With the Kings being such a young team, it's easy to point to excuses with each loss.
And on a night when every key rebound ended up with Oklahoma City, Kings forward Carl Landry offered a refreshing take: "There are no excuses ... we have got to go and get the ball."
That has to be the thinking the rest of the season. The Kings have lost plenty of close games this season with the reason being failing to execute in the details of basketball.
Sometimes it's missed free throws. That was also a problem again tonight (15 of 24). But the rebounds were the biggest problem because they contributed to 17 extra shots and 23 second-chance points.
The inability to contain Russell Westbrook didn't make rebounding easier. His drives shredded the Kings' defense and took them out of rebounding position.
But in the end it's as simple as Landry put it: Go get the ball.
*Kings coach Paul Westphal continues to sound encouraged even with the loss. He said he hated to "sound like a broken record but" but found positives in the loss.
He liked that the Kings shot 50.6 percent and had just 13 turnovers. He thought the Kings played defense "pretty well" but said the rebounds were the difference.
*Tyreke Evans said his right knee felt OK after he hit it against Nick Collison's knee in the second quarer. Evans admitted he was "a little scared" initially but felt better once he got back to moving.
*Westphal said he'd like to see Omri Casspi gain about 10 pounds and work on his stamina this offseason.
Casspi was inactive tonight to give him some rest in hopes he can find the energy he had earlier in the season.
Evans said it's an area he needs to improve in, too, after saying he was "a little bit tired" in the second half.
"That is just something I am going to have to get better at next year and condition better," Evans said.
*Westbrook said the gash on his right eye required six stitches.
--Jason Jones
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