Keegan Murray, Kings defeat Warriors to advance in play-in
Keegan Murray hit eight 3-pointers and finished with 32 points and nine rebounds as the Sacramento Kings defeated the visiting Golden State Warriors 118-94 on Tuesday night.
De'Aaron Fox added 24 points for ninth-place Sacramento, who dominated the 9 vs. 10 play-in game. The Kings will play the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, with the winner receiving the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and a game against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
Stephen Curry scored 22 points for the Warriors, who finished 10th in the Western Conference and will miss the playoffs for the third time in five seasons. Curry committed six turnovers, and his long-time Splash Brother teammate Klay Thompson had a forgettable game, missing all ten shots and going scoreless.
"Tonight was tough to see him struggle," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Thompson. "But as I told the guys in there, it's all part of being an athlete and being an NBA player. There are incredible highs and really tough lows, and this was a tough one for Klay and the whole team. We didn't play very well and it hurts."
Curry added, "It's definitely frustrating and disappointing to say the least. But you hold your head high knowing that there's a lot more in the tank. For me personally, that's the mindset."
Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga each scored 16 points off the bench for the Warriors. Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins scored 12 points each.
The victory was a measure of retribution for the Kings, who blew a 2-0 lead in a first-round playoff series against Golden State last season, with the Warriors winning four of the last five games.
"I think it's great. Getting over that hump is one thing that we talked about," Fox said of beating the Warriors. "The way the season played out and some of the games that we lost and of course, we end up running into Golden State. But we got another game to go to get into the playoffs."
The Kings' Harrison Barnes scored 17 points, while Domantas Sabonis added 16 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists. Keon Ellis contributed 15 points, five assists, three steals, and three blocked shots for Sacramento, which shot 43.9 percent from the field, including 18 of 39 (46.2 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Warriors made 41.2 percent of their field-goal attempts and shot 10 of 32 (31.2 percent) from beyond the arc.
Sabonis scored four consecutive points, and Barnes followed with a jumper, giving the Kings a 97-78 lead with 9:35 remaining in the game.
Golden State got within 13, but Murray and Barnes hit three-pointers to extend the lead to 105-86 with 6:09 left. With 4:39 remaining, Barnes made four free throws to increase the lead to 23.
Murray's eighth three-pointer made it 116-90 with 2:15 remaining as the Kings sealed the victory.
Murray scored 14 of his 16 first-half points in the first quarter, helping Sacramento lead 31-22 after 12 minutes.
"I felt like I've had a lot of good games and this is the second time when our backs have been against the wall at the end of the year," Murray said when asked if this was his best game as a pro. "You could call it, that but I think it was a really good game by a lot of guys on our team."
The Kings led by 16 early in the second quarter before Golden State pulled within 54-50 at the break. Kuminga scored 12 points in the first half for the Warriors.
Sacramento used a 21-7 run in the third quarter to extend its lead to 77-62 on Fox's three-pointer with 5:39 remaining. The Warriors pulled it back to 81-71 on Moody's basket with 3:53 remaining before the Kings took a 91-76 lead into the final stanza.
SportsLigue