Thunder beat Kings to snap skid
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Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - Russell Westbrook finished with 27 points and 10 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away in the fourth quarter to post a much-needed 116-103 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
Enes Kanter chipped in with 25 points, Dion Waiters added 22 and Anthony Morrow made five 3-pointers en route to 19 points off the bench for the Thunder, who snapped a four-game skid and stayed even with the Pelicans for the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoff race.
Oklahoma City's final three games of the regular season are at Indiana, at home vs. Portland and at Minnesota.
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"We have to go on the road and take care of business," Westbrook said.
The Kings, who were playing without DeMarcus Cousins (foot) and Rudy Gay (concussion), were led by Ben McLemore's 20 points. They have dropped seven of their last eight overall and 13 straight in Oklahoma City.
Morrow made two 3-pointers during a run late in the first quarter that propelled the Thunder to a 34-24 lead heading to the second.
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After trailing 57-49 at the break, the Kings made some headway in the third quarter and pulled even at 72-72 late in the frame. Another Morrow 3 in the final minute sent the hosts into the fourth with an 82-76 advantage.
Nick Collison, who missed the previous nine games with an ankle injury, converted a three-point play to put the Thunder ahead by double digits, 95-84, early in the fourth, and the margin reached as high as 17 down the stretch.
"I was proud of the effort and energy," Kings head coach George Karl said. "We could have found a way to win if some things would have fallen better for us."
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Game Notes
Ray McCallum and Derrick Williams both scored 17 points for the Kings, who committed 16 turnovers and only forced seven ... Kings center Jason Thompson pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.