Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Sacramento Kings December 16, 2014 ScoreBoard -Nba Buzz

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Oklahoma City Thunder know as well as anybody this season how difficult it is to overcome adversity, so forgive them if they have no sympathy for the Sacramento Kings right now. Been there, done that -- and perhaps better for it. Russell Westbrook had 32 points and seven assists, Kevin Durant scored 26 and the Thunder beat the reeling Kings 104-92 on Tuesday night for their seventh straight win. It was the first game for the Kings since Michael Malone was fired as coach and lead assistant Tyrone Corbin was promoted to interim coach. They dropped to 2-8 while franchise centerpiece DeMarcus Cousins recovers from viral meningitis. "This is an I-don't-feel-sorry-for-you league," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "When we had guys hurt, I didn't get a lot of text messages, `Hey, hang in there,' from the other 29 coaches in the league." The Thunder went ahead by 16 in the first quarter, led by just seven at halftime and pulled away again in the closing minutes behind their leading duo. Oklahoma City improved to 7-1 since Durant returned from a broken right foot. "Defensively, I think we've been locking in," said Durant, who played a season-high 35 minutes. "We have little spurts where we're bad, but overall I think we did a good job in playing defense." Rudy Gay scored 22 points, and reserve Carl Landry added 14 for the Kings. Sacramento had 19 turnovers that led to 26 points for the Thunder. The Kings twice went ahead in the fourth quarter on jumpers by Landry. Then Oklahoma City clamped down on defense, and Westbrook and Durant took turns making shots to help the Thunder take a 98-88 lead with 2:47 remaining. Oklahoma City outshot Sacramento 47.1 percent to 42.9 percent. "These guys showed a lot of fight when they've faced a lot stuff in the last couple of days," Corbin said. "They came out against a great team and had a chance to win the ballgame." The Thunder (12-13) started the season 3-12 while dealing with injuries to Durant and Westbrook but are rediscovering their championship-contender form with both healthy again.