The Golden State Warriors (7-0) defeated the Sacramento Kings (1-6) 103-94 on Saturday.
This game was much closer than most people would have anticipated, as the Warriors had their worst shooting night of the season. The still ended up prevailing with the victory despite shooting 8-for-39 from three-point range. The most notable stat line was a triple-double from Rajon Rondo, as he accumulated 14 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists and four steals in the loss. Both teams were playing the second half of a back-to-back and that really showed, as both the Kings and Warriors barely shot above 40 percent and committed 39 combined turnovers in what’s usually a high-scoring matchup.
The Warriors continued their raving success, despite MVP Steph Curry shooting 2-for-10 from long distance. He still managed to put up 24 points, six rebounds and three assists in the win despite the off shooting night. The key tonight for the Warriors was the defense, as they accumulated 13 steals and held the Kings to 44 percent shooting. Draymond Green also flirted with a triple-double, as he amassed 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the victory. This team looks nearly unstoppable at this point and they’ll look to stay undefeated in their next game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday.
The Kings now fall to 0-5 without DeMarcus Cousins with this close loss to the NBA champs, but this may have been their best performance of the season. They appeared to have one of the worst defenses in the NBA coming into this matchup, but holding the Warriors to 103 points on 41 percent shooting is a win in its own right. Along with Rondo’s triple-double, the Kings got matching 22-point performances from Rudy Gay and Marco Belinelli. Even though it’s a loss, this game can be something to build off of for this underperforming Kings squad. Sacramento’s next game will be on Monday against the Spurs and they’ll hope DeMarcus Cousins returns from his Achilles injury for that matchup.
