Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis (10) is non too thrilled about another pre season loss this time to the Golden State Warriors at Golden One Arena in Sacramento on Sun Oct 15, 2023 (@SacramentoKings photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action for one of the last preseason tune-ups of the year. Golden State traveled to Sacramento Sunday evening to take on the Kings at Golden One Center. The two teams squared off for the first time since game 7 of the 2023 playoffs.

That series was the first round of the playoffs, where the Kings and Warriors went head-to-head. Only to lose on Sunday, the Warriors and Kings game started at 6:30 PM PST. The Kings lost in overtime 121-115.

In the first quarter, the Kings came out looking strong. The Kings offense scored an impressive 38 points in the first quarter as the offense was producing right where they left off last season. On the defensive end, the Kings held the Warriors to 25 points in the quarter. The Warriors were struggling to gain a rhythm on offense. Granted, they played this game without Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Chris Paul.

In the second quarter, the Kings offense slowed as the shots were not falling. The Kings lacked rhythm on the offensive end, scoring 21 points in the quarter. The Warriors offense scored 31 points in the second quarter. The Kings offense looked solid most of the first half, even if some shots weren’t falling. De’Aaron Fox and Domas Sabonis were firing in the offense Kings fans have come to love. The Kings and Warriors went into halftime, with the Kings leading 59-56.

The Kings and Warriors played a pretty even quarter in the third quarter. The Kings managed to score 24 points as the Warriors put up 27. The Kings and Warriors would be tied at 83 going into the fourth quarter.

In the final quarter, the Kings almost exclusively played second and third-string players. It showed in the box score. However, it was good to see some of the talent the Kings have that won’t get much playing time in essential minutes this season. Keon Ellis and Colby Jones both played well in the minutes they got. The end of the fourth quarter would not be the end of the game on Sunday night as the game was tied at 111.

However, in overtime the Warriors would seal the deal. The Kings only scored four points in the overtime period as the Warriors put up ten points.

The best performance from the Kings came from Sabonis who had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists to lead the Kings. The Warriors best performance came from Kuminga who had 28 points to go along with six rebounds.

One matchup to watch as the preseason continues is between Chris Duarte and Kevin Huerter. Kevin has been inconsistent going back to the end of last season and will be fighting for the starting role with the addition of Duarte.

Up Next: The Kings will travel to San Francisco on Wednesday to take on the Warriors at 7 PM PST at the Chase Center.