Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) looks to drive on Sacramento Kings forward Sasha Venzenkov (left) at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Fri Oct 27, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Despite a nice run in the fourth quarter, the Sacramento Kings could not handle Golden State Warrior guard Stephen Curry and company in the fourth quarter. The Warriors won this game 122-114 on Friday night at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Curry had a terrific game scoring the game high 41 points in this playoff rematch. He was seven of ten from downtown and 14 of 19 from the field.

Friday night the Golden State Warriors (1-1) took on the Sacramento Kings (1-1) at Golden 1 Center. This was the first game on the road for the Warriors this season. They are of course hoping for far more success than they had last year.

Golden State was miserable on the road last season and that has to change as the Warriors go into the 2023-24 season. This will be a battle of the two Northern California Giants both coming off playoff runs last season.

The Kings came out on top in the opening quarter winning by the score of 29-24. Curry got the quarter going in favor of the Warriors but Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox finished off the quarter with a shot from downtown to give the Kings the 29-24 lead after the first 12 minutes of play.

The Warriors won the second quarter 36-28. The quarter was a close one with the game tied a number of time during the quarter but Golden State held a slim lead for most of the second except when this game was tied.

At the half the Warriors led 60-57 in an uncomfortably close game. The one thing that became very evident was that when Curry was on the floor good things happened. When he was on the bench the Kings had a lot more success and they took full advantage.

Golden State really got things going in the third quarter. Curry went on a burner with 34 points in the third at 4:25. The Warriors went on a 13-3 run that extended their lead to 83-73. The Warriors were looking to turn the rhythm of this game in their favor.

Golden State was leading the Kings in field goal percentage; the Warriors with 52% and the Kings with 44% as well as shots from beyond the arc. The Warriors had 41% to the Kings 34% from downtown.

Both teams came away with ten three-pointers through three quarters. Klay Thompson came alive in the quarter hitting back-to-back three’s and the Warriors had taken a 92-77 lead. The plays that Chris Paul set up in the quarter led to so many scoring opportunities.

Paul is a master. He had few turnovers which is what he does so well. The Warriors were running away with this game leading after the first three quarters 99-84. Golden State had won the quarter 39-27.

When it looked like Golden State was running away with the game the Kings made an amazing move in the closing minutes erasing a Warrior 18 point lead. Sacramento had pulled to within five points with just over a minute left in the game.

Golden State would not be denied however and shut the door on the Kings in the final seconds. The Warriors had won their first game of the season 122-114 and they had done it on the road.

Curry had the high score for both teams with 41 points. Thompson finished with 18 points but it was Curry that bid “night night” to the fans at Golden 1. Off the bench Jonathan Kuminga and Moody both had double digits.

It was the defense in this game that put it away for the Warriors. They outplayed the Kings in the second and third quarters. While the Kings did outscore the Warriors in the fourth quarter 30-23 it was too little too late.

Fox was the high for the Kings with 39 points. He had a great game and defensive giant Domantas Sabonis had 18 rebounds. They came up just short in this contest.

Golden State will continued on the road traveling to Houston to take on Rockets at Toyota Center. It appears that the Warriors still will not be seeing Draymond Green on the court in this one. Tipoff is scheduled for Sunday at 4:00 PM. The Warriors will be looking for a second straight road win in a row.