Facing the Oklahoma City Thunder for the third time already this season, the Sacramento Kings remain winless against the defending champions.
Despite fighting to remain close, committing eight turnovers in the third quarter felt like the turning point that led to Sacramento’s 113-99 loss on Wednesday night.
Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 33 points, eight rebounds, and three assists on 12/24 from the field and 8/10 on free throws.
Meanwhile, Dennis Schroder continued to look comfortable as he came off the bench for the third straight game. He led the Kings with 21 points. Fifteen came in the first half of action.
It was a turnover-heavy game, with the Kings committing 18 turnovers to Oklahoma City’s 16. While it felt competitive for a good while, Sacramento only led for 70 seconds as they fell to 3-12 on the season.
They’ll continue their road trip in Memphis on Thursday to take on the Grizzlies.
Kings @ Thunder Game Notes
Playing in Oklahoma City is a “homecoming” for members of Sacramento’s roster, some more than others. Russell Westbrook obviously is one of the best players in organizational history.
Dennis Schroder also spent some time playing behind (and alongside) Westbrook there, ironically, the same role he’s now been moved to on the Kings.
In a starting unit that features primetime scorers Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, Westbrook seems to have embraced a playmaking, defensive role with that unit.
Oklahoma City utilized its size advantage early, running pick-and-rolls between Chet Homlgren and Isaiah Hartenstein as they attacked the basket relentlessly.
The Kings attempted to disrupt their game, forcing early turnovers and getting out in transition on the other end. Roughly knotted up midway through the opening frame, the second unit took over.
Schroder led the show alongside Malik Monk, Keon Ellis, Nique Clifford, and Maxime Raynaud. While Raynaud is unproven in his rookie season (rookie Dylan Cardwell was inactive and assigned to the G League), Monk and Ellis provide spacing that Sacramento often lacks.
It’s also clear that Schroder’s job is to run the show. Monk has supplementary playmaking abilities but prefers to let someone else initiate. Familiar with that role (and the building), his aggression stood out. It helps that shots were falling for him.
Schroder, playing in his third consecutive game off the bench, tallied 9 points on 4/6 shooting (4/4 from two) in the first quarter. Reigning MVP Gilgeous-Alexander played the entire frame as well, recording 11 points as his team held a narrow 25-27 advantage.
Schröder is feelin’ it 🔥
12 PTS, 5-9 FG pic.twitter.com/2LZT7QGFn8
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 20, 2025
His aggression continued into the second as Precious Achiuwa also finished plays. Throughout their six-game losing streak, the Kings lacked effort at times. To the point where Coach Christie publicly highlighted it multiple times.
Their first-half efforts on Wednesday night couldn’t be questioned. Their offense had a healthy flow, generating paint touches and maintaining consistent ball and player movement.
But slowing down the Thunder was another task. Their aggression attacking the paint succeeded against Sacramento, but the home team couldn’t buy a bucket from beyond the arc.
Ending the first half with Schroder jumping over the scorer’s table to save a ball and a LaVine half-court heave that didn’t count, the Kings trailed 58-50 at the midway point.
Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 17 points on 7/12 shooting, while Schroder’s 15 points led Sacramento’s side. Oklahoma City’s 19 percent rate from three (4/21) played a big part, but the Kings deserved credit for fighting to keep it close.
Alex Caruso started the second half in place of Hartenstein, who was getting a minor eye injury attended to.
Suffering from poor second halves for most of the season, conceding a run to the Thunder could ignite the crowd enough that there’s no looking back.
The defending champs played as if that was their goal, as turnovers and poor transition execution hindered the Kings. Schroder had cooled off from his hot start.
Right as they started to fall back into isolation offense, Westbrook found Monk for a triple that re-balanced the momentum at 67-61 in favor of the Thunder.
The defending MVP continued to convert as he played a majority of the frame. Eight turnovers led to ten Thunder points in the third, as the Kings trailed 83-69 with twelve minutes remaining.
Early in the fourth was pivotal as OKC’s star got some rest and Sacramento made a push.
Monk started to find a rhythm to keep his side competitive. A quick 8-0 Run from the Kings cut the deficit to nine points before the Thunder responded with six straight to re-extend their lead to 15.
That was essentially the story of the night. It felt like the Kings were playing from 8 to 12 points behind the entire game. Every time they cut it closer, the Thunder responded.
Maybe the final daggers were Lu Dort’s 11 points on 3/3 from deep in the fourth quarter. Sacramento had one more 10-2 run left in them, but never managed to bring it back within single digits.
Despite fighting to remain close, committing eight turnovers in the third quarter felt like the turning point that led to Sacramento’s 113-99 loss on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 33 points, eight rebounds, and three assists on 12/24 from the field and 8/10 on free throws.
Meanwhile, Schroder continued to look comfortable as he came off the bench for the third straight game. He led the Kings with 21 points. Fifteen came in the first half of action.
It was a turnover-heavy game, with the Kings committing 18 turnovers to Oklahoma City’s 16. While it felt competitive for a good while, Sacramento only led for 70 seconds as they fell to 3-12 on the season.
They’ll continue their road trip in Memphis on Thursday to take on the Grizzlies.
More Sacramento Kings coverage on Sactown Sports
Just months after talking up free agent signing Dennis Schroder as their new starting point guard, he’s been moved to the bench.
The 2025-26 Sacramento Kings are 3-11 through their first 14 games. That’s on pace for 17 total wins, equivalent to the Utah Jazz’s record last season.
Surely they’ll put together a better stretch — and the early schedule has done them no favors — but all the roster construction concerns that were highlighted in the offseason have come to light.
Read More:
An unideal start to Dennis Schroder’s Kings tenure
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Thursday, November 20th – @ Memphis Grizzlies – 5:00 PM PT
Saturday, November 22nd – @ Denver Nuggets – 7:00 PM PT
Monday, November 24th – vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – 7:00 PM PT
Wednesday, November 26th – vs. Phoenix Suns – 7:00 PM PT
Friday, November 28th – @ Utah Jazz – 6:30 PM PT
Thank you for readingSactownSports.com. Follow us onTwitterandGoogle News, and subscribe to ourYouTubechannel.