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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Corey Brewer has added another dimension to the Oklahoma City Thunder on both ends of the floor. The Thunder brought Brewer aboard earlier this month to help solidify their defense with all-league defender Andre Roberson out for the season.
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They didn't really anticipate that he'd be such an offensive shot in the arm as well.
In his first four games with Oklahoma City going into Monday's home game against Sacramento, Brewer is shooting 42.9 percent from behind the 3-point line and averaging 9.8 points per game.
During his first 54 games of the season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Brewer was shooting just 18.6 percent from behind the arc and scoring 3.7 points.
"If he's going to shoot them with confidence, we've got the confidence in him," Thunder forward Paul George said.
After a rough start to his Thunder career where he was forced to play 12 scoreless minutes at Portland without so much as shooting around with his new team, Brewer has made a big impact.
"He can shoot the three. He can knock those down," George said. "So he's got the confidence. We've got the confidence in him."
While the Thunder have added Brewer, they might be without a major weapon against the Kings.
Center Steven Adams is listed as questionable after suffering a sprained left ankle in Saturday's win over San Antonio. Terrance Ferguson is listed as out after colliding with Adams recently and being put into concussion protocol.
But the Thunder were able to overcome that loss thanks to yet another monster performance from Russell Westbrook.
With his 21-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist performance in Saturday's win over the Spurs, Westbrook moved within two of becoming just the fourth player in NBA history with 100 or more triple-doubles.
Oscar Robertson (181), Magic Johnson (138) and Jason Kidd (107) are the others.
Saturday's was Westbrook's league-leading 19th of the season. Cleveland's LeBron James is second with 13.
The Kings have alternated wins and losses over their last six games, including Sunday's loss at Denver to start off a stretch of four of five games away from home.
The Kings are 4-9 on the second of back-to-back games this season.
Sacramento got some help Sunday with the return of Willie Cauley-Stein after missing four games with a lower-back injury and De'Aaron Fox after missing one game with stiffness in his lower back.
Cauley-Stein said he felt good after his return.
"Glad to be back out there," Cauley-Stein said.
Same for the rookie point guard Fox, who said it was important to return despite the Kings' position well out of the playoff picture.
"I feel like I'm fine," Fox told the Sacramento Bee. "Little small things, nothing major. But just trying to finish the season out strong."
But the Kings were without forward Skal Labissiere, who missed the game with a bruised left hip.
While Sacramento isn't ready to contend among the playoff hopefuls in the Western Conference, Fox said the team could at least control how hard it played.
"It's just a lot of effort," Fox told reporters. "At the end of the day it's not always schemes and things like that, sometimes it's just the effort that you give."
