The Sacramento Kings defended their homecourt, taking a 2-0 series lead on the Golden State Warriors. These three stars helped carry them.
The Kings came away with a 114-106 win over the Warriors in Game 2, giving themselves a big cushion as things shift to Golden State. The Warriors struggled in the first half of this game and were very sloppy with the ball. Steph Curry hasn’t been able to find a rhythm yet — he was 9-of-21 from the field but they were a real negative without their superstar on the floor.
Draymond Green had a very poor game and not just he was ejected early in the fourth quarter for stomping on Damontas Sabonis. He had four early turnovers and hasn’t really been able to exert his physical will the way he has against some opponents. Green hurt his team and may be suspended for Game 3 but it’s really these three Kings that have put the Warriors in a hole.
Domantas Sabonis helped control the glass
Sabonis had a bit of a rough game defensively but was still able to put up 24 points on very efficient shooting — 8-of-12 from the field to go along with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. The Kings were running fast-paced the entire night and needed a big man to take the hits given out by the Warriors in the defensive paint. He had a very bad game in the first game of the series and wasn’t amazing offensively in this one but his scoring and work on the offensive glass were crucial in the Kings lighting the beam in this one.
Malik Monk is making everything
Malik Monk was on fire in this game as he was able to score 18 points with half of those points coming on 3s. Along with Fox, Monk allowed the Kings to control the pace in this game. While most of Monk’s fire came in the early parts of the game, he was able to help control the pace with his ball-handling skills and creation. Across the first two games of this series, he’s now averaging 25.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, shooting 50 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc.
De’Aaron Fox is the heart and soul of the Kings
This series has really felt like it’s gonna get Fox in the national conversation, not just in conversation with hardcore NBA fans but with everyone.
Fox scored 24 points on 43 percent shooting in Game 2. He shot really badly from 3 (2-of-10) but he was able to control the pace throughout the game and help lead a charge to respond every time the Warriors were able to get a bucket on their end.
This really feels like the Kings’ coming out party. They won the third seed with a strong regular season, but all of the bottom seeds in the West were trying to match up with them during the last weeks of the season. A lot of people and experts seemed to think the Kings were vulnerable and would lose to the Warriors.
The Warriors have a chance to defend their home court but once again the dynasty in Golden State is in question. An early playoff exit could lead to payroll cuts across the board. Tim Kawakami reported things could get shaky in Golden State with an early playoff exit before the series. With the Warriors being down 2-0 already, these things definitely have become realistic.
Check out The Step Back for more news, analysis, opinion and unique basketball coverage. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our daily email newsletter, The Whiteboard.