Another nail-biting victory for the Golden State Warriors over the Sacramento Kings, this time on the strength of a game-winning jumper by Klay Thompson in the dying seconds. 

In front of a sellout crowd of 18,064, Stephen Curry scored 21 points to lead the Warriors to a 102-101 victory over the Kings at San Francisco’s Chase Center. 

The Kings swarmed Curry to knock the ball out of his hands, and Davion Mitchell tried everything in his might to contest Thompson’s shot, but Thompson still managed to sink it from the top of the key with two seconds left on the clock.

“I can’t do no better than that,” Mitchell said. I’m not big enough to stand in its way. I did everything I could, yet he still made it to his destination. There’s a good reason he’s considered among the best. 

Steve Kerr, head coach of the Warriors, has witnessed numerous times when Klay Thompson has come through in the clutch to help the team win four NBA titles in the past nine seasons.

Throughout the years, “he’s obviously made a million big shots for us,” Kerr said. However, if you hit it with,.2 left when you’re down, that’s a thrill for anybody no matter how many times you’ve done it before.” 

Since last season, the Kings have faced the Warriors 18 times across the preseason, regular season, and playoffs. The Kings’ record in such contests is 3-9. This includes their first-round playoff series loss in seven games against the Warriors last year. Kings guard Malik Monk remarked, “They’ve got our numbers.” “… We’re not behind by 30 points or anything. We’re always on the money; we just have some sloppy work to fix, which I’m confident we can.

Domantas Sabonis scored 21 points, grabbed 11 boards, and dished out six assists for the Kings (2-2). Sabonis recorded his fourth consecutive game with at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. 

He joined Oscar Robertson as the only players in franchise history to post 10-10-5 in the first four games of a season. Along with Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Sam Lacey, and Chris Webber, he is the sixth player in franchise history to start a season with a double-double. Sabonis was questioned about Thompson’s overtime game-winning shot. Sabonis admitted, “It’s a tough play when you have Steph on the court.” Our coaches were screaming at us to “hit Steph,” which meant to knock the ball out of his hands so that someone else could score. (Thompson) made a solid attempt. 

There was Davion, and all Klay did was take a shot and score a basket. For the Kings (3-1), who were without All-NBA point guard De’Aaron Fox, Monk scored 16 points off the bench. A further 14 points came from Harrison Barnes. Mitchell, who replaced an injured Fox in the starting lineup, scored 13 points and added three boards and four helpers. He shot 5 for 9 overall and 3 for 6 from beyond the arc.

Kevin Heurter contributed 11 points, 9 boards, and 3 helpers. Keegan Murray was restricted to 10 points. He shot 4/15 overall and 0/7 from beyond the arc. For the undefeated Warriors (4-1), Dario Saric contributed 15 points and six boards. Thompson and Andrew Wiggins both had 14 point performances. “Guys played hard,” Kings head coach Mike Brown stated. They set us up for success, and Klay Thompson made the game-winning shot. 

You give credit to Hall of Famers for doing their thing and move on to the next game. After Draymond Green threw down two 3-pointers to open the game, the Warriors jumped all over the Kings, outscoring them 12-3 in the opening 2:09. After falling behind early, the Kings rallied and took their first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Monk as time expired in the first quarter, giving them a 31-28 advantage.

Huerter’s transition layup gave Sacramento a six-point lead in the middle of the second quarter. Wiggins’s shot put Golden State back on top, and the Warriors would take a 56-55 edge into the locker room at the half. 

Murray’s score early in the third quarter capped a 14-2 run that saw the Kings extend their advantage to 69-58. The Warriors went on a 13-3 run in response, bringing their deficit down to five points at the third quarter’s end. In the final stanza, there were a total of seven lead changes and five ties. 

On a 3-pointer by Curry, the Warriors were able to take a 90-89 lead. Barnes’s two free throws with 2:53 remaining gave the Kings the lead for good. With 15.1 seconds left, the Kings were up 101-100 after Sabonis banked in a shot from 21 feet away, but that just set the table for Thompson’s heroics.

 Barnes: “I thought we blitzed Steph; we got the ball out of his hands; we tried to do a good job; we tried to take everyone else away; and in the end, he just hit a tough shot over Davion.” “… While there are undoubtedly benefits, ultimately success is what matters most. 

No moral high ground has been won. Since the end of last season till now, we’ve seen this team around 20 times, so it’s just a matter of finally beating them.