AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors played a terrific game Monday night against the visiting Sacramento
Kings beating them 128-108. The Warriors played very well in all phases of the game. They ran the court well, found the open man and shot a fantastic 53% from the floor. Their defense was great as they kept Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins contained all night. Sacramento played well but the Dubs were just the better team as their depth showed as the bench contributed 62 points in the victory.

The game also marked the return of star forward David Lee to action. Lee had played just under 7 minutes all season and had missed 21 games. He received a standing ovation from the fans when he entered the game with 3:01 left to play in the first period.The Warriors, as mentioned earlier, had a great effort from the bench. Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Mo Speights, Justin Holiday all made significant contributions to the win. Starting center Festus Ezeli and reserve guard Justin Holiday each had a career high in points scored. Ezeli had 15 and Holiday had 18.

The game started well for the Dubs as they took an early 9-2 lead/ The Kings came back to tie at 9 but the Dubs went on a 19-2 run to put them ahead and they Kings had to play catch up all night. The first period ended with the W’s ahead 36-20. It was more of the same in the second period. Sacramento could not claw their way back. The Warriors led by Klay Thompson and Steph Curry
ended the half ahead by 14 points 64-50.

The Warriors continued their excellent play and led the Kings by 23 early in the third period.
The bench was fantastic as they played so well that Steph Curry sat and watched his team dominate. They led 93-77 after 3 periods of play and won by a final score of 128-108.

Klay Thompson led all scorers with 25 points. Steph Curry had a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists. David Lee played 16 minutes with six points and 7 rebounds. Curry, by the way, played just 26 minutes. The Dubs had six players in double figures. They had 36 assists and turned the ball over just 12 times. They are now 23-3 for the season and have won 18 of the last 19 games played. Their home record is now 10-1 for the year.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Darren Collison added 17 while Rudy Gay pitched in with 13 and Omri Casspi notched 18 in a losing effort.

The Warriors next game is Tuesday night in Los Angeles against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jerry Feitelberg
jyf1938