Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: London Marq

SACRAMENTO — The Golden 1 Center was hopping on Friday night as the Warriors traveled in to Sacramento looking to bounce back after a 20-point loss at the hands of Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors. Entering play, less than 20 days from the New Year, and the Sacramento Kings are over .500, currently in the eighth spot in the Western Conference. The Kings haven’t been this well placed to contend for a playoff spot since Ron Artest was on the team in 2006. The Kings looked to keep the Cinderella Story alive and keep the Warriors in the loss column.

The Warriors only had Dubs on their mind as they jumped out to 9-4 lead early. The lightning fast Kings are second in the league in pace, but had trouble hitting on all cylinders in the opening quarter. Kevin Durant led the charge for Golden State with 11 points, and the Baby-Faced Assassin Steph Curry was right behind him as he poured in 9 points. The Kings we able to keep it close. They were able get the Warriors in foul trouble early, scoring 10 from the line. Nemanja Bjelica led all Kings early with 10 in the first, and the Warriors would have a 4-point advantage, 42-38 going into the second.

It was much of the same in the second and the Warriors would take a 12-point lead into halftime. But things began to heat up in the third quarter, as the Kings starts started to gain some momentum. Fox had 11 points in the third quarter, and Hield Bjelica both dropped in 8 in the quarter as well. This is when the Kings started to play their brand of basketball, but they were not help out at all by the refs. There were several atrocious calls against the Kings, which slowed their progress.  In the stand’s fans roared with fury watching the replays. It’s a sight that’s become all too familiar in Sacramento. Even still the Kings would close the gap to 6, 103-97, going into the final quarter.

The Kings came out in the fourth with a purpose. Finding their stride, they came out with a 15-2 run to start the fourth and playing solid defense. They would begin to hit on all cylinders and they would take the lead. With 5 minutes to go in the game they would have 10-point lead.  However when you have 4 All-Stars on your team, as the Warriors do, magic just seems to happen. The Warriors would steal this game from the Kings on a 17-2 run to end the game.

Warriors’ leaders
Durant: 33 points, 8 assists, 8 rebounds
Curry 35 points, 6 assists, 7 rebounds

Kings’ leaders
Hield: 27 points, 2 assists, 4 rebounds
Fox: 25 points, 9 assists,  6 rebounds

Final
Warriors 130, Kings 125