'Yeah, it’s been a mess': With six players and head coach in COVID protocol, Thunder comes up short vs. Kings

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Thunder assistant Mike Wilks was on an elliptical Tuesday morning when he got a call from head coach Mark Daigneault.

“Hey, you’re up,” Daigneault told Wilks.

Daigneault entered COVID protocols on Tuesday, leaving Wilks to serve as the Thunder’s acting head coach in Sacramento.

The Kings beat the Thunder 117-111 at Golden 1 Center. OKC, missing six players due to COVID-19 protocols, ran on empty for costly stretches in the second half.

“We had some lulls,” Wilks said, “but we kept fighting.”

Wilks became the first former Thunder player to coach the team. He appeared in four games for the Thunder in 2009-10, and he’s since worked as a scout and, for the last three seasons, an assistant coach.

“It’s a surreal moment for me to be in this situation,” said Wilks, acknowledging the support from his players, Daigneault and Thunder general manager Sam Presti.

“I always tell people the best thing about my job is the people I get to work with every single day,” Wilks said. “I don’t feel like I'm headed into this situation by myself, which gives me an extreme amount of comfort, peace of mind.”

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When Daigneault missed three games earlier this season for the birth of his child, it was assistant Dave Bliss who stepped up. But Bliss, like Daigneault, is in COVID protocols.

Assistants David Akinyooye, Kameron Woods and Zach Peterson remained on the Thunder’s bench. Assistant coach Eric Maynor was not on the sidelines in Sacramento.

The Thunder has been slammed by COVID cases in the last few days, leaving Wilks and the team in unknown territory.

“Yeah, it’s been a mess … It’s going around the NBA with ease right now,” rookie Aaron Wiggins said.

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Kings flip switch

Wiggins brought out the boos.

Kings fans grumbled on Wiggins’ steal and runout dunk early in the third quarter. They booed again two minutes later on Wiggins’ emphatic put-back slam.

The Thunder led 76-72 after Wiggins’ momentum-shifting buckets, but the Kings closed the third quarter on a 15-5 run.

The shorthanded Thunder never regained traction.

OKC’s offense stalled until it was too late to recover. The Thunder went six and a half minutes before making a shot in the fourth quarter.

That was courtesy of Wiggins, who has strung together strong performances. Wiggins, drafted 55th overall, had 14 points and five rebounds Tuesday.

“He’s just solid on both sides of the ball,” Wilks said. “He plays within a team concept and still finds ways to stand out individually.”

“Wiggs can hoops,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.

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Grasping for continuity

Wilks started Gilgeous-Alexander, Wiggins, Luguentz Dort, Paul Watson and Isaiah Roby.

Wilks brought veterans Mike Muscala and Kenrich Williams off the bench, trying to keep some sense of cohesion with the second unit.

But nothing looked normal with six Thunder players in health and safety protocols: Darius Bazley, Derrick Favors, Josh Giddey, Tre Mann, Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

All six are regular rotation players, and Giddey, Favors and Robinson-Earl have been regular starters.

“It’s been a lot,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Thunder’s COVID situation. “But there’s a lot of teams in the league dealing with it. We’re just one of 30.”

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Sarr makes NBA debut

The Thunder was short on big men with Robinson-Earl and Favors out.

Olivier Sarr stepped up and played well in his NBA debut.

The 22-year-old center had four points and five rebounds in 12 minutes.

“He provided great activity, great energy,” Wilks said. “Provided some rim protection. Was just active.”

The 7-footer from France played three seasons at Wake Forest before transferring to Kentucky last season. Sarr joined the G League Oklahoma City Blue after going undrafted.

The Thunder signed Sarr to a 10-day contract via the hardship exception. The Thunder’s other two 10-day signees — guards Scotty Hopson and Rob Edwards — didn’t play against the Kings.

Hopson and Edwards, like Sarr, were signed from the Blue.

Wilks gave a shoutout to Blue coach Grant Gibbs for having the three of them ready to play.

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Kingly shooting

Nine Thunder players made a 3-pointer … in the first half.

OKC shot 10-of-22 from deep in the first half. Sacramento shot 9-of-18.

Buddy Hield, Tyrese Haliburton and Harrison Barnes were dialed in for the Kings, who finished 44% from 3-point range. The Thunder cooled off in the second half.

Haliburton buried a dagger 3-pointer to give the Kings a 114-102 lead with just over a minute left. He finished with a team-high 24 points.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points, thanks in large part to 12 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter.

Gilgeous-Alexander kept attacking the Kings, which elongated the game by fouling SGA over and over and over again.

SGA went 14-of-17 from the foul line, setting a new career-high in attempts.

“He brags to me all the time about getting stronger,” Wilks said. “He’s grown in that area, and it’s allowed him to take some physicality.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thunder vs. Kings: With six players sidelined, OKC loses to Sacramento