"Entering the final challenge of this quick two-game road trip, Thunder coach Scott Brooks didn't want to use Sunday's stunner against the Lakers in as the measuring stick for his team's mental fortitude.

He wanted to define it by how his team responded one night later at Sacramento.

And after watching the Thunder outlast an ornery Kings bunch, 120-112, Brooks had learned everything he needed to know about his club's frame of mind.

"They are tough," Brooks said. "I believe our toughness is much better. We are mentally tough and we are getting physically tough."

The Kings, playing in what could be their second-to-last game in Sacramento, took a surprising six-point lead into halftime and led by as many as 10. But the Thunder responded by outscoring Sacramento 36-26 in the third period, holding Sacramento to 6-for-26 shooting.

"Serge (Ibaka) really came out in that third quarter and gave us the energy and effort we that we needed," Brooks said."