AP photo: Golden State’s Klay Thompson couldn’t encourage the Warriors enough to get over the hump with the Pistons on Saturday night
The Golden State Warriors continued to look less and less like the once dominant offensive NBA team that they were at the beginning of the season, as a cold shooting night handed them their second loss in the last three games.
After posting an impressive 30-point first quarter, the Detroit Pistons defense hunkered down on the reigning NBA champions, holding them to just 95 total points on 38 percent shooting on the night, handing them just their fourth loss of the season in a 113-95 loss for the visitors.
The Warriors night was filled with unremarkable moments from the usually solid team. From anyone not named Steph Curry or Klay Thompson struggling to find the basket, to frustrations spilling over in the form of multiple technical fouls called on Golden State, Saturday night’s effort was a forgettable affair amidst a historic season.
Curry did his part to keep his team in the game, netting 38 points on 13-of-26 shooting from the field, including seven makes from beyond the arc. Thompson trailed behind him with 24 of his own points in 32 minutes.
But beyond the splash brothers, no other Golden State starter cracked double digits in points, with the rest of the starting squad-including a healthy Harrison Barnes- combining for just 16 points on the night. Curry and Thompson dominated the touches, taking 44 of the total 67 shots from the starting unit. Festus Ezeli saved a sluggish bench performance as well, being the only other Warrior aside from Curry and Thompson to score in double digits with 10 points.
Golden State lost in nearly every major statistical category, going on to yield less rebounds, steals, blocks, assists, points in the paint and giving up more turnovers than the Pistons did on the night, effectively sinking their chances to gain momentum at the start of their road trip.
Meanwhile, the normally solid Warriors defensive effort was just as absent as their scoring, with all five starters scoring in double-digits for Detroit. Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Pistons with 20 points a piece. Aron Baynes had a solid night for Detroit down low, as the center put in 12 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting to lead the Pistons’ reserves.
The night was a tough start to a three-game road stretch for the Warriors. In a rematch of the NBA finals, the Warriors will have to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on Monday in order to avoid their first two-game losing streak of the season. The team will then follow that up with a meeting with the 23-16 Chicago Bulls.
OAKLAND — Stephen Curry scored 31 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to their 36th consecutive home win at Oracle Arena with a 111-103 over the visiting Miami Heat on Monday night.
Draymond Green dropped 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Klay Thompson added 17 points for a Warriors team who improved to an NBA-best (36-2) on the season.
Golden State overcame a cold shooting night by Curry from 3-point range, who missed seven of his first nine 3-point but got plenty of help as the Warriors tied the Philadelphia 76ers (1966-67) for the fourth longest regular-season home win streak in NBA history. Chicago holds the record of 44 set in 1996-97.
Dwyane Wade scored 20 points, while Chris Bosh and Gerald Green each scored 15 points for Miami (22-16), who entered Oakland winners of eight of their past 11 games at Oracle Arena.
Luol Deng finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for Miami.
Andrew Bogut scored eight points to go along with nine rebounds for a Warriors team, that has won seven of their last eight games.
Golden State travels to Denver Wednesday to take on the Nuggets, while Miami heads to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers on Wednesday.
The Golden State Warriors lived by the 3-point basket on Saturday night versus the Sacramento Kings and it led them to a 128-116 victory. The Warriors connected on 19 of 37 3-point attempts (51.4-percent) and broke the back of the Kings in doing so.
Kings head coach George Karl said after game that great shooting is contagious. No one who watched the game against Golden State would be able to mount a defense to counter that notion.
The other area the Warriors dominated in the was rebounding. Golden State out-rebounded the Kings 48-34 in the game. Even though the Warriors played “small ball” most of the night, their ability to rebound the ball was almost uncanny.
