The Golden State Warriors may have dominated in Game 3, but this time around the Sacramento Kings showed that they weren’t going to be pushovers at Chase Center for two-straight games.
In Game 4, the Kings showed time and again that they could muster an answer when the Warriors looked like they had a chance to put the game out of reach. That will be a confidence booster for the upstarts, as they now head back to Sacramento and their home crowd for a chance to retake the series lead.
In fact, the Kings were the ones who had the ball in the final seconds with a chance to win. De’Aaron Fox, who played a phenomenal game with 38 points, nine rebounds, five assists and one steal. This year’s most clutch player had the ball in his hands with the clock winding down, but the Warriors never game him a chance to get a shot off. Instead, they trapped him and forced him to pass the ball to Harrison Barnes, who missed the open three-pointer.
The Kings will also be emboldened by Keegan Murray finally coming out of his shell and scoring 23 points while shooting 9 of 13 from the field. However, they must take responsibility for a number of sloppy plays in the final two minutes that led to loss of possession, a number of which looked like they were caused by impatience and inexperience – like Malik Monk trying to force a circus shot on a fast break with multiple defenders ahead of him. Domantas Sabonis also had a decent all-around stat line of 14 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, a steal and two blocks, but it’s clear that the Warriors’ physical play has affected his output through the entire series.
Unfortunately, a close defeat is still a defeat. The Warriors played well enough to preserve their lead and Steph Curry once again led them with 32 points, five rebounds and four assists while shooting 11 of 22 from the field.
Klay Thompson showed up as well, shooting 9 of 15 overall and scoring 26 points, including crucial buckets in the fourth quarter that kept the Warriors’ narrow lead alive.
Jordan Poole also got cooking and had 22 points while shooting 8 of 15 from the field. Draymond Green, who came off the bench in his return, posted 12 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, a steal and a block.
With the series now becoming a best-of-three affair, all of us fans should be able to look forward to another hard-fought contest in Game 5.
