The short-handed Sacramento Kings got off to a quick start Friday night at Oracle Arena, but in the end, the high-powered Golden State Warriors were just too much to handle. Golden State jumped all over the Kings in the third quarter and coasted down the stretch for the 114-110 victory.
Draymond Green torched the Kings. The versatile forward stuffed the stat sheet, finishing the night with 23 points, eight assists, four steals and two boards.
Reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry went nuts in the fourth quarter. The sharpshooting guard managed to post 27 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and six steals on the night.
JaVale McGee scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Ian Clark added 10 on 5-of-9 shooting and Andre Iguodala chipped in nine off the bench.
Starting for the resting Darren Collison, Ty Lawson went off for Sacramento. The 8-year NBA vet scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half. He shot an impressive 8-for-9 from the field and handed out two assists in the loss.
Buddy Hield held his own against Klay Thompson. The rookie shooting guard set new career-highs across the board, finishing 22 points, seven assists and eight rebounds.
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The bench unit played well against the best the Western Conference has to offer. Ben McLemore led the reserves with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Skal Labissiere added 10 points, 10 rebounds and a career-best eight assists, while Georgios Papagiannis dropped in seven points and four rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
Willie Cauley-Stein added 12 points and four rebounds as the Kings dropped their fourth straight contest.
STANDOUT PERFORMER
After missing the previous game, Lawson put on a show. The pint-sized point guard singlehandedly kept the Kings in the game in the first half and finished the night with a season-high 20 points.
TURNING POINT
The Kings got sloppy in the third quarter and the Warriors dropped the hammer. After trailing by just seven at the half, Sacramento fell behind 92-72 going to the fourth.
INJURY UPDATE
Darren Collison, Tyreke Evans and Anthony Tolliver all sat as scheduled rest. Rookie Malachi Richardson is out with a right hamstring thickness tear, but is expected back soon. Rudy Gay is out for the year with a torn left Achilles.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Kings travel to Los Angeles following the game where they will take on the Clippers Sunday afternoon.
