Sacramento Kings forward Maurice Harkless (8) looks to drive around Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Thu Feb 3, 2022 (AP News photo)

Warriors Handle Struggling Kings 126-114

By Barbara Mason

The Golden State Warriors (40-13) were back home for a single game taking on the Sacramento Kings (19-35) Thursday night. Coming off a great win against the San Antonio Spurs the “youngsters” brought this one home while Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Nemanja Bjelica watched from the bench.

Sitting out this game, the starters were going crazy in the fourth quarter when the bench put on an incredible display of raw talent. They outscored the Spurs 35 to 16 ultimately winning the game 124-120.

Tonight Curry, Thompson, Wiggins and Kevon Looney started and the fifth man getting the nod was Moses Moody. Head Coach Steve Kerr is really high on Moody after the 20 points he put up against the Spurs Tuesday night.

When these two teams get together regardless of record a competitive game always seems to go down. What will be important for the Warriors is good ball movement and good screening. They will have to take care of the ball and will need solid defense. If they can accomplish this the Warriors should be able to win their 40th game of the season.

The Kings are coming off a win over the Brooklyn Nets. Prior to that win Sacramento had lost seven games in a row. They are having an extremely rough patch right now.

The Warriors jumped out to a 13-2 lead but mid-way through the opening quarter the Kings began chipping away at the Golden State lead. With under three minutes the score was 25-23 in favor of the Warriors in an amazing turnaround by Sacramento. As the first quarter came to an end, the Warriors had reined it back in and led 34-23 after a 9-0 run.

The Warriors extended their lead early in the second quarter. The Kings shots were not dropping and the Warriors were knocking downs three’s at will. Thompson had 20 points after nine minutes of play bringing back memories of his 37 point quarter against the Kings back in January of 2015.

There was no sloppy for Golden State in this game leading at the half 73-54 as they were piling up the points. The Warriors had open shot after open shot and were taking full advantage of them.

The Kings came out in the third quarter further trimming the Warriors lead. Golden State had led by as much as 26 points. The Kings had pulled to within 12 points and Golden State started committing turnovers that were costly. After three quarters the Dubs led 94-83.

The Kings would pull to within single digits in the fourth quarter but the Warriors starting hitting inside and outside pulling away from Sacramento winning this game 126-114. Jonathan Kuminga finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds. The fans got a real treat watching this guy dunk sending the Chase crowd into a frenzy. The kid is absolutely amazing.

Thompson also had an amazing game playing far better than anyone thought he would be capable of playing. After the long layoff Thompson has been competing at an incredible level finishing with 23 points, five rebounds and seven assists.

He is so far ahead of schedule it’s ridiculous. Curry finished with 20 points. The Warriors have now won eight games in a row and have pulled to within 2 games of the Suns.

The Warriors will be off for a few days before they take on the OKC Thunder Monday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM.