Malik Monk #0 of the Sacramento Kings drives to the basket during the game against the Golden State Warriors on January 9, 2026 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

MISSION BAY, SAN FRANCISCO — The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Friday night in San Francisco as they took on the Warriors. The two teams in action were a far cry from what they were just two full seasons ago when they faced each other in a first-round matchup in the playoffs that went seven games.

When the two faced off on Friday, the Kings were solidly out of a playoff spot and the Warriors were fighting to be in the eighth seed as of this writing. The Kings gave the Warriors a run for their money, but the Warriors ultimately defeated the Kings 137-103.

Before the game, Doug Christie spoke with the media on the standard of Kings basketball he expects to see from his players, and he certainly got a version of that in the first half.

The Kings, playing Malik Monk in the first half, went toe to toe with the Warriors in a very competitive 24 minutes of basketball. The Kings were outscored in the first quarter 34-29 but managed to outscore the Warriors 30-29 to head into halftime trailing only 63-59.

The Kings shot 52% from the field and 38.5% from deep in the first half to keep pace with the Warriors offense, which put up similar numbers. It’s hard not to draw some sort of conclusion that Malik Monk getting minutes in the first half had some correlation with the Kings being able to match the Warriors. Malik finished the first half with eight points and no turnovers on 4-for-5 shooting during nearly 11 first-half minutes of action.

It was an encouraging half from the Kings, who looked to continue to assert Doug Christie’s desired style of basketball in the second half.

The third quarter was mostly the same for the Kings. They were competing on both ends of the floor, and that led to an 84-84 game with 3:10 to go in the third quarter. However, what followed was a complete meltdown from the Kings. In the remaining time in the third quarter, the Warriors went on a 13-0 run to take a 97-84 lead into the final 12 minutes of action.

The fourth quarter didn’t go much better for the Kings. The Kings were embarrassed in the final quarter as they were outscored 40-19 and fell to the Warriors 137-103 on Friday night at Chase Center. The Kings’ defense gave up in the final quarter of the game and allowed what was a close game for the most part to get away from them and end in blowout fashion.

The Warriors got 66 bench points compared to only 38 points from the Kings bench. The Warriors also got 60 points in the paint compared to the Kings’ 50 points in the paint.

Over the final nearly 15 minutes of the game, the Warriors outscored the Kings 53-19. It was a microcosm of the season in which the Kings show some fight and completely collapse in key moments of the game.

“Speaking to them in there, I said, ‘It’s 180 seconds, you guys relaxed,’” Doug said after the game, referring to the 13-0 run the Warriors went on to finish the third quarter. “It’s unacceptable. It can’t happen. But it’s been a theme. Good enough to win, but also good enough to hang in and then get beat. So there’s a nastiness and a fire that it has to make you mad for you to break through that.”

Speaking with the media in the locker room after the game, Zach LaVine was frustrated but at a loss for solutions.

“I mean, each game you go into, we’re trying to get off the schneid,” Zach said after the game. “Today we had a really good opportunity too, and we let another one get away. It’s not like we’re going to get this back. Eventually we’ve got to put our foot down and figure out how to get a win. It doesn’t matter how good you play through three quarters or whatever. I think we’ve been talking about that enough.”

Enough may never come for this Kings team. The Kings have had their backs against the wall since last season with this roster, and it seems no combination or buttons that Doug Christie presses make any difference in the outcome of the game.

The Kings have now lost seven straight games and have the second-best lottery odds in this year’s NBA lottery with an 8-30 record.

Up next: The Kings will return home to take on the Houston Rockets on Sunday at 6 p.m. PST inside the Golden 1 Center.

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.