There were two key plays that defined the game for the Kings. The first happened in the first period with 5:43 left to play. Rajon Rondo picked up his second personal foul and had to go to the Kings bench. The loss of Rondo and his assists denied the Kings the opportunity to build a lead. He would not return until the 7:37 mark of the second quarter. Rondo was limited to just 13 minutes of playing time in the first half. Another seven to 10 minutes of time on the floor could have been a difference maker in this game.
The second incident happened with 9:44 to go in the third quarter. That is when DeMarcus Cousins was charged with his fourth personal foul. Cousins had to sit down and would not return until the final period. The Kings cannot hang with a team like the Warriors without Cousins working the paint on both ends of floor.
Would the Kings won the game if Rondo and Cousins were able to keep playing rather than sitting on the bench with foul trouble? That is really difficult to project. What can be said is the Kings would have had a better chance to compete with Golden State if Rondo and Cousins had not been lost for extended periods of time.
It was entertaining game that energized the sellout crowd that included a large contingent of Golden State fans. The crowd was loud and loving the basketball they were witnessing on the floor.
The Kings record fell to 15-22 (10-10 at home). Golden State improves to 35-2 on the season and 18-2 on the road.
Kings
DeMarcus Cousins was the Kings leading scorer with 33 points. He recorded another double-double by hauling in 10 rebounds. Cousins shot 12 of 27 from the floor.
Rudy Gay was the “blue collar” workhorse for the Kings in the game. He played 38 minutes scoring 23 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Even when shots were not falling for Gay, he continued to work hard.
Darren Collison was a star off the bench for Sacramento. Collison logged 31 minutes scoring 16 points and dishing out six assists. He went 5-for-10 shooting and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
Marco Belinelli had an “agony and ecstasy” game versus the Warriors. Belinelli shot 0-for-6 from the floor in the first half. He finished the game shooting 5-for-14 and went 3-for-7 from long range. Belinelli just could not find his range in the first half.
Willie Cauley-Stein returned to the Kings lineup putting up 10 points in just nine minutes off the bench.
The Kings shot 46.7-percent (43-for-92) from the floor. They hit on 8 of 23 (34.8-percent) of their 3-point attempts. Sacramento went 22-for-29 from the free throw line.
Sacramento distributed 27 assists in the contest reaching the 20-assists mark for the 33rd straight game.
The Kings took good care of the ball turning it over just 10 times.
Warriors
The reigning MVP of the association – Stephen Curry – led the Warriors in scoring with 38 points. He scored 19 in each half. Curry made it a double-double night by adding 11 assists.
Draymond Green came up big for Golden State again on Saturday night. Green scored 25 points. He shot 5-for-6 from downtown.
The other half of the “splash brothers” – Klay Thompson – had an interesting night. Thompson scored 15 points but shot just 1-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line. He shot 7-for-17 for the game.
Andre Iguodala added 13 points, Brandon Rush 11 and Harrison Barnes 10.
Golden State shot 56.3-percent (49-for-87) from the floor including the 19 3-pointers. The Warriors recorded 35 assists. Their one blemish was turnovers. The Warriors turned it over 18 times.
What they said after the game
“This video is going to be good. This film is going to be good, too many good things (happened),” said Kings head coach George Karl. “I think you can learn from playing a team like this. It doesn’t feel good, but in the 3-minute mark (left to go) we were in a basketball game. I actually think we made a couple good defensive plays, and they made better offensive plays.”
“We played them pretty well for about 38 minutes, (Then) they turned it up in the end and made some tough shots (and) moved the ball around,” explained Rudy Gay. “They make you pay on everything. So, they’re a great team. They’re a championship team and they’ve been there before. That’s probably why they execute so well.”
“We did a better job engaging in the game (after the first quarter),” said Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton. “The first quarter we were turning the ball over. Just awful turnovers – like not even forced. Just throwing it away. This team – Sacramento – is a good team and they’re fighting for a playoff spot. We’ve beaten them three times already so there’s pride they have. Nobody wants to get swept by another team. They came out and they wanted it more than us. They were playing harder than us to start the game but out guys did a great job of getting reengaged and kind of slowly,slowly taking control of the game again.”
