Kings punish Warriors, extend winning streak to four games

Jan 5, 2025, 8:03 PM | Updated: 8:10 pm

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 05: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Golden State Warriors scores agai...

(Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Lead Editor & Kings Beat Writer

For the first time this season, the Sacramento Kings would be forced to take the floor without star guard De’Aaron Fox (right glute contusion) on Sunday night, and a matchup against the Golden State Warriors appeared to have arrived at a bad time.

Well, about that.

Even with Fox in street clothes, the Kings put an absolute beatdown on the Warriors at Chase Center, leading by as many as 39 points en route to securing a wire-to-wire 129-99 win–Sacramento’s fourth straight victory.

The Kings’ 30-point win is their most significant margin of victory on Golden State’s home floor since the franchise relocated to Sacramento in 1985.

Outside of Stephen Curry’s 26-point effort, the Golden State offense struggled to find consistency, and their defense had no chance of slowing down a swarming Kings offense that topped the 120-point mark for the second consecutive game.

After dropping six straight games that resulted in the firing of head coach Mike Brown, Sacramento (17-19) has inched closer to the .500 mark by running off a much-needed four-game winning streak under interim head coach Doug Christie.

The Kings have looked refreshed and inspired during this strong stretch of play, and the team’s three-point shooting is also beginning to come around as Sacramento starts to pick up steam.

MALIK MONK TAKES FLIGHT ✈️ pic.twitter.com/UPYeVHisp6

— NBA (@NBA) January 6, 2025

Kings vs. Warriors recap & takeaways

As was the case during Friday’s win against Memphis, which included a 46-point opening period, Sacramento got off to a fast start on Sunday in San Francisco.

The Kings capitalized on the Warriors’ mishaps (eight turnovers in the first quarter) and caught fire from deep, knocking down five of their first 12 attempts from beyond the arc. Domantas Sabonis was active on both ends, finishing the first frame with eight points, eight boards, and four assists as Sacramento put Golden State in a 15-point hole.

While Stephen Curry did his best to put the ice-cold Warriors offense on his back, Sabonis and Monk would refuse to let Golden State see daylight.

With De’Aaron Fox (right glute contusion) missing his first game of the season, Monk stepped up in a massive, previously unseen fashion. The dynamic guard slid into the point guard role with ease by handing out ten assists during the first half–the most in a single half during his NBA career–to lead a Kings offense that entered the break with 18 first-half assists.

Monk, who scored a season-high 31 points during Friday’s win, also continued to knock down triples with authority as he finished the half with 13 points on three-of-five shooting from three-point land.

Sacramento extinguished each Warriors run with ease, pushing its lead to as many as 25 points as a red-hot offense shot 58 percent from the field and went ten-of-21 (47%) from deep.

The Kings entered the break with a commanding 24-point lead, but they would take the same sense of urgency into the final 24 minutes of play as they eyed a fourth straight victory.

another lob 😭 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dYbqWyBxmC

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) January 6, 2025

As was the case during the first half, Sacramento came out with a sense of intensity as play entered the third quarter–and they never looked back.

Golden State continued to appear lifeless on both ends of the floor as the Kings pushed its lead past the 30-point mark heading into he fourth quarter. Three-point shooting, paint scoring, points off turnovers, and fast break points went Sacramento’s way as fans in attendance were heading for the exits with more than five minutes remaining on the game clock.

The largest difference in Sunday’s game was Sacramento’s ability to take advantage of the Warriors’ miscues as the Kings scored 34 points off Golden State’s 22 turnovers.

Monk was the star of the night, tying his career-high with 12 assists to go along with 26 points and four steals on nine-of-14 shooting from the field (five-of-eight from deep) over 29 minutes.

Domantas Sabonis had his way in the Warriors paint en route to a 22-point (10-of-13 shooting), 13-rebound double-double that also included seven assists.

Even rookie guard Devin Carter got included in the fun as the 13th overall pick finished the night with 13 points and seven rebounds over 23 minutes in an expanded role as he gets his feet wet after missing the first couple of months due to a shoulder injury. It’s early, but Carter already looks like a player who will fit in just fine with this current Kings core.

Devin Carter has the pump fake working 👌

pic.twitter.com/4kDCBxfC5P

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 6, 2025

Welcome Back, Keegan

In his return from a two-game absence due to left ankle soreness, Keegan Murray gave the Kings a boost from the perimeter–a welcome sight for the former fourth-overall pick.

Murray, who entered the night shooting 28 percent from downtown this season, converted three of his eight attempts from beyond the arc, scoring 11 points and grabbing four rebounds over 26 minutes.

Notes

Since the 1996-97 season, Malik Monk is just the seventh Kings player with at least 10 points and 10 assists in a half and the first since Domantas Sabonis on Jan. 14, 2024 at MIL.
Per Basketball Reference, this marked the first time in franchise history that the Kings scored 75+ first half points in consecutive games.

Injury Updates

De’Aaron Fox (right glute contusion) missed Sunday’s game–his first absence of the season–after experiencing soreness that was caused by a fall that took place during the closing seconds of Friday’s win against the Memphis Grizzlies. Fox is considered day-to-day.

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

Sacramento will return home to face the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat on Monday night at Golden 1 Center.

The Kings secured a thrilling 111-110 win over the Heat in South Beach on November 4th thanks to a clutch put-back by Domantas Sabonis with 0.7 seconds remaining.

Miami will be without Butler on Monday due to a team-issued suspension that took place after the All-Star forward publicly demanded a trade last week.

Be sure to catch all of the Kings vs. Heat drama right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 2:00 PM PT on Game Night before action tips off at 7:00 PM PT from downtown Sacramento.