Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry (30) makes it look all too easy, Curry led Golden State with scoring with 29 points in the Warriors win over the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento (Mercury News/Bay Area News Group photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors finished the short three-game preseason with a win over the Kings in Sacramento Thursday night by 113-107. The regular season starts Tuesday night, December 22nd, when the Warriors meet the Brooklyn Nets in New York City.

The Nets will feature former Warrior Kevin Durant and former Cleveland Cavalier and Boston Celtic star Kyrie Irving. Steve Nash is the new Nets’ coach, and former Houston Rocket coach Mike D’Antoni will be his right-hand man on the Nets’ bench.

Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr had to be pleased with his team’s performance Thursday night. Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre, Jr showed they could fit in with the Warriors’ up-tempo game.

In the first half, the Warriors outscored the Kings 65-62. Wiggins made his first five shots and tallied sixteen points in the half. Oubre had fifteen. Curry was 3-for-13 from the field in the first half. However, Stephen Curry made three threes in three tries. He finished the first 24 minutes of the game with 13 points. Marquese Chriss, coming off the bench, had five. Reserve guard Brad Wanamaker had nine.

The Warriors moved the ball well and were very good defensively. Andrew Wiggins impressed the coaching staff with his aggressive moves to the hoop.

During the five-year run when the Warriors went to the NBA five consecutive seasons, one of the keys to their success was their domination in the third quarter. This year’s team showed they are ready to be a playoff team.

They outscored the Kings 27-19.  Curry was on fire as he knocked down 16 points. Kelly Oubre and Marquese Chriss performed also did well. The Warriors led 92-81 after three quarters. The Warriors did not use Curry or Oubre in the fourth quarter.

Wiggins was on the floor until he fouled out with about six minutes left in the game. Kerr inserted Damion Lee, Nico Mannion, Mychal Mulder, Juan Toscano-Anderson, and Kevon Looney to finish the game. The Warriors win it 113-107.

Game Notes and Stats: Neither James Wiseman nor Draymond Green was in the lineup Thursday night. They have been practicing with the team and should be ready to play next Tuesday against Brooklyn.

Wiseman, the number two pick in this year’s NBA draft, is expected to be a rim protector. He is nineteen years old and does not have much experience under his belt. Had he played against the Kings, it would have been interesting to see how he would handle Hassan Whiteside. Whiteside is a seven-footer who has given the smaller Warrior centers fits over the years. Whiteside will get his chance to show what he can do Tuesday night. Draymond Green will be back, too. 

 Curry led the team with 29 points, six rebounds, and three assists. He saw 28 minutes of action. Oubre had 22, Wiggins 19. Marquese Chriss tallied nine and had 12 boards. Jordan Poole had eleven, Brad Wanamaker nine.

Former Warrior Harrison Barnes paced the Kings with nineteen. The Warrior defense held the Kings Buddy Hield to eleven and De’Aaroin Fox to eight. Hassan Whiteside had twelve. 

As mentioned above, the season starts next Tuesday night in Brooklyn at Barclay Center with a 4 pm tip.