When asked about shooting 51-percent from the 3-point line Draymond Green said, “Yeah we were able to get something going. I think we really moved the ball and got good open shots. We got the shot. Guys knocked them down so we kind of took advantage of out ball movement.”
Up next
The Kings are off until Wednesday night when they will host the New Orleans Pelicans in the final game of this home-stand.
The Warriors will host the Miami Heat in Oakland on Monday night.
USA Today photo Warriors Stephen Curry and Kings DeMarcus meet for Saturday’s battle at Sleep Train Arena
Sacramento refused to rollover easily against the Warriors on Saturday night, but sharp shooting down the stretch from Steph Curry secured Golden State’s fourth win of the season over the Kings with a 128-116 victory at Sleep Train Arena.
Scoring 14 of his game-high 38 points in the fourth quarter, Curry’s sharpshooting skills from downtown helped to squash any notion of a late-game comeback from Sacramento, who trailed by just two at the half.
Curry-who dished out 11 assists while hauling in six rebounds to compliment his 38 points- had an impressive stroke from beyond the arc all night, putting through 8-of-14 attempts throughout the game.
But Curry wasn’t the only Warrior with the hot hand from downtown. Draymond Green earned 15 of his total 25 points from beyond the arc with a video game like line of 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range. Brandon Rush and Klay Thompson also scored in double-digits for the Warriors starting corp, putting through a combined 26 points between the two of them.
DeMarcus Cousins continues to solidify himself as one of the league’s top-big men, posting 33 points and 10 rebounds in 30-minutes of play. Rudy Gay had himself a solid showing as well, earning 23-points on 9-of-16 shooting. But the rest of Sacramento’s starters couldn’t match the pair’s offensive prowess, combining for just 19 points across the remaining starting unit.
Sacramento’s ability to score was on display tonight with an impressive 116 point total, but their defense continues to hamstring them, as the Warriors were able to shoot 56.3 percent from the field on the night, including 51.4 percent from beyond the arc for 57 of their total points.
After sweeping the season series, Golden State improved their record to 35-2, while Sacramento fell to 15-22 on the season, good for third in the Pacific Division. Next up for the Warriors is a matchup against the Miami Heat at Oracle Arena on Monday.
OAKLAND — Stephen Curry overcame a slow start, but managed to pick up the pace by finishing with 23 points helping the Golden State Warriors improve to 29-1 with a 122-103 over the visiting Sacramento Kings Monday night in front of a sellout Oracle Arena crowd.
Curry finished with a career-high 14 rebounds and 10 assists, earning his sixth career triple double to help Golden State remain undefeated at home improving to 14-0, and extending their regular season home winning streak to 33 games dating back to last season.
Curry was held scoreless for 20:44 minutes to begin the game, but got red-hot in the second quarter scoring 17 points and nailing five 3-pointers.
Klay Thompson scored 29 points and Draymond Green finished with 25 points, helping Golden State to their 11th straight win over their Northern California rival, their longest losing streak since the Cincinnati Royals dropped 13 straight to the Philadelphia Warriors in 1959-60.
Omri Casspi scored a career-high 36 points (leading all scorers for the game), and tying a Kings’ record set by Mike Bibby with nine made 3-pointers.
Center DeMarcus Cousins, who was finally healthy in three games versus Golden State, was ejected in the third quarter by referee Monty McCutchen after arguing his fifth personal foul.
Once Cousins was ejected, the Warriors went on a 15-0 run that after being up by just two points to push their lead to 79-66. Another Curry 3-pointer just before the end of the third raised Golden State’s lead to 90-75.
Rudy Gay finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, Darren Collison had 13 points and 11 assists, while Rajon Rondo scored just four points and played just 17 minutes after picking up three fouls in the first quarter.
Sacramento (12-19), who lost 98-94 at home to the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday, have lost three of their last four games.
