Klay Thompson, Warriors sink Kings in heart-breaking fashion

Even though it was the 12th time that the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors have met since April, these two teams sure know how to put on a show.

It looked as if Sacramento was on the verge of stealing one from the Warriors on Wednesday night in San Francisco, but Klay Thompson wouldn’t let the Kings escape the Bay with a win.

Thompson’s go-ahead jumper with 0.2 seconds remaining erased Domantas Sabonis’ clutch jumper from one possession earlier Golden State delivered its latest gut-punch win over Sacramento by a final of 102-101 at Chase Center.

On a night that saw the Kings hold Stephen Curry–who scored 91 points over his past two games against Sacramento entering play on Wednesday–to a season-low 21 points, the Warrior still found a way to pull out another narrow victory against their Northern California counterpart.

“Guys played hard, they put us in a position to win, and Klay hit a big shot,” Kings head coach Mike Brown said of the final shot. “That’s what Hall of Famers do.”

KILLA KLAY 🥶🥶🥶 pic.twitter.com/c108eHo46M

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 2, 2023

“It’s a tough play,” Kings center Domantas Sabonis said of Thompson’s final shot following the loss. “Our goal was to get the ball out of Steph’s hands and make another player make a shot.”

While it’s never fun to lose games–and we are far past the point of handing the Sacramento Kings morale victories–it was an overall impressive performance from Sacramento, who will have to learn to live without its star guard for at least the next week.

Replacing Fox’s production is no easy task, but players like Davion Mitchell, Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, and Colby Jones rose to the challenge on Wednesday night.

With the 12th matchup between the Kings and Warriors in the books, here are some thoughts and observations from another painful night in San Francisco.

PS. Don’t worry, folks, these two teams will meet again in only three weeks!

The Kings Contain Curry, But The Supporting Cast Delivers

Entering Wednesday’s game, Stephen Curry had scored 91 points over his past two games against the Kings–50 points in Game 7 of the NBA Playoffs and 41 last Friday night at Golden 1 Center.

Sacramento did a solid job of containing the two-time MVP, as Curry scored a season-low 21 points on four-of-10 shooting from three-point range.

Curry wasn’t his usual red-hot self, but the supporting Warriors killed the Kings during the final possessions of the game.

The Kings’ three-point lead with less than two minutes remaining was unable to grow as players like Dario Saric, Gary Payton II, Draymond Green, and Thompson came up with big baskets in the fourth.

Thompson’s game-winner came on an overall solid defensive possession by Sacramento, who sealed off Curry and contested the final shot attempt, but to no avail.

HB reflects on the Kings’ second loss to the Warriors this season pic.twitter.com/txcwoFXHMV

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 2, 2023

Dario Saric (15 points), Jonathan Kuminga (12 points), and Draymond Green (13 points) all chipped in with larger scoring outputs to pick Curry up on Wednesday.

The Kings were one stop away from a win at Chase Center, and they’ll have to take this one on the chin and learn from it as they move on and look toward Houston.

Davion Mitchell’s Impressive First Start

Replacing De’Aaron Fox is no easy task, but Davion Mitchell had a strong showing in his first start of the season.

Mitchell finished the night with 13 points, three rebounds, four assists, and three steals over 30 minutes while shooting five-of-nine from the field and three-of-six from three-point range.

The third-year guard also drew a charge to cap off an overall solid showing on both sides of the ball, especially from three-point range.

Davion drills his third trey 🎯 pic.twitter.com/qpWlAnRWbM

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 2, 2023

During Sacramento’s NBA Playoff series against the Warriors in April, head coach Mike Brown had to take Mitchell off the floor late in games due to the guard’s shooting struggles.

Mitchell spent the offseason working with Stephen Curry’s shooting coach Brandon Payne, and the early returns are looking good following Wednesday’s performance.

Colby Jones Gets His Shot

With De’Aaron Fox sidelined due to a sprained ankle, Kings head coach Mike Brown called on rookie guard Colby Jones to slide into the rotation.

Before Wednesday action tipped off, Brown told the media that Jones would play around 12-15 minutes but added that the playing time could change as the night unfolded.

Shortly after checking in at the end of the first quarter, Jones aggressively scored his first NBA basket by going right at future Hall of Fame guard Chris Paul for the baseline bucket:

COLBY JONES’ FIRST CAREER BUCKET 🙌 pic.twitter.com/3c49FbmD5t

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 2, 2023

Jones finished the game with four points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one impressive blocked shot over 17 minutes of action.

The 21-year-old looked calm and collected on the floor, and Jones even brought down the ball and initiated the offense on several occasions during his first night as a member of Brown’s rotation.

With Fox expected to miss at least two more games, expect to see more of Jones during Sacramento’s upcoming two-game trip to Houston.

History For Sabonis

Domantas Sabonis posted his fourth-straight double-double to open the regular season.

Over 37 minutes, the All-Star scored 23 points (eight-of-16 shooting), grabbed 11 rebounds, and handed out eight assists during the losing effort.

According to the Kings, Sabonis joined Oscar Robertson (1960-61, 1961-62) as the only players in franchise history with 10-10-5 in the first four games of a season.

Sabonis is also the fifth player in franchise history to record a double-double in each of the team’s first four games of a season, joining Robertson (4x), Jerry Lucas (2x), Sam Lacey (1973-74) and Chris Webber (1998-99).

Notes

• Sacramento won the battle of the offensive glass on Wednesday (14-7)
• Kevin Huerter had his second-straight game with 7+ rebounds (9). Huerter posted consecutive games with 7+ rebounds just once last season.
• Keegan Murray struggled on Wednesday, scoring 10 points on 4/15 FG and 0/7 3PT over 39 minutes.
• Harrison Barnes knocked down four of his seven attempts from three-point land en route to scoring 12 points.
• The Warriors hold a 32-8 record against Sacramento over their past 40 regular season matchups. Yikes!

Injury Report

De’Aaron Fox (ankle sprain) missed his first game of the season and will likely remain out of action for both of Sacramento’s upcoming games in Houston. Fox’s injury isn’t considered severe, and he will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

Trey Lyles (calf strain) is getting close to returning to the Kings, and the forward told the media that he’s hoping to participate in the team’s next practice session on Thursday or Friday.

When is the next Sacramento Kings Game?

Sacramento will conclude a three-game road trip with a two-game set against the Houston Rockets that will tip-off on Saturday night.

Following Saturday’s matchup, both teams will take a day off before running things back on Monday afternoon once again at Toyota Center.

Be sure to tune in right here on Sactown Sports 1140 for all of your Kings vs. Rockets coverage, beginning at 3:30 PM PST on Game Night before a 5:00 PM PST tip-off from downtown Houston.

Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule

• Saturday, November 4th – Sacramento Kings @ Houston Rockets – 5 PM PST
• Monday, November 6th – Sacramento Kings @ Houston Rockets – 5 PM PST
• Wednesday, November 8th – Sacramento Kings vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 7 PM PST
• Friday, November 10th – Sacramento Kings vs. Oklahoma City Thunder** – 7 PM PST
• Monday, November 13th – Sacramento Kings vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – 7:00 PM PST

** NBA In-Season Tournament Group Play

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