The Sacramento Kings pulled off a convincing 129-99 win over the Golden State Warriors in the Chase Center in their fourth-straight win after their mid-season firing of head coach Mike Brown. The Warriors continue sliding, falling to the No. 9 seed in the West with an 18-17 record while the Kings improve to No. 11 with a 17-19 record.
Malik Monk led the King with 26 points (9-14 FG), 12 assists, and four steals in a star outing without De’Aaron Fox. Domantas Sabonis put up an effortless 22 points (10-13 FG), 13 rebounds, and seven assists in the win, with Kevin Huerter (16 PTS, 5-7 FG) bringing red-hot shooting off the bench. Rookie Devin Carter had 13 points (4-11 FG) and seven rebounds off the bench while DeMar DeRozan had 12 points (5-14 FG).
Stephen Curry put up an easy 26 points (8-12 FG) with seven rebounds while Andrew Wiggins had 18 points (7-13 FG) in the loss. Moses Moody had 13 points (5-10 FG) off the bench and Draymond Green had 10 points (4-8 FG), four rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block as a starter. No other Warriors scored in double-digits in a flat offensive showing by the squad.
Let’s analyze the major takeaways from this clash.
Hot Night For The Kings
The Kings enjoyed a fantastic shooting night from all across their roster, shooting 50-40-90 from the court as a roster. They went 45-87 (51.8 FG%) from the field, 19-43 (44.2 3P%) from three, and 20-22 (90.9 FT%) from the free throw line in one of the most efficient road shooting performances by any team this season.
Sacramento seemed to get their offense going a lot faster through aggressive ball movement, which was introduced to the franchise as an offensive strategy by former head coach Mike Brown, who was Steve Kerr’s assistant in Golden State for their 2022 championship triumph. With the Kings also eliminating the Warriors from last year’s Play-In Tournament, it’s clear this franchise has their number at the moment.
Golden State went 37-81 (45.7 FG%) from the field, 12-35 (34.3 3P%) from three, and 13-18 (72.2 FT%), simply not being able to compete with the Kings offensively. Despite Curry having a night above his season’s scoring average, they didn’t have enough production from the rest of the roster to be competitive tonight.
Their defense stood no chance at stopping the Kings either, so it was a rotten night all around for the Warriors.
Sloppy Basketball Is Losing Basketball
The Warriors’ shooting simply didn’t live up to what it needed to be tonight to get the win over the Kings. But more than that, their level of disorganized offensive play allowed the Kings to create havoc in transition and dominate the Warriors easily. There was no floor general for Golden State tonight, as their offense looked confused and uninspired against an aggressive Sacramento squad.
The Warriors coughed up 22 turnovers in the game compared to the Kings’ giving up just 11. Of the 22 Warriors’ turnovers, 10 of them were direct steals by the Kings who kept the ball-handlers on the other side uncomfortable. The ball movement was lackluster and they paid the price for it, with the game slipping out of their hands before they even realized it.
The lack of any real benefit felt from the acquisition of Dennis Schroder is hurting the Warriors as well. Schroder went 1-7 from the field today and has not been able to impact Golden State with his on-ball playmaking at all since joining the franchise. They need something to change, as their heavy ball movement was exposed tonight with sloppy play and aggressive perimeter defenders on the other side.
Jonathan Kuminga’s Absence Will Cost Them More Wins
The Warriors will be without Jonathan Kuminga for a minimum of three weeks after the forward suffered an ankle injury. This guarantees Kuminga will miss the next 11 Warriors games, which could prove to be a trying stretch for the franchise who are currently 18-17 on the season, going 6-15 in their last 21 games.
Kuminga hasn’t been the star forward the Warriors expected him to become this season, being moved to the bench and thriving in that role this year. He was coming off a series of his career’s best games before picking up an ankle injury before tonight’s game and being absent from it. His dynamic play off the bench gives the Warriors a chance at being competitive but they have to make do without it.
The Warriors don’t have the luxury of missing top-line contributors like Kuminga, who’s their second-leading scorer this season. They boast great depth across the lineup but it won’t work with Curry having an even greater dearth of co-stars around him.
Golden State fans need to prepare for a rough January ahead, as they’re bound to struggle staying .500 without Kuminga and be in danger of falling out of the West top-six race, now two games behind the No. 6 seed.
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