The End: Kings’ season comes to a close as Warriors roll in Game 7

Apr 30, 2023, 3:13 PM | Updated: 4:22 pm

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 30: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors dribbles against ...

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Sacramento Kings Beat Writer

A dream season has come to an end.

The Sacramento Kings’ first playoff run in 17 years ended at the hands of the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Sunday afternoon as Stephen Curry’s career-playoff-high 50 points led his team to a 120-100 win in Game 7 at Golden 1 Center.

Golden State will advance to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals, while Sacramento will head into the offseason following the franchise’s most successful season in nearly 20 years.

🦊 🤝 🧑‍🍳

RESPECT. pic.twitter.com/uQl6t9Wz0I

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) April 30, 2023

The defending champions showed its mettle down the stretch of this win-or-go-home game as Curry and the Warriors completely took Sacramento out of the game during the second half.

After opening up the third quarter with a 58-56 lead, the Kings fell flat during the third quarter as they were held to 33 percent shooting from the field while Kevon Looney created chaos on the offensive glass.

The Warriors pulled down two offensive rebounds during the first half but ended the third quarter with 15 as Looney continued to cause problems against Sacramento’s frontline. Looney finished the night with 21 rebounds–his third game of the series with 20 or more boards.

Of course, the main storyline on Sunday was Curry’s incredible closing performance. The two-time MVP winner scored 30 of his 50 points during the second half as the Kings’ defense had no chance of slowing the offensive onslaught.

Curry’s 50-point game established a new record for most points scored during a Game 7 in NBA history, adding another legendary performance to his Hall of Fame resume.

The Kings went the distance against the defending champions, but once the lights were at their brightest, Curry stepped in to take his team to the next round.

CURRY TO THE RECORD BOOKS.
MOST POINTS EVER IN A GAME 7.

50 POINTS.
7 TRIPLES.

CHEF IN #PLAYOFFMODE pic.twitter.com/6KVKfunK1k

— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2023

Between Curry and the avalanche of offensive rebounds, the Warriors planted its foot on the gas en route to take a 91-81 lead into the fourth.

“They came out of the half and responded like champions,” Fox said of the rough start to the second half. “That’s really when we lost it.”

Once it became closing time, Curry (16 points in the fourth quarter) and Golden State didn’t look back as they coasted to the win while the Kings went scoreless during the first four minutes of the fourth. Sacramento scored just 19 points during the final period while shooting 32 percent from the field.

It was a rough offensive performance from the NBA’s number-one offense, as the Kings finished the night having shot 37 percent from the field, 12-of-47 (25%) from three-point land, and 16-of-27 (59%) from the free-throw line.

De’Aaron Fox struggled to create offense during Game 7 as the All-Star finished the game with 16 points on five-of-19 shooting. Only two Kings finished the game having shot 50 percent or better from the field–Domantas Sabonis (62%) and Keegan Murray (50%).

Sabonis looked more like himself on Sunday as the big man led all Sacramento scorers with 22 points while adding eight rebounds and seven assists over 37 minutes. The three-time All-Star continued to struggle when it came to slowing down Looney’s contributions on the glass, something that was an issue throughout the seven-game series.

Kevin Huerter also continued to struggle from the perimeter during the loss, finishing the game with seven points on two-of-nine shooting from the field and one-of-six from three-point range.

Best fans in the world, win or loss 👑 pic.twitter.com/untumgSRU7

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) April 30, 2023

“We will be better from this experience going forward,” Kings head coach Mike Brown said following the loss. “Our guys are hurting right now. You wish you could have gotten more for the city and the fans, but nobody in our organization should be dropping their heads right now.”

It was an impressive series for a Kings team that hadn’t been in the NBA Playoffs since 2006.

Not only did Sacramento take the defending champions to a seventh game during this series, but they did so while obtaining invaluable experience–something that many of these players needed to gain entering Game 1.

Players like De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk were electric during this series, as the Kentucky duo proved that they are capable of winning games at the highest level.

As we dive into the offseason, there will be some questions about this roster’s construction when players enter free agency following June’s NBA Finals.

What will the Kings do with Harrison Barnes, who will enter unrestricted free agency? Will general manager Monte McNair look to make any big swings this summer?

Those questions will be answered in the near future, but for now, the time has come for Kings fans to look back and reflect on what was overall a great season for this franchise.

Two All-Stars. Coach of the Year. Clutch Player of the Year. Pacific Division champions. Taking the Golden State Warriors seven games in the NBA Playoffs. The birth of the Beam. This team has a lot to be proud of when it comes to the 2022-23 season–one that fans will remember for a very long time.

For the first time in almost 20 years, there was widespread excitement towards Sacramento Kings basketball around this city and community. The future is bright for this team.

While the season has ended, it’s clear that this is only the beginning for the Beam Team.

“This is definitely a building block. Especially playing a team like this,” Fox said following the game. “We had a good season. We were the third seed and stayed relatively healthy. We fought every game, but they did what champions do. I feel like we learned a lot this series.”