The Warriors concluded the preseason on a winning note, defeating the visiting Sacramento Kings 117-106 in the preseason finale on Friday night. Stephen Curry sat the entire second half, but still led Golden State with 18 points. Nick Young made five three-pointers, Jordan Bell notched a double-double and Patrick McCaw added 17 points off the bench as the Warriors evened their preseason record at 2-2.
GAME LEADERS
Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala were all unavailable for Friday’s game, and the players that combined to fill their collective void took full advantage of the opportunity presented to them. Nick Young and Jordan Bell both started for the first time as a member of Golden State, and Bell made his presence felt immediately by swatting Buddy Hield’s shot into the stands just over a minute into the game. Klay Thompson opened the scoring with a three-pointer and Golden State wouldn’t trail at any point during the first quarter, which came to a close with the Warriors leading 26-24. Stephen Curry picked up where he left off, scoring 12 points in the first frame after totaling 40 points in the first three quarters of Golden State’s last game.
Omri Casspi rolled his ankle early in the second quarter, forcing him from the contest. Kevon Looney replaced him on the court and had an immediate impact, accounting for four points and five rebounds (four offensive) in ten second quarter minutes. Young, who was held scoreless in the opening frame, knocked down consecutive three-pointers midway through the second quarter, after which Klay Thompson assisted on a David West jumper to knot the score at 42-42 with 4:23 remaining in the first half. Thompson would tally his fifth and final assist of the second quarter on a Zaza Pachulia lay-in in the closing seconds that sent the game into halftime with Golden State leading 54-51. Of the Warriors’ 21 made field goals in the first half, 20 of them came by way of an assist.
Both Curry and Thompson sat for the entire second half, but the Warriors still managed to maintain their three-point lead through the third quarter. Patrick McCaw will provide much of the scoring punch, totaling 15 points in the third frame alone. His three-pointer with 26 seconds remaining in the frame increased Golden State’s advantage to 84-78, but Malachi Richardson would cut that in half with a three-pointer of his own, pulling the Kings within 84-81 going into the fourth.
Looney’s three-point play 15 seconds into the final quarter ignited a 5-0 Golden State burst to open the fourth frame, but Sacramento immediately responded with a 10-0 run to retake the lead. Nick Young sank his fifth three-pointer of the evening on the ensuing possession, however, and Golden State would go on to lead for the rest of the night. McCaw gave the Warriors their largest lead of the entire game on a layup with 58 seconds remaining to increase their advantage to 117-102, and they’d coast the rest of the way to a 117-106 victory.
With the win, Golden State concludes the preseason with a record of 2-2. They’ll now advance to the regular season, which tips off on Tuesday when the Warriors host the Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena on Opening Night.