Warriors center Festus Ezeli left the game with a sore left foot and forward Harrison Barnes missed his 13th game with an ankle sprain.
Golden State travels to Texas for a two-game road trip, visiting Dallas on Wednesday and Houston on Thursday.
OAKLAND — Klay Thompson scored a game-high 27 points and Stephen Curry added 26 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists to help the Golden State Warriors avenge their only loss of the season with a 121-112 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Friday night in front of a sellout Oracle Arena crowd.
Thompson shot 8 of 16 from the floor (2 of 9) on 3s, while Curry shot 7 of 14 including 2 of 6 on 3s.
Curry extended his streak to 100 games with at least one 3-pointer made.
The Bucks ended the Warriors 28-game winning streak dating back to last season in Milwaukee last weekend. Milwaukee came within an eyelash of joining the Chicago Bulls as the last team to beat the Warriors at Oracle Arena.
With the win, Golden State has now won 30 straight games at home.
Golden State (26-1) yielded a season-high 70 points in the first half, but turned on the defense in the second half by limiting Milwaukee to just 42 points the rest of the way. The Warriors found themselves down by as much 15 points in the third, and trailing by 11 points with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Draymond Green nailed a huge 3-pointer from straight away to pull the Warriors within three at 100-97 and after being fouled on a 3-point attempt, Curry sunk three free throws to tie the game midway in the fourth quarter.
Green finished with 21 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, but Andre Iguodala’s 3-pointer from the corner pushed Golden State’s lead to seven cementing the Warriors’ victory.
The made 3-pointer by Iguodala was his only points of the game.
Festus Ezeli who played the majority of the game in place of starting center Andrew Bogut, finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Bogut left the game in the first quarter with a back injury and never returned.
Michael Carter-Williams led the Bucks with 24 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo chipped in 20 points for Milwaukee (10-18), who have dropped five of their last six games but have provided Golden State with its stiffest competition so far this season.
Greg Monroe had 10 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists for the Bucks, who were out-rebounded 46-41 but shot a blistering 62 percent from the floor in the first half.
So much trash talk was voiced between both squads leading up to their rematch tonight and even after the final whistle, the trash talk couldn’t be stopped.
Green and O.J. Mayo had some heated words when exiting the court, prompting security and fellow players having to come in between the two before heading into the locker room.
Mayo scored just 12 points off the bench after scoring 18 points as a starter in the previous meeting in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee head to Phoenix Sunday, while Golden State doesn’t play until Wednesday when the Utah Jazz visit Oracle Arena.
Returning to action for the first time since their winning streak came to an abrupt end, the Golden State Warriors resumed their winning ways with a dominating 128-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns at Oracle Arena on Wednesday.
With three days of rest under their belt, the Warriors had to shake off some first quarter rust, shooting under 40 percent from the field while playing in to the Suns’ strategy of making the contest more of a derby race than a basketball game. The result was a first quarter marathon that saw 50 total shots hoisted up between the two teams, with the Suns assuming a two-point advantage over the Warriors at the end of the first.
But the Warriors would not stay down for long, cleaning up their play on both sides of the ball while dictating the flow of the game in the second quarter to take a 13-point lead heading into the locker room. It would be the last time the Suns were even in contention.
The Warriors started the second half with a scorching offensive display, led by Klay Thompson, who scored 27 of his game-high 43 points in the third quarter. Steph Curry backed up his teammate with a mini-clinic of his own, putting through 13 points of his own to further the Warriors lead. The two Splash Brothers combined for 40 of the Warriors 46 third quarter points, effectively shutting the door on the Suns before the final frame even commenced.
Not to be outdone by their backcourt mates, Golden State’s big-men also got the job done for the Warriors in their dominating third quarter outburst. C Andrew Bogut continued to gobble up boards en-route to his 12-rebound night, while Draymond Green produced his fourth triple-double of the season by the sound of the whistle. He would finish the night with 16 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds.
