For a good chunk of the season, I had described the Oklahoma City Thunder as a good, young team that will get better over time, despite their current win-loss record.  They would enter Arco Arena to play the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night having won 4 of their last 5 games; the game in and of itself was a homecoming for Thunder coach Scott Brooks as he was a Kings assistant coach two seasons ago.  Well, the homecoming was sweet for Brooks as Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook combined for 44 points, leading Oklahoma City to the hard-fought 99-98 win over Sacramento.

Turnovers plagues both teams as they combined for 45; the first half was relatively tight as both teams went to their respective locker rooms tied at 55-all.  After the Kings went ahead courtesy of a 3-point play by Andres Nocioni midway through the third quarter, the Thunder would go on a 9-0 spurt to slowly pull away briefly.  Oklahoma City’s Thabo Sefolosha had 7 points in the period as the Thunder took an 84-76 lead into the fourth quarter.

Nenad Krstic scored on consecutive putbacks, the last one coming wiuth 2:13 remaining in the game, giving Oklahoma City a 95-92 lead; Westbrook’s jumper extended their lead to 97-92 with 38 ticks left on the game clock.  With a chance to tie the game with 5 seconds left, Nocioni air-balled a shot attempt then Sefolosha made a pair of free throws in the closing seconds, appearing to give the Thunder the win – but hold the phone.  Sacramento’s Rashad McCants drained a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left and the Thunder gave the Kings yet another chance to win this one.  But a halfcourt lob with 0.1 seconds left to go came up way short.

Westbrook and Green shared high scoring honors for Oklahoma City – with Westbrook grabbing 5 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists but committing 7 turnovers while Green grabbed 6 boards, dished out 2 assists along with a steal, but also turning the ball over 7 times; Sefolosha added 17 with 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 steals while Krstic, despite scoring only 9 points, grabbed 15 rebounds with 3 blocks.

Sacramento was led by Spencer Hawes with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists but turned the ball over 6 times while Francisco Garcia added 18 (including four 3-pointers) with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and 2 blocks; Nocioni scored 16 with 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.  Oklahoma City (18-46) plays again on Wednesday when they return home to host the Denver Nuggets while Sacramento (14-50) remains at home to host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.