Sacramento Kings Fall To Golden State Warriors In Return From All-Star Break
By Phil Watson
Feb 19, 2014; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas (22) controls the ball against Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson (11) during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Sacramento Kings 101-.92. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The Sacramento Kings were without starting center DeMarcus Cousins due to injury and guard Marcus Thornton, traded earlier Wednesday to the Brooklyn Nets for Jason Terry and Reggie Evans.
The Golden State Warriors were without starting center Andrew Bogut due to injury and guards Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks, traded Wednesday night to the Los Angeles Lakers for Steve Blake.
So neither team was at full strength heading into Wednesday night matchup at Sleep Train Arena in the return from the All-Star break for both clubs. The Kings took a slim lead with a big third quarter, but the Warriors returned the favor in the fourth en route to a 101-92 win despite hitting just 3-for-19 from 3-point range.
The Warriors started Jermaine O’Neal in place of Bogut, while the Kings had Jason Thompson at the center spot and Carl Landry starting at the power forward without Cousins.
Golden State (32-22) got off to a quick start, scoring the first eight points of the game and leading by as many as 10 in the first period before Sacramento (18-36) closed the gap to 30-26 by period’s end.
The Warriors took their biggest lead on Harrison Barnes’ 3-pointer with 3:43 remaining, going up 54-39. But the Kings cut into that advantage a bit, closing to within 59-50 at the break.
Golden State again went up by 15, 65-50, early in the third quarter, but the Kings roared back, outscoring the Warriors for the remainder of the period 26-10 to take a 76-75 lead into the fourth.
The lead was short-lived for Sacramento. The Warriors took the lead for good on a layup by David Lee with 9:07 remaining, putting the game out of reach with a 9-2 run.
Lee paced the Warriors with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Klay Thompson added 18 points and three steals. Andre Iguodala and Stephen Curry each scored 13 points, with Curry also dishing out eight assists, while Draymond Green had 12 points and Jordan Crawford tossed in 10. Barnes finished the night with three steals.
Isaiah Thomas led the Kings with 26 points and seven assists, Travis Outlaw came off the bench for a season-high 18 points and Rudy Gay tossed in 16 points and blocked three shots. Quincy Acy finished with 12 rebounds.
Golden State shot 39-for-86 (45.3 percent) overall, 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) from deep and 20-for-24 (83.3 percent) at the line. Sacramento was 33-for-79 (41.8 percent), 6-for-17 (35.3 percent) and 20-for-28 (71.4 percent).
The Kings stayed in the game with a huge rebounding advantage, 49-35—including 15 on the offensive glass—but killed themselves with turnovers. Sacramento had 21 giveaways, seven by Thomas, which led to 22 Golden State points. Conversely, the Warriors committed only seven turnovers that the Kings converted into eight points.
While Sacramento had an 18-6 edge on second-chance points, Golden State dominated in the paint to the tune of a 52-32 advantage and the Warriors also had a 19-5 bulge in fast-break points.
The Kings are off until Saturday, when they host the Boston Celtics for a 7 p.m. Pacific matchup at Sleep Train Arena.