With no answer for the Warriors dominance on both ends of the court, the Suns were outscored 79-37 during the middle portion of the night’s contest, paving way for what was essentially a victory lap of a fourth quarter.
The Suns would come out shooting, putting up a game-high 38 points in the final quarter, but it would be too little, too late, as the Warriors would put the cap on the beginning of a possible new win-streak.
In a game between the league’s number one -the Warriors- and number three- the Suns- three point shooting teams, it was Golden State who used the deep ball to their advantage, scoring 45 of their points from behind the arc on 15 of 32 shooting. The Suns were uncharacteristically bad from downtown, putting through just 5 of their 22 attempts while trying to play catch up.
With the win, the Warriors were able to keep alive at least one winning streak, as they’ve now won 29 straight games at Oracle Arena. Ominously enough, the Milwaukee Bucks- who were responsible for snapping the Warriors 24 game streak on Saturday- will come to Oracle Arena on Friday to face Golden State for the second time in under a week.
The magic continues. The Golden State Warriors made NBA history Tuesday night as the won the sixteenth game in a row to establish a new record for the best start by a team. The Warriors broke the record by a defending champion starting a season when they won their fifteenth game in a row Sunday night in Denver. Tuesday night, they broke the record shared by the 1948-49 Washington Capitals and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets. Those teams started the season 15-0. Never in the seventy-year history of the NBA has a team started the season 16-0. Not the Boston Celtics or the Los Angeles Lakers or the Chicago Bulls. All those teams were great, but none of them ever did what the Warriors accomplished this season. The Warriors routed the lowly Los Angeles Lakers 111-77 at the Oracle Arena. The once-mighty LA Lakers were no match for the vastly superior Dubs. The tables have turned. The Lakers owned the Warriors for years. The Lakers, second in the NBA, with multiple championships to their credit, have literally gone from the penthouse to the outhouse. The Dubs, on the other hand, are the toast of the NBA. They are fun to watch. The Dubs play the basketball the right way. They have no egos. They share the ball. They run the court, find the open man. They rebound. They are, in the opinion of many, the class of the NBA. In addition, they want to be better than the were last year and all they did last year was win the NBA Championship.
The Lakers starting five was made up of Julius Randle, Roy Hibbert, Kobe Bryant, D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson. Their aging superstar, Bryant, is having a subpar season so far. Bryant came into the game averaging sixteen points a game. He had, however, one of the worst games of his career. He hit just one field goal in fourteen tries and scored just four points in the game to match a career low. Injuries to his ankle, knee and shoulder have affected his play. Looks like it may be his last season. It is his twentieth season in the league and he has reached the advanced basketball age of thirty-seven.
The game was actually close for the first 3 minutes and twelve seconds of the first period. The score was tied at five at that point. The Warriors never trailed. The increased the lead to 8-5 and then went on a 15-0 run. The first period ended with the Warriors up by nineteen. The score at the end of one period was 30-11. The Dubs defense thwarted the Lakers at every turn. Draymond Green scored twelve to lead the Dubs.
In the second period, the Lakers played better and actually outscored the Warriors 27-24 but trailed 54-38 at the end of the half. It was the fewest amount of points in any half this year for the Lakers. The Lakers’ Lou Williams scored ten points to lead the Lakers. The Warriors had nineteen assists on the twenty-two field goals made. This stat indicated how well the Dubs moved the ball and how well they found the open man.
The Warriors blew the game open in the third period. They scored thirty-five and held the Lakers to seventeen. The Warriors had an 11-0 run as Steph and Company blew away the Lakers. Interim coach, Luke Walton decided to keep Steph, Klay, Bogut, Green and Harrison Barnes on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. Final score 111-77.
Game Notes- Steph Curry tallied twenty-four points for the night. He hit four three-point shots and had nine assists. Draymond added eighteen, Klay had eleven and Leandro Barbosa, coming off the bench, had thirteen.
