The Kings just couldn’t get it done against the league’s top dogs.
The thinned Sacramento Kings couldn’t outlast the Golden State Warriors from Chase Center on Monday night, losing 113-98. Tyrese Haliburton led the way with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals, followed by another Buddy Hield sharpshooting night beyond the arc with 18 points on six made 3-pointers.
It was once again up to the remaining pieces of the team’s core offense, Haliburton, Hield and Barnes, to steer this Kings team across the timeline tonight. No one could seem to get it going on offense from the jump, with the team scoring just one field goal in the first five minutes of action.
Sacramento didn’t make a 3-pointer until nearly halfway through the second quarter, where a 3-point deficit separated the two teams after Golden State went up by double digits in the first, and again leading into halftime as the Kings trailed by 15 heading into the locker room.
Opening up the third quarter, Sacramento went on an 8-0 run cutting into Golden State’s lead, where Hield finally found success from three-point land contributing 12 third quarter points on 5-6 shooting beyond the arc.
A combined effort on the class from Hali, Metu, and Barnes dropped Sacramento right back into contention, tying the ball game with less than three minutes to play in the third and garnering their first lead 79-77. The Kings scaled back significantly on turnovers and it was visible that acting head coach Doug Christie had made adjustments heading into the frame.
Haliburton continued his stellar play into the fourth quarter, logging his third straight contest with 20+ points and 10+ assists. Stephen Curry was able to light it up from beyond the arc in the third quarter alongside Draymond Green’s triple-double, outlasting the Kings with another double-digit deficit the end the contest. Sacramento had no answers for the number one defense in the association, and fell flat for the rest of the game.
This roster continues to look malnourished, as playing without the likes of De’Aaron Fox, Davion Mitchell, Alex Len, Terence Davis, Marvin Bagley III and Holmes was deeply felt in the contest on both the offensive and defensive end of the floor. However, the team was able to battle back and keep themselves in this game longer than much of the Kingdom would have anticipated.