San Francisco – On Sunday evening, the Sacramento Kings triumphed over the Golden State Warriors with a convincing score of 129-99, marking their fourth consecutive win, all while playing without their top scorer, De’Aaron Fox. Malik Monk was instrumental in the victory, scoring 26 points and providing 12 assists, while Domantas Sabonis also made significant contributions with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists.
From the outset, the Kings took control of the game, never allowing the Warriors to take the lead. By halftime, they held a commanding 75-51 advantage, leading to many frustrated fans exiting the Chase Center early, as a spirited group of Kings supporters chanted “Let’s go Kings!” in celebration of their team’s performance.
For the Warriors, Stephen Curry managed to score 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds after sitting out the previous game against the Grizzlies. Andrew Wiggins supported the effort with 18 points. This game was particularly notable as it marked the Kings’ first trip to Chase Center since Mike Brown, who was the Warriors’ top assistant coach, was let go back in December following a subpar 13-18 start. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr expressed his ongoing “shock” over Brown’s dismissal, while Doug Christie currently steps in as the interim coach for Sacramento.
In terms of takeaways from the game, the Kings were minus Fox due to a bruised glute muscle sustained from a fall caused by Memphis player Jaren Jackson Jr.’s flagrant foul. Nevertheless, Sacramento began the match strong, hitting 10 of their first 17 shots, including 5-for-9 from beyond the arc, to establish an early 25-14 lead.
On the Warriors’ side, they faced an additional setback with forward Jonathan Kuminga likely to be out for at least three weeks due to a sprained right ankle, an injury he incurred during Saturday’s game against Memphis.
A pivotal moment in the game occurred when Curry pulled off a remarkable sequence, briefly igniting hope for Warriors fans. With just under ten minutes left in the second quarter, Curry executed his first four-point play, narrowing the gap to 40-29. Following that, Draymond Green hit a three-pointer, cutting the deficit further to eight points before Curry netted another four-point play after a foul by Sabonis. Unfortunately, these moments were sparse in an otherwise challenging night for the Warriors.
Statistically, after achieving an impressive total of 32 assists in the previous game, the Warriors struggled, managing only 22 assists, which incidentally matched the number of turnovers they recorded during the matchup.
Looking ahead, the Kings are set to host the Miami Heat on Monday for another game in quick succession, while the Warriors will face Miami on Tuesday night as they continue their six-game homestand.
