On Friday night, Stephen Curry scored 41 points to help the Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings 122-114. Curry’s performance was reminiscent of his performance in the playoffs against the Kings last year.
Coach Steve Kerr has noted, “Steph loves every building and every rim.” It’s Steph. I just don’t have anything else to say.
It had been a year since Curry’s 50-point masterpiece in Game 7 of the first-round series against the Kings, and this was the first game played at Golden 1 Center since then.
The series ignited a rivalry between two Northern California teams who had never before enjoyed concurrent seasons of success.
They feel like they’re here now,” Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. “They were in a rebuilding phase for a good portion of my career.” They’ve found their niche, and as a result, we have a great deal of respect for them as a team. They’ve got a lot of great guys on the roster. Obviously, this is a team that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
The sold-out crowd at the Kings’ home opener was pumped up the whole time, but they were left disappointed when Curry put the game away with a game-winning 3-pointer in the final minute.
In the third quarter, Curry scored 16 points to put his team up by double digits. Golden State had an 11-point advantage in the middle of the third quarter thanks to his 51st career four-point play, which he capped off with a little dance.
Chris Paul, a new player for the Warriors but an old foe of Curry’s, commented, “I’ve seen it before.” We built a couple dams and whatever. There’s no longer any division between us. Totally sick.
With Curry on the bench near the end of the third, the Warriors extended their lead with a 10-0 run highlighted by Jonathan Kuminga’s put-back jam for a 94-77 advantage.
Sacramento capitalized on some careless play by the Warriors and staged a furious comeback in the final minutes. With 1:15 left, the Kings trimmed a 15-point deficit to five points by scoring 10 consecutive points. But with 43 seconds left, Curry hit a 3-pointer to ice the game.
Kings guard De’Aaron Fox put it this way: “Once the shot starts going in, you just try to make it tough for him, get the ball out of his hand.” “Something. But it’s not an easy task.
In his second game with the Warriors, Paul scored 10 points and dished out 12 assists despite committing two mistakes while Thompson added 18 points. Paul has made only three turnovers this season, compared to his 21 assists.
Fox led the Kings with 39 points. Domantas Sabonis contributed 19 points, 18 boards, and 7 helpers.
After a lengthy break for Curry, Sacramento went on a 14-0 run between the first and second quarters to establish an 11-point lead. After Curry’s comeback, the Warriors regrouped and went into halftime leading 60-57.
“We made a lot of mental mistakes that we can’t do against a great team like this,” Kings head coach Mike Brown stated. When we made a mistake, they punished us severely. We can only hope that this will serve as a valuable educational opportunity for us.