Back at home, the Kings set the pace from the start of the game with an aggressive and skilful Keegan Murray. The Warriors remain in ambush but their four lost balls allow Sacramento to run. De’Aaron Fox, despite his splint on the finger is three out of three from afar and behind him the Kings are 8 out of 12 from 3-pointers (31-21). The pair Curry – Green, however, allows the Warriors to cash without cracking (36-33).
The Thompson Spark
After hitting the mark from afar in the first quarter, Fox is more incisive towards the circle to open the second period. He scores six points in a row and delivers an assist to put Sacramento at +6 and anger Steve Kerr (45-39). As the Kings have the opportunity to break, five loose balls undermine their momentum and three straight 3-pointers from Klay Thompson launch Golden State. The NBA champions end the quarter on a 16-6 to return to the locker room at +4 (60-56)!
Kevin Huerter finally shows the tip of his nose in the locker room, well supported by Fox, but the Kings defense suffers. Jordan Poole and Stephen Curry attack the circle to lead a 7-0 Warriors (76-68). Abandoned by their address from afar, the Kings, led by Harrison Barnes, imitated their opponent and reassured themselves near the circle by provoking the fourth fouls by Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins (87-83). Golden State is suffering but in the wake of Draymond Green, scorer, and Kevon Looney, the rebound vacuum, they regain a nine-point lead (99-90).
A huge Draymond Green
Malik Monk pushes but it is the second knives of Golden State, Gary Payton II and again Looney, who put the Warriors at +12 (105-93). Back to the wall, the Kings rely on Malik Monk, author of eight points, and faults deemed intentional to cut the counterattack, to lead a 13-2 which revives the match and the Golden 1 Center (107-103 )!
Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry chained three difficult baskets but while Fox seemed embarrassed by his hand, Monk continued to put pressure on the Warriors with 1:35 to play (117-114). It was then the turn of the Golden State defense to raise their voices. They chained three saves, then it was the turn of Andrew Wiggins to put in a difficult shot, followed by a 2+1 from Stephen Curry to seal the victory for the Warriors. They will try to finish the job at home on Friday!
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Full-throttle Kings in the first quarter. A franchise record for the number of 3-point shots scored in a quarter (8), a more aggressive Domantas Sabonis who does not hesitate to take his shots at mid-range for the first time in the series, 5 balls lost to the Warriors allowing them to run, and 3 offensive rebounds. The Kings had a dream first quarter playing their style. They pushed the tempo on every possession and took advantage of shifting focus Warriors to dominate the (+6) possession battle.
– Golden State finishes the quarters with a bang. Between the first and second quarter, Steve Kerr noted that his team had finished the first quarter well. Despite the Kings’ dominance, his team was only -3 at the end of the first quarter. The Dubs indeed managed to stay in the game after the Kings festival, passing a 12-5 to their opponent in the last three minutes of the first quarter. They did it again at the end of the half, with a 16-6 in the last five minutes, and a 10-4 at the end of the third quarter. It had been the opposite in the first two games in Sacramento.
– 28th series with an away win for Golden State. The Warriors’ record streak continues. Since the first Curry-era playoff series in 2013 against the Nuggets, they have always won at least one away game in every series they have played. This is obviously an NBA record. At +12 in the last quarter, they almost let the match slip by chaining lost balls and avoidable faults. In money time, Green’s defence, Splash Brothers shots, Looney’s presence, and Andrew Wiggins’ growing power made the difference.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Stephen Curry. The two-time MVP scored 10 of his 31 points in the final quarter to hold off the Kings. He also delivered 8 assists and lost 5 balls.
✅ Klay Thompson – Andrew Wiggins. Stephen Curry’s two lieutenants responded at the best time. The “Splash Brother scored 11 of 25 points in the second quarter to put the Warriors in control of the game. Wiggins was discreet but precious. He scored 20 points, including 4 decisive ones in the last three minutes.
✅ Draymond Green – Kevon Looney. The two owners of the Dubs racket were masterful. Again off the bench, Green was omnipresent (21 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals) and decisive on both sides of the field. It’s his first game with more than 20 points since the 2019 Christmas game! Kevon Looney was monstrous in equaling his record for rebounds in a game (22). He also delivered 7 assists.
✅ Domantas Sabonis. More aggressive, the Lithuanian scored 8 of his 21 points in the last quarter. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and delivered 4 assists.
✅ ⛔ Malik Monk – De’Aaron Fox. The Kings point guard started strong, scoring 17 of his 24 points in the first half. He was, however, silent in the last quarter, visibly embarrassed by his finger injury. He still delivered 9 passes but lost 6 balls. Monk experienced the opposite evening. He remained silent for 3/4 of the game before scoring his 21 points in the last 16 minutes of the game to revive the Kings.
⛔ Keegan Murray-Kevin Huerter. The rookie scored his 10 points in the first quarter before disappearing from circulation. Huerter scored 9 points, being transparent except for the first three minutes of the second half.
THE FOLLOWING
Game 6 in Golden State, on the night of Friday to Saturday (02:00).
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D= defensive rebound; T = Total Bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Points = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
