After a flurry of ball and player movement at Chase Center, the basketball pinged around among the Golden State Warriors and their numerous lines on Thursday, nearly always finding the open man.
Just as it did with the Sacramento Kings, who were superior to their opponents in Northern California.
In the opening game of the second half, the Warriors fell 134-133 to plummet four games below.500 (19-23) as they were unable to stay up with their regional rivals.
For the Warriors, who also had a career-high 31 points from big Jonathan Kuminga, Stephen Curry scored 18 of his team-high 33 points in the opening quarter.
But point guard De’Aaron Fox contributed 29 points, while former Warriors wing Harrison Barnes scored a career-high 39 points, including seven 3-pointers.
Domantas Sabonis, a big guy, led Sacramento (25-18) with 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists while dominating the paint and the high post.
With 15 seconds remaining, Warriors guard Kevin Huerter missed two crucial free throws that would have given Curry a chance to win the game. However, a perfectly executed double team resulted in a mistaken dribble, which let the last seconds pass without the Warriors managing to get off a shot.
Due in part to an elderly squad lacking a conventional rim-protecting center, Golden State’s defensive rating of 117.5—which now ranks 24th out of the 30 NBA teams—will suffer as a result of the performance.
After a brilliant first quarter, Curry lost steam and let Kuminga take the lead, scoring more than 20 points for the sixth straight game. He assaulted Sacramento’s smaller defense once more, adding a few 3-pointers in between an offensive on the interior.
However, Sacramento is in a terrible transition, accelerating after Golden State’s plays and missing the same shots. Huerter, Davion Mitchell, and Trey Lyles combined for eight 3-pointers when Barnes wasn’t helping out.
After trading baskets for much of the tense fourth quarter, Kuminga gave the Warriors a 133-132 lead with back-to-back dunks with 47.1 seconds remaining.
Before Curry made a careless turnover, the Kings answered on the next possession with a nice play out of bounds that resulted in a game-winning dunk for Sabonis.
