Like Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox, the Kings enter the game much more physical and aggressive than in Game 3. Keegan Murray also scores three of his first five shots, but the Kings defense takes the water. 16 points from the duo Stephen curry – Jordan Poole give the Warriors a 7-point lead (28-21). Sacramento takes advantage of stray bullets to finish the quarter on an 11-3 to take the lead (32-31).
The Kings defense, boxed on Curry, raises the tone and pushes the tempo on each basket. Fox and company make 3/3 from 3-pointers to start the second quarter. They pass a 13-5 to Golden State to take a nine-point lead (45-36)! A timeout from Steve Kerr revives the Warriors, who respond with a 9-0 (45-45). The boxing fight continues with an ultra efficient Fox and a Murray who has found his shot. The two players again give the Kings a 9-point lead, but the “Splash Brothers” respond to stay in ambush (69-65).
More rigorous in the rebound to start the 3rd quarter, the Warriors go back in front thanks to a good passage from Klay Thompson (74-72). The Kings remain in contact thanks to the address of Keegan Murray but the attack of Sacramento advances in slow motion, in particular with the decision of Steve Kerr to put Draymond Green on De’Aaron Fox. 24 points from the Curry – Wiggins – Poole trio allows Golden State to finish the quarter on a 20-9, finished in style with a 3-point buzzer from Klay Thompson (102-92).
Mike Brown’s men, however, keep their cool and start the last quarter with a 15-4 thanks to Davion Mitchell and Malik Monk to break the “momentum” of the Warriors and go back in front (107-106)! As a boss, Stephen Curry stops the Kings series and scores 7 points from an 8-2 Golden State (114-109). It was Monk’s turn, him again, then Fox to keep the Chase Center under tension (118-117).
The “Splash Brothers” chained two 3-pointers in a row to take a five-point lead but while the momentum was on their side, they chained questionable actions to put the Kings back in the game. Jordan Poole loses a stupid ball on a 5 against 4, Kevon Looney receives an offensive foul, Stephen Curry asks for a time-out when the Warriors have no more, followed by a shot too fast at +1 with 10 seconds to play. A 3-pointer from De’Aaron Fox followed by a stoppage gives the match point to the Kings and Harrison Barnes, but the former Warrior does not find the target at the buzzer! The series returns to Sacramento with both teams tied, 2-2!
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Draymond back but substitute. After the strong showing in Game 3, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr both decided to use the power winger in a sixth man role, helping to minimize Green and Looney’s minutes together on the pitch. This setup allows the Warriors offense to be more dangerous and dynamic, but it makes their defense more vulnerable to Kings offensive rebounds if all five players aren’t rigorous on their delay screens. That’s what happened in the first half, forcing Steve Kerr to walk away with his usual starting five after the break.
– De’Aaron Fox sets the tone for the Kings. Sacramento hadn’t played at their tempo for three quarters of Game 3. Today they were ready and it all started with De’Aaron Fox. From the first minutes of the match, the Kings star was in “attack mode”. He attacked the circle with ferocity, he alternated with shots from mid-range and 3-pointers. He finished the first half with 21 points at 56% success. More than the numbers, it was his attitude that pulled all his teammates behind him. His spat with Draymond Green was symbolic of his state of mind. The Kings are not afraid of the Dubs, they play them eye to eye.
– The Warriors can count themselves lucky. After a third quarter worthy of their pedigree (37-23), and 17 points from Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in the first 10 minutes of the last quarter, Steve Kerr’s men tried somehow to lose the match . Steve Kerr mismanaged his time-outs, Poole lost a ball at the worst moment, Stephen Curry called a time-out when the Warriors had none left, giving a free throw and the ball to the Kings. De’Aaron Fox kept the team alive, but on the final possession, it was former Warrior Harrison Barnes who was alone to crucify his former team at the buzzer and take a big step into the second round. Missed.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Stephen Curry. 32 points at 50% on shots, including 18 in the second half, the leader was incredible to snatch this victory for the Warriors. However, he almost gave the game to the Kings with two very bad decisions in the last 90 seconds.
✅ Klay Thompson–Jordan Poole. The two lieutenants of Stephen Curry found their address at the best time. They accumulated 48 points at 17/30 on shots.
✅ Draymond Green – Kevon Looney. The two stalwarts of the Dubs racket again responded with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists off the bench for Draymond Green, and 8 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists for Kevon Looney.
✅ De’Aaron Fox. As since the beginning of the series, he was masterful. He finished with 38 points, including 12 in the last quarter, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
✅ ⛔ Malik Monk. Awkward for three quarters, the rear however launched the Kings’ comeback in the last quarter, scoring 9 of his 16 points there.
⛔ Kevin Hurter. The back of the Kings continues his disastrous series: he finished the game with 2 points at 1/4 on shots, including only one 3-point attempt.
THE FOLLOWING
Game 5 in Sacramento, on the night of Wednesday to Thursday (04:00).
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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.
