Sacramento jumped off to an incredible start in the game, seemingly making every shot at will. DeMarcus Cousins and Travis Outlaw were carrying the load offensively, while Durant was singlehandedly keeping the Thunder in it. The Kings ended up scoring 40 points in the first quarter after Isaiah Thomas nailed a triple that he let off with 0.1 seconds left, giving the Kings a five point lead. The Kings shot an amazing 18 of 22 from the field in the first quarter.

That second quarter was the one in which the Kings benched featured most prominently, but it wasn't the only time they were in the game. For as good as the starters played, the bench performed terribly in their time on the floor. Francisco Garcia played the most of all of the bench unit at about 17 minutes, and contribute a mere 3 points, 1 block, and 2 fouls, one of which was one of the stupid fouls on a three point shooter. I wonder if Cisco's boneheadedness is what happens when a veteran has essentially played his entire NBA career on a bad team. Chuck Hayes played 12 minutes off the bench, and without a real threat for him to guard, he wasn't all that great either, and I'm probably being a bit nice there. He had just 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls, while also repeatedly giving up second chance opportunities due to his height. Chuck Hayes CANNOT be the only big man on the floor. It really hurts the Kings rebounding, where they were beaten by Oklahoma City by a 43 to 34 margin despite having more rebounding opportunities.

The second half began with the Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins show. Evans would drive to the basket and score or get to the line, or he'd find Cousins for an easy shot or dunk. Together they combined for the Kings first 14 points of the half, and the Kings got out to as much as a 13 point lead midway through the third quarter after Travis Outlaw hit a pair of free throws. Kevin Durant must have taken this as a personal affront because he scored 11 points from then on to help get the Thunder back into the game. The Kings were able to weather the storm a little bit, and managed to hold onto a slim lead for the final quarter.

Sacramento's lead didn't last long as Daequan Cook scored 5 straight for Oklahoma City, giving the Thunder the lead for the first time since the first quarter. The Kings took the lead back, but Cook hit yet another three to tie it, and then was fouled by Francisco Garcia while shooting a three to give the Thunder a three point lead after hitting the free throws.

DeMarcus Cousins did his best to keep the Kings in it, driving inside on Cole Aldrich and Nick Collison, who both did as good a job as one could hope for on Cousins, but it still wasn't enough to stop DeMarcus from scoring and getting to the line several times.

After Isaiah Thomas took it to the basket and got fouled, the lead was cut to just 1 point with 1:52 remaining. The Kings did a good job of pressuring the Thunder to use most of the clock, and the Thunder had a clear out up top with Derek Fisher and Tyreke Evans. Fisher pulled up for three and was lightly clipped on the elbow by Tyreke, a stupid foul in a game full of them. Fisher nailed all three free throws to put the Thunder up four once more, but there was still hope for the Kings as DeMarcus Cousins nailed the layup attempt at the other end.

Fisher took it right through the Kings defense for a tough layup of his own to make it a four point game once more. Then after DeMarcus Cousins missed a well contested shot inside, Fisher pushed it up the floor and found Daequan Cook in the corner for a contested three that he of course nailed. This put the Thunder up 7 with just 44 seconds left, and what miniscule chance the Kings had of getting back in it ended when Isaiah Thomas missed his own three point attempt and DeMarcus made just 1 of 2 free throws after being fouled on the putback.

I really loved the effort, heart and determination showed by our young team tonight. For most of the night, they looked like the team that was preparing for the playoffs, and this was all coming despite being without several key contributors. There have been so many flashes from this team this year and it just gives me hope for what the future may bring. If the dark cloud of potential relocation wasn't around raining on our collective moods, I'd be really looking forward to what the next few seasons bring.

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