Warriors defeat Kings 102-101 thanks to a game-winning basket from Klay Thompson.
Even though Steph Curry made a few costly mistakes in the
closing minutes, his Splash Brother managed to win the game.On Wednesday night
at Chase Center, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Sacramento Kings
102-101 despite a disorganized play overall. Sacramento put up a strong fight
and managed to pressure the Kings into the closing seconds while star point
guard De'Aaron Fox was sidelined due to a sprained right ankle.
The Warriors jumped out to an early double-digit lead in the opening quarter, but Sacramento
overcame it in large part because of a zone defense that seemed to stump the
Dubs for several quarters. Throughout the game, Golden State made 17 mistakes
and was often careless.
A major offender who cost the Dubs seven possessions was Steph Curry.
In the final four minutes of regulation, the Warriors were ahead 90-89. Chris Paul's steal set
Curry up for a three-pointer. Golden State led 92-89 after Curry missed, but
Draymond Green collected the offensive rebound and fed the ball to Kevon Looney
for a simple layup.The Kings took a 93-92 lead after Curry missed another
three, and Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes each made two free throws on the
other end. Sixty seconds remained in normal time for the Kings to take a 99-98
lead after many more minutes of back-and-forth buckets.
A shot clock violation resulted from Green blocking Malik Monk's shot after he drove inside.
Curry, going in the opposite direction, drove in a teardrop to give the Dubs a
100-99 lead. With little over ten seconds left, Sacramento led 101-100 as the
Kings came storming back and Domantas Sabonis banked in a mid-range shot.
The Warriors ran up court and watched the clock run out rather than using one of their two
remaining timeouts.Curry was successfully stopped by the Kings, but Green gave
the ball to Klay Thompson.The game-winning shot was made by Thompson after he
drove inside and stopped slightly past the free-throw line.
Monk failed to make
a shot on the inbounds play, even though there were only 0.2 seconds left on
the clock.
In the end, Sabonis recorded a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds. The only other player with at least 20 points was Curry (21). With 13 points, 2 rebounds, 9 assists, 2
steals, and 2 blocks, Green had one of his best all-around games since hitting
the court. In less than 20 minutes of action, Dario Šarić, an off-the-bench
player, scored 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the floor, recording his
finest performance in a Warriors outfit.
After this, the Warriors will return to the road for another East Coast tour. On Friday,
they'll take the court against the Oklahoma City Thunder. 5:00 PM Pacific time
is the opening tip-off time.