On Saturday night, the Sacramento Kings defeated the visiting Golden State Warriors 126-123 in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.
De’Aaron Fox scored 38 points in his NBA postseason debut and combined with Malik Monk for 28 fourth-quarter points as the Sacramento Kings defeated the visiting Golden State Warriors 126-123 on Saturday night in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.
The Kings made their first appearance in the playoffs in 17 years with this game. The second game of the best-of-seven series will take place Monday night in Sacramento.
The Kings replied as the Warriors mostly relied on Fox and Monk in the fourth quarter after leading for the majority of the first three quarters and by as many as 10 points.
With 3:50 remaining, Fox made a 3-pointer to give the Kings the lead for good at 115-114. Shortly after, Harrison Barnes made a 3-pointer of his own, giving the hosts a six-point advantage with just 2:35 remaining.
However, the Warriors, the defending NBA champions, used a driving basket and a 3-pointer from Stephen Curry to go within one point, 123-121, with 1:19 remaining. The Warriors then regained control of the ball in the last 30 seconds, trailing by one.
With 10 seconds remaining, Andrew Wiggins missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the left corner after taking a 25-game layoff due to personal matters.
When Curry missed an open straight-away 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left in the game, the Kings celebrated a victory in their first-ever playoff game against their Northern California foe. Monk had finished with 32 points off the bench.
Monk did most of his damage at the foul line, finishing 14-for-14 to go along with an 8-for-13 performance from the field, while Fox went 13-for-27 from the field and added five assists and three steals.
For Sacramento, who won the Pacific Division, Trey Lyles contributed 16 points, Barnes added 13, and Domantas Sabonis added 12 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. This gave Sacramento the No. 3 spot in the West and home-court advantage.
For the Warriors, Curry scored a total of 30 points, while Klay Thompson scored 21. Curry and Thompson both made 6-of-14 three-pointers, but as a team, Golden State only made 16 of 50 attempts (32 percent).
For Golden State, Wiggins, Jordan Poole, and Donte DiVincenzo each scored 17 points, while Draymond Green added a game-high 11 assists and nine rebounds.
Overall, the Warriors outshot the Kings by a margin of 47.8 percent to 44.9 percent, but Sacramento won the glass 50-41 and had a 26-21 lead in free throws.
