By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors (40-13) welcomed the Sacramento Kings (19-35) to the Chase Center in San Francisco Thursday night. The Kings hosted the Brooklyn Nets in Sacramento Wednesday night and beat them 112-101 to snap a seven-game losing streak.

On the other hand, the Warriors had won seven in a row, including a thrilling comeback win over the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night. The Kings felt confident that they could upset the Warriors. They were missing guard De’Aaron Fox and forward Marvin Bagley.

Davion Mitchell replaced Fox in the lineup, and the rookie responded with a career-high 26 points Thursday night. However, it was not enough as the Warriors won their eighth straight and downed the Kings 126-114.

The Kings made the first bucket of the game to lead 2-0. It was the last time they would have the advantage. The Warriors raced to a 13-2 advantage. Stephen Curry made two threes in the run. The 173rd game in a row that Curry connected on a three.

The Kings offense woke up and started to put points on the board. Three players paced the Sacramento offense. Two of them were former Warriors, Harrison Barnes and Damion Jones. Davian Mitchell was hot, scoring ten points in the early going. The Warriors led by two 25-23 when they went on a 9-0 run to finish the first quarter leading 34-23.

The Warriors won the second quarter 39-31 to finish the first half leading by 19 points 73-54. Klay Thompson finished the first half with 20 points.

Thompson showed the fans at the Chase Center that he has returned to form. He made six threes in his first six attempts. Curry had eight, Danion Lee nine, Kevon Looney eight. Davion Mitchell finished the half with 21 points. Barnes had 16, and Jones 13. Only one other Kings’ player could put points on the board.

The Warriors, who usually own the third quarter, found themselves outplayed by the young Kings. Sacramento beat the Warriors 29-21 to get within 11 points of the lead. The Kings knew that they had a chance to pull off an upset as they started the fourth period.

They closed the gap to seven, trailing 96-89. The Warriors decided to play basketball once again. Led by rookie Jonathan Kuminga, the Warriors grabbed an 18-point lead 118-100. Kuminga brought the crowd to its feet when he made a highlight-reel dunk.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, Golden State is now 40-13 for the season. The Kings dropped to 19-35.

The Warriors had seven players in double figures Thursday night. Thompson led the parade with 23 points in 25 minutes of playing time. Curry had 20 points. Curry came out of the game when he banged up his nose and had to leave for treatment.

Kuminga finished the night with 18. He was 8-for-10 from the floor. The only shots he missed were two three-point tries. Jordan Poole had 12, Lee 14, Kevon Looney 10, and Andrew Wiggins 12. It was a total team effort.

Mitchell led the Kings with 26. Harrison Barnes 25, Maurice Harkless 18, all in the second half, Tyrese Haliburton 10, Damion Jones 17. The Warriors bench outscored the Sacramento Bench 55-31. 

The Warriors are off the next three days. They play the Thunder in Oklahoma City Monday night.