Stephen Curry left the Kings in a 50-point Game 7 to send Sacramento on vacation last April. He remembered their good memories in preseason and he once again dynamited the Golden 1 Center with a daunting performance: 41 points on 14/19 shooting including 7/10 from distance, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Carried by the activity of De’Aaron Fox (39 points), the Kings had nevertheless made the first gap of the match (+11) at the start of the second quarter, but the Warriors quite easily found openings in the beleaguered defense from Sacramento, and the visitors were even in front at halftime (60-57).
The third quarter, the kingdom of Stephen Curry, could begin to torture the poor defenders of the double MVP. Untenable, on the dribble or away from the ball, with his backdoor cuts or his 3-pointers, the best shooter in history made the talk to score 16 points in just over eight minutes.
When he left, the Warriors led by 9 points (84-75) and the good news for Golden State was that Chris Paul found Klay Thompson to extend the lead without “Chef Curry” on the field.
The gap had increased to +15 (99-84) when Stephen Curry came back into play. Golden State seemed to be heading towards a quiet victory but the Warriors lost focus and fell back into their mistakes, losing a lot of balls. Enough to bring the Kings to five small points (117-112) as the last minute approaches.
But Andrew Wiggins attacked the circle to fix the defense and bring out the ball for… the inevitable Stephen Curry, who planted a final 3-pointer and could tell the Kings to go to bed.
With the free throw game, Stephen Curry could exceed the 40 point mark and above all it is a first away victory (122-114) for the Bay franchise this season. As a reminder, last year, the Warriors only won 11 games away from Chase Center…
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Stephen Curry, Kings executioner. The leader had disgusted Sacramento during the last playoffs, and he did it again for this first duel. As at home at the Golden 1 Center, he seemed unable to miss a shot, tormenting his various defenders to offer a new recital, with and especially without the ball.
– Steve Kerr tests his rotations. In the absence of Draymond Green, Golden State’s rotations are modified and the Bay coach is playing. In the first half, the minutes without Stephen Curry were very complicated. It was much better in the second half, with the duo Chris Paul – Klay Thompson who found themselves well at the end of the third quarter, and the tandem Jonathan Kuminga (12 points, 5 rebounds) – Moses Moody ( 10 points, 3 interceptions) who brought good things off the bench.
– Kevin Huerter and Chris Duarte in trouble. Mike Brown hesitates between the two players for the starting back position but both men suffered last night. The first finishes with 0 points at 0/5 shooting, and he is still in difficulty defensively. The second held up the shock a little better on this side of the field, but with 6 fouls and a 1/7 shooting, he didn’t work miracles either, including a nasty shot on the edge…
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
