (4-0) will be on the second night of a road-home back-to-back after beating the Dallas Mavericks 101-94 on Monday.
Oklahoma City won’t submit an injury report until Tuesday, but Alex Caruso (concussion protocol), Isaiah Joe (knee), Thomas Sorber (ACL), Nikola Topic (surgical recovery), Jalen Williams (wrist) and Kenrich Williams (knee) were out against the Mavericks.
Here are three things to watch in Tuesday’s game.
Free-throw shooting
The Kings haven’t been awarded many free throws so far this season. Maybe that’s for the best considering how poorly they’re shooting them.
Sacramento ranks 29th in the NBA in free-throw attempts (18.7) and 30th in free-throw percentage (.643). Zach LaVine is shooting 92.9%, but Sabonis (33.3%), Russell Westbrook (44.4%), DeMar DeRozan (54.5%) and Malik Monk (63.2%) have struggled.
The MVP
Gilgeous-Alexander won his first MVP award while leading Oklahoma City to the NBA championship last season. He has been even more unstoppable so far this season.
Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the league in scoring. Over the first three games, he averaged 40.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks.
Can LaVine stay hot?
LaVine is eighth in the NBA in scoring at 31.0 points per game. He is shooting 53% from the field and 35.7% from 3-point range after hitting 55% from the field and 48% from beyond the arc in four preseason games.
Kings at Thunder
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Paycom Center
TV: NBC Sports California
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140
Odds: TBD
Over/under: TBD
Injury report
Kings: OUT — Nique Clifford (hamstring); Keegan Murray (thumb); Daeqwon Plowden (G League); Isaiah Stevens (G League).
Thunder: Not yet submitted.