The Golden State Warriors were trounced in their third summer league game against the Sacramento Kings 90-71, finishing 1-2 in the Las Vegas Summer League‘s preliminary round of play.
The Warriors’ defense suffered without 7-foot center Ognjen Kuzmic, who was not available for the game due to a right toe contusion.
Sacramento shot 51.5% and out-rebounded the Warriors 49-37 in his absence, dominating in the paint on both ends to build a lead as large as 30 in the second half.
Late arrival Stefan Nastic, who tied for a team-best 14 points, still managed to shine for the Dubs after joining the team from Utah where he played for the San Antonio Spurs’ summer league team.
“He was awesome. He was the best player on our team tonight,” Head Coach Luke Walton said. “I told the guys ‘we’re going to give everybody an opportunity at some point to play so stay ready.’ Tonight was Stef’s opportunity and he set an example of how to be a professional.”
Nastic, a former Stanford big man, shot 6-10 from the floor and added 4 rebounds in just under 16 minutes.
As a team, Golden State’s shooting woes carried over from their previous game, a loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, as they shot just 32.9% from the field and hit just 3-17 from deep in the blowout loss to the Kings.
The Warriors leading scorer coming into the game, James Michael McAdoo, finished with just 7 points and 2 rebounds, going 1-6 from the field in his worst Summer League showing thus far.
Dominique Sutton also scored 14 points, and while he didn’t shoot particularly well either (5-14), he still brought a tenacity that a lot of the roster lacked.
“We always joke that Draymond Green is the heartbeat of our Warriors team and that’s kind of how Dom is of this Summer League team,” Walton said. “He brings that toughness and that energy every play.”
Though there weren’t a whole lot of positives for the Warriors, the play of first-round draft pick Kevon Looney was a bright spot Monday.
Looney looked far more comfortable on the court in his third game and it translated to the box score, where he totaled 13 points and 7 rebounds in 18 minutes.
“He’s a very skilled player. There’s a lot of things that we’re going to need him to clean up as far as the rules that we have as a team, but his overall performance, the way he competes, and the skill set like that for someone that’s only 19 is something you get excited for as coaching staff,” Walton said. “He just showed a little of what he can do out there tonight.”
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