The Sacramento Kings pulled off the unexpected by winning Game 6 on the road against the Golden State Warriors and forcing a Game 7. The team performed well from start to finish, executing at a high level and getting big performances from various players.
It wasn’t Domantas Sabonis or De’Aaron Fox that led the Sacramento Kings in scoring, though. Malik Monk torched the Golden State Warriors off the bench, scoring 28 points on excellent efficiency. And Stephen Curry gave him some serious praise after the game.
“He’s been an X-factor in their wins, and when we’ve contained him, I think most of those games, we’ve come out with the win,” Curry said in his postgame interview. “Even in Game 5, he got hot a little bit down the stretch, but in the first half, we kind of kept him in check. So, it’s just a matter of locking in on his energy.
“He comes in, he plays aggressive, [and] he loves to score. He was hitting his threes tonight. We kind of gave him to me open looks. So, you obviously have to key in on him. And the way that they mixed up their lineup, he’s featured a lot more. So, [we] got to make the adjustments.”
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Malik Monk has shown signs in the last two seasons that he can be an impactful player and a microwave scorer. Both those things have been on display during this series, and if he can go off in Game 7, that would increase the Kings’ chances of winning drastically.
Jordan Poole Needs To Step Up As The X-Factor For The Warriors
While the focus in the playoffs is always on the stars, it’s the role players that can make a difference in any series. Malik Monk was excellent in Game 6, but on the opposite side, Jordan Poole was quite poor. Steve Kerr admitted after the game that Poole struggled.
“Jordan never really going tonight, unfortunately. He got a little frustrated early — he had a couple plays where he didn’t get calls — and he was trying to attack but couldn’t quite shake free. So, just a frustrating night for him.”
Malik Monk is averaging over 18 points per game in 6 games during this series. Jordan Poole has almost 5 points less at 13.8 per game. He needs to be a huge factor in Game 7 to cancel out what Monk has been giving the Kings. The deciding game promises to be an exciting matchup all around.
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