After the game, Steph had this to say when, if ever, did he think the Dubs would lose. Steph couldn’t really answer tat question but he said this about the team ” we play at a high level every night.” He also said this about setting the record “there have been a lot of great players in the league and no one has accomplished what this team did tonight.” Not Bill Russell, not Wilt Chamberlain, not Jerry West, not Larry Bird, not Magic Johnson, not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and not Michael Jordan.
The Warriors will try to make it 17-0 Friday night. They travel to Phoenix to play the Suns.
Congratulations to the Dubs for a record-setting performance.
We’ve all known that the Golden State Warriors were good. You don’t become the reigning NBA champions, boasting the league’s MVP with a slew of talented young supporting cast members by being just alright. But on Sunday night, they weren’t good, they weren’t even great- they were historic.
Powering their way to a 118-105 win over the Denver Nuggets, the 15-0 Golden State Warriors cemented themselves in the history books for the best start to a season since the 1993 Houston Rockets and the 1948 Washington Capitols.
The march to the history book was solidified by an overall team effort, with five warriors scoring in double-digits throughout the course of the game. Klay Thompson led the team with 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting, while Steph Curry followed up with 19 of his own points. The total was Curry’s lowest of the season.
The defense may have left a little to be desired, but the Warriors more than made up for it from the field, as they shot 52.8 percent from the field overall, while doing most of their damage from beyond the arc with a torrid 15 triples made, good for 51.7 percent.
It wasn’t smooth sailings for the Warriors, as they led by just six points in the third quarter. But on a night where they were immortalized as a historic team, they used a team effort to break away in the later stages of the game, keeping their perfect season in tact.
The good news for Golden State- only the lowly Los Angeles Lakers stand in their way of claiming sole possession of a historical best 16-0 start. The game, which will take place at Oracle Arena on Tuesday, will be sure to match the team’s previous playoff run in intensity.
Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings had to face the undefeated Golden State Warriors without DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison on Saturday night. The result should have a very predictable “blow out” by the Warriors, but it was not walk over win for the defending NBA Champions.
Golden State defeated the Sacramento Kings 103 to 94. It was a two-point game with four minutes to go in the contest. No one – Warriors fans or Kings fans – could believe this game was so close at the end.
The Kings played tough, hard-nosed basketball, but in the end, the talent of Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Green and Iguodala proved to be too much for Sacramento to handle with a short-handed team.
Frankly, the Warriors came out flat or overlooking the Kings in the first half. The Kings took an early lead in the first period and held that lead until the 3:35 mark in the quarter. Golden State stepped up their play with scoring from former King Jason Thompson, Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala. The Warriors established a 20 to 14 lead after one quarter. Most people in the building expected them to just continue to stretch that lead in the second period.
Golden State did open up a 14-point lead with scoring from Klay Thompson (8), Iguodala (4) and Marreese Speights (4). Just as the game appeared to be headed for a runaway, the Kings came back with a 3-point basket from Marco Belinelli. Belinelli was then fouled attempting a 3-pointer and converted three free throws to cut the Warrior lead to eight.
At the half, Golden State led the Kings 46 to 38.
Sacramento came out strong in the third quarter as center Kosta Koufos scored six unanswered points. The Kings cut the Warrior lead to one on a Koufos lay-up at the 7:31 mark. Sacramento then took the lead when Belinelli sank another 3-point basket from 25-feet out. Golden State then went on 12-0 run that again threatened to put the Kings away. Again the Kings – led by Belinelli – closed the gap to four points. After three quarters, the Warriors led the Kings 72 to 68.
The Kings continued to keep the game close early in the fourth quarter. Sacramento took the lead 79 to 78 on a Rajon Rondo 19-foot jump shot with 6:37 to play. The game stayed close until the Warriors opened up a 10-point lead with under two minutes to play. The teams traded baskets and fouls, but the Kings were unable to find that something extra to propel them back into the game.
