04/17/24 01:06:00
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04/17 00:59 CDT The Kings eliminate the Warriors from play-in tournament with
118-94 win
The Kings eliminate the Warriors from play-in tournament with 118-94 win
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) --- The chants of "Light the Beam!" started midway
through the fourth quarter as the Sacramento Kings kept piling on the Golden
State Warriors.
A year after having their season ended by their neighbors, the Kings dealt the
Warriors a bit of payback in emphatic fashion with a victory that might have
signaled the end of a dynasty.
Keegan Murray scored 32 points, De'Aaron Fox added 24 and the Kings stayed
alive in the play-in tournament, eliminating the Warriors with a 118-94 victory
on Tuesday night.
"We knew what was on the line," Fox said. "This was just another obstacle in
our way. We have to get over this hump. Obviously, losing to this team last
year and obviously facing this team now, it's like, of course we have to face
this team."
Sacramento advanced to play at New Orleans on Friday night with a chance to
return to the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference after
snapping an NBA-record 16-year playoff drought last season.
The Kings avenged a Game 7 loss at home to Golden State in last year's first
round by playing cleaner and being quicker to loose balls against the older
Warriors in what was one of the most consequential wins for the franchise in
two decades.
The loss kept Golden State out of the playoffs for the third time in the past
five seasons, including two eliminations in the play-in tournament. The
Warriors committed 16 turnovers, gave up 15 offensive rebounds and way too many
open 3-pointers, looking nothing like the dynastic team that won four titles
from 2015-22.
"I was a sophomore in high school watching them win championships," Fox said.
"We've been watching this team for a long time. If it is the end, it is what it
is. I'm I'm glad we're able to beat this team at this at this moment but, they
definitely had a hell of a run."
Klay Thompson missed all 10 shots from the field in what could have been his
final game with the Warriors as he heads to unrestricted free agency this
summer and a potential breakup of the championship trio of Thompson, Stephen
Curry and Draymond Green.
"We need Klay back. I know he had a tough night tonight," coach Steve Kerr
said. "I know I speak for everyone in the organization, we want him back.
Obviously there's business at hand and that has to be addressed. ... But what
Klay has meant to this franchise, as good as he is, we definitely want him
back."
With Thompson struggling, Curry didn't get nearly enough help. Curry finished
with 22 points but was hounded for much of the game by Keon Ellis.
The undrafted Ellis, who was on a two-way contract until February, added 15
points to go with his strong defense. Harrison Barnes scored 17 and Domantas
Sabonis had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Sacramento.
"For the most part, they just took it to us the whole game," Curry said.
"There's really no way around it."
The meeting between the Northern California rivals separated by less than 100
miles was a rematch of last year's series won by Golden State. Curry scored 50
points in the seventh game.
The crowd was loud from the start even if the energy didn't quite reach the
level of last year's matchup, when Sacramento fans celebrated the end of the
record-long playoff drought.
Murray hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter and the Kings built their lead
to 16 points in the second quarter before the Warriors rallied behind their
bench to cut the deficit to 54-50 at the half.
Golden State got within one early in the third quarter before Sacramento
responded with a 19-5 run keyed by a pair of 3-pointers from Ellis and more big
shots from Murray to build the lead back to 15 points. The Kings were never
threatened after that.
"The first play was for me and we just kind of kept going to that early on in
the game," Murray said. "When you're shot is falling, especially when mine is
falling, they always seem to find me."
UP NEXT
Kings: Sacramento went 0-5 in the regular season against New Orleans and hasn't
gone winless in six or more games against the same opponent in a season since
going 0-8 against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1983-84 regular season and
playoffs.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
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