DeMar DeRozan shoots in game against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night (Photo: Sacramento Kings on X)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SAN FRANCISCO — The Sacramento Kings were back in action Thursday night as they traveled up I-80 to take on the Golden State Warriors. The two teams entered the game on opposite trajectories. The Kings had lost three of their last four games, slipping toward the 10th seed in the Western Conference, while the Warriors had won five straight and nine of their last ten. Golden State played with the addition of the recently injured Andrew Wiggins, while the Kings continued to weather the absence of Domantas Sabonis, who remained sidelined with a hamstring strain. In the end, the Kings couldn’t keep up, falling to the Warriors 130-104.

The Warriors jumped out to a quick lead in the first quarter, outscoring the Kings 30-18. Draymond Green got the Warriors rolling with two early three-pointers, helping set the tone. Meanwhile, the Kings struggled offensively, managing just 25% shooting from beyond the arc and 36% overall from the field. Green led the way for Golden State in the first quarter with eight points, while Zach LaVine paced the Kings with five.

Opening the second quarter, the Warriors continued to apply pressure, with Green and Quinten Post each hitting threes to extend Golden State’s lead to 39-24. Kings interim head coach Doug Christie quickly called a timeout with 10:29 left to play in the quarter, hoping to slow the Warriors’ momentum. Out of the timeout, Jake LaRavia provided a much-needed spark for Sacramento, hitting back-to-back threes to trim the deficit to 11. However, Golden State wasted no time regaining control, ballooning their lead to 50-30 with 6:43 remaining in the half. The Kings put together a late run to close out the quarter, outscoring the Warriors 33-31 in the second frame. Heading into halftime, Sacramento trailed 61-51. DeMar DeRozan led the Kings with 11 first-half points, while Green paced all scorers with 16.

The Kings held their own in the third quarter but failed to make up any ground, as the Warriors outscored them 35-32. Though Sacramento had stopped the bleeding, the early hole they had dug themselves remained too deep to overcome, as they entered the fourth quarter trailing 96-83.

During the third quarter, Stephen Curry made NBA history, becoming the first player to ever make 4,000 career three-pointers. The moment was acknowledged with a tribute video during a timeout, as the home crowd at Chase Center gave Curry a well-deserved ovation.

In the final quarter, the Kings faltered, failing to mount any sort of comeback. Golden State outscored Sacramento 34-21 in the final frame, pulling away for the 130-104 victory. Draymond Green led the Warriors with 23 points in the win, while DeRozan finished with 23 points of his own to lead the Kings.

The loss was a tough blow for Sacramento, as they now trail the Warriors in the standings and finish the season 2-2 in their head-to-head matchups. Golden State improved to 38-28 on the season, boasting an impressive 16-2 record since acquiring Jimmy Butler. Meanwhile, the Kings dropped to 33-32, now sitting 4.5 games behind the sixth-seeded Warriors and 3.5 games ahead of the 11th-seeded Phoenix Suns.

Postgame, Doug Christie addressed Zach LaVine’s limited shot attempts, as he finished the game with only six field goal attempts. “I would like to see him getting 16 or even 26 points in a game,” Christie said. LaVine, responding to the topic, stated, “If you guys want me to play isolation basketball, I can do that… I’m not going to take bad shots.”

The Kings continue to struggle with consistency, as injuries have led to frequent lineup changes. However, with the season winding down, they don’t have the luxury of waiting for things to click.

Up next, the Kings will travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns on Friday night at 7 PM PST at Footprint Center.