Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) reacts after making a 3-point basket in the third quarter during Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sat Apr 15, 2023 (AP News photo)

De’Aaron Fox Rocks Warriors in Game One 126-123

By Barbara Mason

Teams across the league have played their hearts out all season vying for a spot in the NBA playoffs. A few select teams have advanced to the first round of the post season which got underway Saturday. Here in Northern California two elite teams the Golden State Warriors (44-38) and the Sacramento Kings (48-34 ) faced each other in round one at Golden One Center; each team with a very different journey leading up to this game. The Kings took full advantage of the struggling Warriors on the road with a 126-123 game 1 win at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

The defending champion Warriors have had a challenging season that saw them almost unbeatable at Chase Center while barely squeaking out wins on the road; nine of 30 games to be exact. The Kings have not experienced playing in the playoffs for the past 17 years; it’s been back in the 2005-06 season. Their last championship was in 1951. Prior to this season Sacramento had the longest NBA playoff drought which came to an end this year.

The Warriors have a far different and storied history. They have experienced an up and down season this year but they came around in the final weeks leading up to the playoffs. They are looking like a championship team ready to bring home another NBA title. Since 2015 the team has racked up four titles and will be playing for a back-to-back as these playoffs get underway.

These two teams possess some outstanding players and terrific benches that will make this series one to remember. Stephen Curry is the heart of the Warriors while De’Aaron Fox has really come into his own for the Kings.

This game was dead even after the first 12 minutes of play at 29-29. The atmosphere at Golden One was electric, the noise thunderous. Despite playoff inexperience the Kings were showing no signs of nerves keeping up with the Warriors shot for shot.

In the second quarter the game was a see-saw affair trading shots. In the final two minutes of the half the Warriors began to take a bit of a lead and by halftime Golden State had a 61-55 lead.

Despite the lengthy absence of Andrew Wiggins, he showed no signs of rust and came out as if he had not missed a day. Wiggins, Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole all had double digits at the half.

The Kings had not made a single shot from downtown in the first half but they were having huge success in the paint. Mr. Fourth Quarter Fox was having a heck of a first half. He had double digits as did Malik Monk off the bench and Domantas Sabonis had already secured a double double.

Golden State amped it up in the third quarter leading by as much as ten points at 9:40 into the quarter 67-57. The Kings erased some of the Warriors lead but they could not catch Golden State. With under three minutes left in the third quarter the Warriors again established a ten point lead 86-76. The Kings went on a crazy run with Fox sizzling and after three quarters had reclaimed the lead 91-90. Sacramento had fought their way back into this game.

The fourth quarter was a shoot-out in the wild wild west as both teams traded shots. The Kings were clinging onto a 101-97 lead with 9:20 left in the game. Sacramento turned it up a notch in the final minutes leading 119-114 with three minutes left in the game. The final 18.8 seconds was a crazy affair with the Kings leading 124-123. With 2.9 left on the clock in regulation, Sacramento led 126-123. The Kings had won their first playoff game since April 30.2006.

The hero for the Kings was De’Aaron Fox with 38 points the second most for a first time playoff appearance. Bench player Malik Monk had a terrific game with 32 points. All together Sacramento had 55 points off the bench. They had 60 points in the paint to the Warriors 44 that made a huge difference in the game.

The team played hard for their “Coach of the Year” Mike Brown who has had so much to do with the success of this team. The pieces were primarily there; Brown knew exactly how to piece it all together and we have seen the result. We all witnessed basketball brilliance in this game.

It was a tough loss for Golden State after the lead they carried in the third quarter. The Warriors had a number of wide open looks in the final minutes but could not connect. Curry had the team high with 30 points followed by Thompson with 21.

Wiggins and Poole had 17 points each off the bench. This is just the beginning of this best of seven series between these two teams. The Warriors hope to bounce back in game two to be played at Golden One Monday night with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 PM.