The Sacramento Kings faced the Golden State Warriors to kick off a 7-game road trip. Could the Kings start the trip with some positive momentum, or would they fall back into bad habits?
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings win, 134-133
Sacramento Kings: 134pts, 52.7% fg, 45.8% 3 pt, 84.2% ft, 33 ast, 34 reb, 10 to
Golden State Warriors: 133 pts, 55.8% fg 51.4% 3 pt, 78.3% ft, 30 ast, 33 reb, 13 to
Kings win! Kings win! Light the Beam!
In an absolute nail-biter, the Kings took it down to the final possession to secure a win. The Kings and Warriors traded baskets and traded leads. Both teams will complain about calls and non-calls. Kevin Huerter, with the Kings up 1, went 0-2 from the free throw line leaving the Warriors with a final chance to break Sacramento’s heart. But Steph Curry dribbled off his foot on the final possession, and De’Aaron Fox recovered the ball as the clock expired.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
- The Black Falcon: Spoiler alert, Barnes is the King of Kings. More on him down below.
- Offensive Flow: The Kings finally looked like the Kings of last season. The threes were raining in, the ball was moving around the floor, and the Kings DHO was making mincemeat of the Golden State defense. It was beautiful to see the offense firing on all cylinders again.
- Star Fox: De’Aaron Fox is back, baby. Fox went off for 29 points on 16 shots, including back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter to quiet the Golden State crowd and control the Warriors’ momentum. Oh, and Fox was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. It was great seeing Fox back to his old form.
- The Starters: All 5 starters scored in double digits, and all five had an impact beyond just buckets. Huerter, despite the missed clutch free throws, had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists. Keegan Murray had 14 points and 6 rebounds, and played phenomenal defense on Steph Curry for extended stretches. Domantas Sabonis played through a tight whistle to still finish with 18 points, 13 assists, and 8 rebounds. It’s Sabonis’ 26th straight double-double.
- Davion Mitchell: For a guy who has struggled throughout the year, Davion Mitchell had himself a GAME. 10 points, 3/5 from 3, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and Davion executed the most textbook chair-pull on Klay Thompson that you will ever see. It was great to see Mitchell have a good night again.
The Bad:
- Malik Monk: Woof. This was a rough one for Malik. In 19 minutes Monk scored 4 points and committed 3 turnovers. He often played indecisive and out of control basketball, which has been a concerning trend in the last week or two. Monk just has been trying to do a little too much, and it results in unforced errors.
The Ugly:
- Late game execution: The Kings once again made a game much closer than it needed to be. Missed free throws, and poor execution nearly cost the Kings the game. Any Kings fan watching the final few minutes was having horrible flashbacks to the Bucks loss. The Kings escaped this time, but the end-of-game execution needs to be better. Too much Iso ball, not enough ball movement, not enough focus.
The King of Kings
Harrison Barnes
Black Falcon, come on down! HB did it all for the Kings in this one. Barnes finished with a career high 39 points, plus 4 rebounds, a steal and a block. Barnes was a blistering 7 of 12 from beyond the arc, and 14 for 24 overall. It was a marvelous performance, and begs the question of why the Kings stopped running plays to involve Barnes in the offense for the first half of the season. Give me more of this version of Harry B, please.
Up Next
@ Dallas Mavericks, Saturday, January 27th, 6:00 PM PT
