The Warriors failed to make buckets down the stretch and suffered a 110-106 loss to the Kings on Monday night at Oracle Arena. A close game throughout, the Kings went ahead for good when Bogdan Bogdanovic made a driving layup with 12.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Dubs had a chance to tie or take the lead on the ensuing possession, but Klay Thompson’s 3-point attempt was off the mark and Sacramento added a pair of free throws to put the game away. The Warriors went scoreless over the final 3:10 of the game, ending a 2-1 homestand on a sour note.
TEAM LEADERS
GSW
SAC
Points
Points
Thompson - 21
Cauley-Stein - 19
McCaw - 16
Hill - 16
Green - 14
Mason / Temple - 14
Rebounds
Rebounds
West - 7
Cauley-Stein - 8
Bell / Thompson - 5
Randolph - 6
Casspi / Green - 4
Labissiere / Fox - 4
Assists
Assists
Green - 8
Cauley-Stein - 6
McCaw - 7
Fox / Mason - 4
Pachulia - 4
Temple / Bogdanovic - 3
WHAT WENT WRONG
Playing without a pair of MVPs, the Warriors struggled to find offense at the end of quarters. The Kings ended the second and fourth quarters on 8-0 runs and closed the third period with a 9-0 spurt. That third quarter run grew into a 16-2 advantage at the start of the fourth quarter, stretching the Kings’ lead to six points before the Warriors came back and temporarily took the lead. Ironically, the Kings’ second and third quarter runs occurred immediately after the Dubs took their biggest leads of the game, 10 and eight points, respectively, spoiling the Warriors’ chances at putting the game away.
Another chance to break the game open dissipated late in the fourth quarter. After a Thompson 3-pointer in the corner put the Dubs ahead by four with 3:11 left in the game, the Warriors and Kings exchanged missed shots before Sacramento’s Garrett Temple was fouled on a three-point attempt with 1:57 left in the game. Temple made the first two foul shots and missed the third, but Sacramento grabbed the offensive rebound and eventually finished the possession with a dunk, tying the game at 106-106. The Warriors wouldn’t score again.
3’S COMPANY
Until the final minutes, the Warriors were stellar from beyond the arc. Klay Thompson knocked down five treys for a game-high 21 points and Draymond Green connected on four. As a team, the Warriors were a solid 43.2 percent (16-for-37), which is a considerable achievement considering they were playing without Stephen Curry (right hand contusion) and Kevin Durant (sprained left ankle). But the Dubs couldn’t make them when they counted the most, as they missed on their final six 3-point attempts.
MCCAW’S FIRST START
With Curry out, second-year guard Patrick McCaw got his first start of the season and tallied 16 points, seven assists and four steals – all season-highs. It was McCaw’s first start since Game 4 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals, and the 24th start of his pro career (regular season and playoffs combined).
SOLID BENCH EFFORTS
The Dubs’ reserves were solid with Andre Iguodala (4-for-5 FGs) scoring 11 points and Shaun Livingston getting 10 (5-for-6 FGs), but the Kings got tremendous production from their reserves. Willie Cauley-Stein was 8-for-9 from the field with a team-high 19 points. Frank Mason added 14 points and Bogdanovic capped his 12-point effort with the go-ahead basket in the final seconds. Overall, Sacramento’s bench out-scored that of the Warriors 54-43.
BARNES GETS HIS RING
Prior to the game, Warriors forward Draymond Green presented former Warrior Matt Barnes with his 2017 NBA Championship ring. Barnes helped the Dubs to the title, averaging 5.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 20.5 minutes in 20 regular season games with the Dubs. His title capped a second go-around with the Dubs, as Barnes played an integral role as a reserve on the 2007 ‘We Believe’ Warriors that upset the number-one seed Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs. A native of Sacramento who also played with the Kings during his 14-year NBA career, Barnes was joined on the court by his two sons and his high school basketball coach during the pregame ceremony.
UP NEXT
The Dubs embark on their longest road trip of the season, playing their first of six straight road games on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers. This will be the first of this season’s four head-to-head matchups, and the game will be televised on NBC Sports Bay Area and NBA TV.