NBA highlights on Feb. 11: SGA, Jalen Williams dominate Kings

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Sacramento Kings 127-113 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Sunday, avoiding their third straight loss.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) and Jalen Williams combined to score 70 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists for the Thunder. The two took over in different game periods, ensuring their team always had consistent firepower. SGA got 15 and 10 points in the first and third quarters, respectively. Williams contributed 14 points in the second period.

After the first three quarters, the Thunder led by 17 points (100-83). And when the Kings tried to launch a rally in the final period, SGA and Williams both added another nine points to safeguard their side's advantage. The opponents cut the deficit to single-digit multiple times, but SGA and Williams managed to shut down their rallies every time before they saw real hope of coming back.

The King had six players score double-digit points in Sunday's game, but only Domantas Sabonis from the starting lineup and Malik Monk of the bench squad surpassed 20 points. Their perimeter ace, De'Aaron Fox, missed 11 of his 17 field goal (FG) attempts, including six from downtown, to get only 15 points and five assists with three turnovers.

The defensive presence of Chet Holmgren served as a deterrent to the Kings' players. Though his four blocks happened in the first quarter, his incredible work of protecting the rim made the opponents hesitate before charging the paint. Ultimately, the Kings had 10 fewer points than the Thunder (54-44) in the paint.

Without Fox's sharp individual offense from the front, the Kings relied more on Sabonis' distributions of the ball to fire from outside. He did everything he could to contribute a triple-double of 21 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists, but his teammates in the starting lineup, Fox, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter did poorly, scoring 4-for-21 outside the 3-point line. Monk and Davion Mitchell knocked down 10 of the team's 16 triples.

After Sunday's win, the Thunder rose to third place in the Western Conference. The Kings fell to seventh, the play-in tournament zone, after the loss.

In the other game on Sunday, the Boston Celtics defeated the Maimi Heat 110-106 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis combined to score 71 points, 28 rebounds and 14 assists for the Celtics. Tatum was one assist shy of a triple-double. He and Porzingis both had two blocks.

Brown grabbed nine rebounds, including a team-high three on the offensive glass, but he also committed six turnovers, more than anyone else on the court, with only two assists. By contrast, his two teammates in the starting squad, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, delivered 10 assists in total with only two turnovers.

The Heat had to host the Celtics without their ace, Jimmy Butler, who was on a leave of absence to deal with the death of a family member. Despite being shorthanded, the home team fought the Eastern Conference leader with resilience until the final minute of the game.

Tyler Herro went 6-for-7 in the paint and knocked down four triples to get a team-high 24 points for the Heat, including 10 in the fourth period. Bam Adebayo contributed 23 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. He joined hands with Caleb Martin, Terry Rozier, Haywood Highsmith, and other teammates to grab eight more offensive rebounds than the Celtics (14-6).

The Celtics beat the Heat in all three of their meetings during the regular season and extended their winning streak to four games, remaining the only 40+ win team in the league.