The Sacramento Kings pulled off the upset on Monday night as they beat the injury stricken Golden State Warriors 110-106. The Warriors were without superstars Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant as they continue to recover from injuries. The Kings started the game well, staying with Golden State in the opening minutes. Skal Labissiere in particular looked impressive, recording 6 points and two blocks before the first timeout. They still struggled with allowing wide open looks from the arc and under the basket however. The first quarter ended with both teams tied at 27.
Golden State looked to put some distance between themselves and the Kings. They pushed their lead to 10 points midway through the 2nd, but the Kings rallied back to enter halftime down by only 2 points. The Kings shot 47.7% at the break compared to 51.2% for the Warriors.
Sacramento got the better of Golden State in the 3rd quarter, outscoring them 30-27. They finished the quarter on a 9-0 run, highlighted by a dunk from Vince Carter after stealing the ball away from Nick Young. Sacramento kept the momentum going into the fourth before the Warriors mounted a serious comeback challenge. The Dubs took the lead with 5:40 left and led by 4 with just over three minutes left. Garrett Temple was fouled on a three point shot and went to the line for free throws, making two. The third shot missed, but Willie Cauley-Stein got the rebound and then got the alley-oop from Frank Mason III to tie the game. Bogdan Bogdanovic then made the game winning shot with 12 seconds left as the Kings won in Oakland for the first time since 2013.
George Hill finished as Sacramento’s top scorer with 16 points while Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 21 points. The Kings will return home tomorrow night to take on the Bucks.
