The Oklahoma City Thunder, beaten three games in a row, travel to face the Sacramento Kings, who are 1-11 and winless at Golden 1 Center, on Sunday in a meeting that also sends Nique Clifford back to his old club.

Oklahoma City lost 113-112 at the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday despite 40 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while Sacramento were beaten 120-107 at home by Portland on the same night.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Sacramento Kings form and outlook

Oklahoma City arrive 8-5 and eighth in the Western Conference standings, yet their last five games read far worse than the record.

Wins at Memphis and at home to Washington, by 31 and 39 points, were followed by defeats at Portland by 20 and 10 points and then Friday's one-point loss in Los Angeles.

Gilgeous-Alexander's big night was backed by 23 points from Jared McCain, who hit seven three-pointers, and 21 from Isaiah Hartenstein, so the damage came from the bench, where the five reserves who played shot 3-of-24 between them.

Alex Caruso, Nikola Topić and Clifford shared more than 54 minutes on Friday without scoring more than five points in total, which shows how thin the Thunder have become behind their starters.

The season-long numbers explain why Oklahoma City still sit so far clear on paper, with offensive and defensive ratings of 112.7 and 109.0 per 100 possessions against 107.3 and 119.5 for Sacramento.

Sacramento have lost all five of their latest games and conceded at least 107 points in each, with Portland's 120 on Friday coming only three days after a 107-100 home defeat to Orlando.

The Kings' one clear edge is in the passing column, where their 25.0 assists per game beat Oklahoma City's 22.8, a product of Darius Acuff Jr. running an offence with no natural backup point guard since Ben Simmons tore his Achilles.

Turnovers are the other fault line, since the Kings give the ball away more than four times per game more often than the Thunder, and Oklahoma City are 3-5 on the road with this the last game of a four-game trip before the NBA schedule brings them home to host the Atlanta Hawks.

What is the Thunder and Kings team news and likely rotation?

Oklahoma City remain without a large part of their rotation, with Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell and Thomas Sorber all listed out, while Jaylin Williams is day to day with a back problem.

On Friday the Thunder started Kenrich Williams, Aday Mara, Hartenstein, McCain and Gilgeous-Alexander, with Alex Caruso coming off the bench for 27 minutes, and that group is the likeliest starting five again.

Sacramento are missing Precious Achiuwa and Maxime Raynaud, and Simmons is out for the season, so the Kings should again start Keegan Murray, De'Andre Hunter, Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and Acuff, the five who began the loss to Portland.

Clifford is the storyline for the visitors, having moved from Sacramento to Oklahoma City on 8 November for two second-round picks, and he played 11 minutes without scoring on Friday.

The matchups that could decide Thunder vs. Kings

Gilgeous-Alexander and Acuff carry the scoring load for their sides, and Friday showed both ends of that burden, with Gilgeous-Alexander hitting 15 of 26 shots while Acuff managed six of 19 for 17 points and four turnovers. Acuff's workload is already a talking point, since Doug Christie admitted that 42 minutes in a loss to the Lakers on 4 November was too many.

Underneath, Hartenstein grabbed 16 rebounds on nine-of-10 shooting against the Clippers, while Sabonis answered with 12 rebounds and 21 points against Portland, so the duel between the two centres will shape the glass and the Kings' half-court offence.

Thunder vs. Kings player props to watch

Thunder and Kings head-to-head record

Oklahoma City have won all six regular-season meetings since the start of 2024-25, by an average margin of just over 20 points.

The closest came on 28 October 2025, a 107-101 Thunder win in Oklahoma City, while the biggest was a 144-110 victory in the same city on 1 February 2025.

The last meeting, on 19 November 2025, finished 113-99 with Clifford in a Kings shirt, and rosters on both sides have changed enough since then that the history offers colour more than a reliable guide.

Our Thunder vs. Kings prediction and best bets

The case for Oklahoma City rests on a defence that rates more than 10 points per 100 possessions better than Sacramento's and on a Kings side that has not won at home all season, while the counter-argument is a short-handed Thunder group that has lost three in a row.

A double-digit margin looks more realistic than a rout given Oklahoma City's depth problems, and the total should clear the low 220s because neither defence has been holding opponents down, with Sacramento's 101.2 possessions per game a quicker tempo than Oklahoma City's 98.8 and more chances for Acuff to create.