Keegan's ‘good shot selection' leads to career night vs. OKC

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Keegan Murray has had a rookie NBA season filled with peaks and valleys

Nonetheless, in the Kings' 118-113 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night at Golden 1 Center, Sacramento got a glimpse of the 22-year-old's potential. 

Murray recorded an NBA career-high in points (29) and rebounds (14) against the Thunder, and the Kings forward credited his shot selection for allowing him to find his stroke from the field. 

"I think every shot I took [were] the shots I'm good at," Murray told Morgan Ragan and Matt Barnes on "Kings Postgame Live" after the victory. 

"I mean, I didn't try and rush anything like that, so I tried to let everything come to me as best as I could, and that showed in good shot selection and me making shots."

Kevin Huerter welcomed Murray's offensive outburst, noting to Ragan and Barnes that the Kings' offense had a tough night despite scoring 118 points on Oklahoma City's defense. 

"Keegan was huge," Huerter said. "Keegan honestly bailed us out offensively. You know, this was not a good offensive night for us. It felt like nothing could really drop. And that was a lot of that had to do with their defense and their switching and Keegan was the only guy that made shots, and he made a bunch in a row at the end of the game had a strong drive.

"All of us were giving him some smack on the bench, [we] didn't know he had that, but he really bailed us out in that fourth quarter [he] was huge for us."

The Iowa product also credited Kings coach Mike Brown for challenging him, which has allowed Murray to grow as a player this season and likely contributed to his career night. 

"I think it just motivates me more than ever, just being able to know that I have a lot of stuff to work on, a lot of areas to improve," Murray said. "And I feel like I've done a good job responding to his criticism, and that's all I can ask for in a head coach."

RELATED: Domantas Sabonis joins Kings' De'Aaron Fox in NBA All-Star voting top 10

Murray will attempt to replicate Friday's performance when the Kings face the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday at Golden 1 Center to wrap up a home back-to-back.

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