On a night where we thought Seth Curry would face Stephen Curry, the injury report we received before the game killed that matchup and any sense of hope for the Kings to beat the defending NBA Champions.
With the spread at -14 in favor of the Warriors, the short-handed Kings still lost 103-94 but covered the spread and the game was a lot closer than that.
Marco Belinelli and Rudy Gay each scored 22 points but Rajon Rondo had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists for his 23rd career regular-season triple double and first in a Kings uniform.
“I thought our leader was Rondo. He was first class and incredibly into the game,” George Karl said. “His defense on Curry was first class. I just wished we had a little more gas in the tank to finish off the game.”
The game started with Golden State going 2-of-11 from the field, but the Kings couldn’t seem to take advantage. We experienced some of the best defense by the Kings all season in the first quarter.
The Warriors turned up the heat a bit towards the end of the quarter and took the lead 20-14. Stephen Curry was held with two points, on 1-of-5 shooting in the first quarter.
The Warriors were averaging nearly 118 points coming into the night, but they were held to a season-low total. They shot 41 and missed 31-of-39 3-point attempts. That is a great positive moving forward for Sacramento.
The half ended with the Kings trailing by eight and covering the first half spread with a score of 46-38.
The Kings came out of the locker room running and gunning. The crowd was into it and it really helped the Kings go on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to a basket.
The third quarter ended at 72-68 with the Warriors ahead.
Rondo earned his triple-double on a 19-foot jump shot that gave the Kings their final lead in the fourth quarter.
After that, the Warriors turned off the lights at Sleep Train and ended any hope for the Kings to steal one tonight.
The Kings played well tonight but fell short. They must take this momentum into Monday’s showdown against the Spurs because if they don’t, they will stare at a 1-7 start to a season that was full of hope of making the playoffs.
The good thing is that DeMarcus Cousins will make his return. That alone is a reason to believe the Kings have a chance to beat the Spurs.
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