In Sacramento, California, on Monday, April 17, 2023, guards Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors (30) and De’Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings (5) converse during a timeout during the second half of Game 2 of the first round of the NBA basketball playoffs. Kings triumphed 114–106. (AP)
De’Aaron Fox led the Sacramento Kings to a 114-106 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night in a Western Conference first-round playoff game. Fox scored 11 of his team-high tying 24 points in the fourth quarter and fed Harrison Barnes for a tiebreaking dunk with 5:14 left.
Draymond Green of Golden State was kicked out of the game after trampling Domantas Sabonis.
The best-of-seven series switches to San Francisco for Games 3 and 4, which begin Thursday night with the defending champs behind 2-0.
The Kings led by eight points going into the fourth quarter, but Stephen Curry’s driving layup with 5:32 left in the game tied the score at 95.
In the interior of the Green-less Golden State defence, Fox next connected with Barnes for a basket that not only gave Sacramento the lead for good but also set off a 19-11 final score.
Two minutes had passed since Green and Sabonis were tangled underneath the Golden State basket, with Sabonis falling to the floor as a result of a collision from Klay Thompson. Green then tried to pass, but Sabonis grabbed his calf. The Warriors forward then slammed his foot into Green’s chest, drawing a flagrant foul 2 and sending him to the locker room right away.
At the time of the play, which happened with the Kings ahead 91-87, Sabonis was also given a technical foul.
With 3:11 remaining, the Warriors made a late run to close the gap to 102-101 thanks to a pair of Thompson 3-pointers. But when Sabonis pounced on a Fox miss and made a follow shot, the hosts suddenly found themselves up 107-101 after Fox made a 3-pointer on the Kings’ subsequent possession.
Fox also had time for nine assists, which was a game best. For the Kings, the Pacific Division champions who are seeded higher (third) than the reigning champions (sixth) in the postseason, Sabonis ended with 24 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
For the Kings, who exploited a 12-9 lead on the offensive boards and 22 Golden State mistakes to get up 10 more shots than the visitors, Malik Monk contributed 18 points, Kevin Huerter 15, Davion Mitchell 14, and Barnes 13, in addition to their individual contributions.
For the Warriors, who last season overturned all six of their playoff losses with victories en route to the title, Curry overcame a 3-for-13 night from beyond the arc to score a game-high 28 points and hand out a team-high six assists.
Despite outscoring the Kings 36-27 from beyond the arc, the Warriors nevertheless fell to the Kings. Andrew Wiggins led the team with 22 points, Thompson had 21, and Gary Payton II had 13.