The Warriors defeated the Kings by nine points, 103 to 94.
Kings
Marco Belinelli on Saturday night showed why the Kings signed him to a 3-year contract. He scored 22 points shooting 5-for-11 from the floor. The Italian sharp-shooter was 3-for-6 from 3-point range. He went 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Twice Belinelli converted 3-point plays from the charity stripe after being fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer.
Rudy Gay stepped up for Sacramento against the Warriors. He shot 10-for-25 from the field scoring 22 points for his team. Gay showed an aggressiveness that George Karl would like to see more of on a nightly basis.
Rajon Rondo handled the point for 44 minutes against Golden State. With Darren Collison inactive due to a hamstring issue, Rondo was the only point guard on the floor for Sacramento. He put together a rare triple-double scoring 14 points, pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing out 15 assists. After the game Kings head coach George Karl said, “He knows how to do that, he has great history of leading teams and tonight he was very special.”
Center Kosta Koufos recorded a double-double scoring 12 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. Omri Casspi put up 10 points. Willie Cauley-Stein added six points with two nice finishes off lob passes under the basket.
The Kings shot .437 (38-for-87) from the field. They went 6-for-19 (.316) from 3-point range. The team continued to improve from the free throw line making 12 of 16 attempts (.750).
Sacramento turned the ball over 22 times which resulted in 29 Golden State points. The Kings were out-rebounded 46 to 45.
Warriors
Steph Curry led the Golden State scoring with 24 points. Curry scored 21 of those points in the second half of the game. He did not have a great game from beyond the 3-point line shooting just 2-for10 from long distance.
The much anticipated Curry versus Curry match up did not occur as Seth Curry did not play for the Kings. Seth Curry was nursing an ankle sprain coming into the game.
Klay Thompson put up 18 points shooting 7-for-16 from the floor and hitting on 4 of 11 3-point opportunities.
Harrison Barnes (13), Draymond Green (10), Festus Ezeli (10), and Andre Iguodala (14) all scored in double figures for the Warriors. Ezeli made it a double-double game by recording 12 rebounds.
As a team, Golden State shot .413 (38-for-92) from the field. They were a dismal .205 (8-for-39) from 3-point land. The Warriors were impressive at the free throw line converting 19 of 22 opportunities (.864).
The Warriors scored 19 points off second chance opportunities. The Kings scored nine second chance points.
What they said after the game
“It was a pretty impressive game, but they (Kings) have fought through four games in five nights. Obviously there was some fatigue there (shown by) our turnovers in the first half. They kept fighting. I thought our leader was Rondo. Rondo was incredibly into the game, incredibly intense. His defense on (Stephen) Curry was first class. I just wish we would have (had) more gas in the tank to finish off the game,” said Coach George Karl.
“There’s a lot of good we can take out of it (the game) as a team,” explained Rudy Gay. “But I think we’re overdue for a win – we need one bad. It’s another game I thought we could’ve had.”
“Our guys played hard and we knew it would be a tough game coming in,” said Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton.”Sacramento – they compete. Like I said before the game, they haven’t been winning a lot of games but they’ve been playing hard and (been) in the games. We couldn’t get out shots to go in tonight which happens but we found a way like you said to grind it out and come out with a victory.”
“Definitely not pretty but we overcame missed shots, turnovers, kind of a sluggish first half,” said Stephen Curry after the game. “With our defense, we gave ourselves an opportunity to have some minute runs. Pretty much had control of the game the whole way through. They made a decent run to take the lead by one in the fourth. Made some plays down the stretch and pulled it out. That defense allowed us to overcome a poor shooting night.”
Up next
The Kings have Sunday off, but their day of rest will be short lived. Sacramento will host the very talented San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. DeMarcus Cousins is expected to be available for that game.
The Warriors will also have Sunday off and return to action on Monday night hosting the Detroit Pistons.
to the Dubs for a record-setting performance.
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