The Golden State Warriors took a much-needed win against the Sacramento Kings in their Western Conference first-round playoff series with a 114-97 victory.
Stephen Curry led the way with a game-high 36 points, but teammate Kevon Looney made the biggest difference in the contest. Looney grabbed a game-high 20 rebounds, with nine of them coming on the offensive end, and had a postseason-career-high of nine assists, helping Golden State recover 18 of their missed shots. Looney also scored four points in the game.
The Warriors outshot the Kings, 40 percent to 38 percent overall, and 32 percent to 23.4 percent on 3-point attempts.
Despite the loss, De’Aaron Fox led the way for the Kings with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists, while Domantas Sabonis countered Looney’s play with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Harrison Barnes contributed 17 points, and Kevin Huerter added 13 for the Kings, who made only 11 of their 47 3-point shots.
The Warriors never trailed, building a nine-point advantage by the end of the first quarter and holding a 53-41 edge at halftime. Two free throws by Malik Monk had Sacramento within striking distance at 84-74 in the first minute of the fourth quarter, but Andrew Wiggins hit from short range, Jonathan Kuminga dropped in a layup, and Curry connected on an interior hoop in a six-point run that opened a 16-point advantage.
Wiggins finished with 20 points, Jordan Poole contributed 16, and Klay Thompson and Moses Moody added 13 apiece for the Warriors, the defending NBA champs who were staring at a 2-0 deficit in a playoff series for the first time since 2007.
Despite missing Draymond Green and Gary Payton II, the Warriors were able to continue the series’ home-court dominance with a win in San Francisco, and they will look to extend their lead in Game 4 of the best-of-seven series on Sunday. The Warriors outrebounded the Kings 59-53 in the game.
The Golden State Warriors were able to bounce back from a 2-0 deficit in their playoff series against the Sacramento Kings with a much-needed win. Stephen Curry led the way with 36 points, but Kevon Looney’s game-high 20 rebounds and postseason-career-high nine assists were critical in securing the victory. The Kings will need to regroup and come back stronger in Game 4, while the Warriors will look to continue their home-court dominance and extend their lead in the series.