Warriors steamroll Kings, drop Sacramento to 10th in West

With just 26 games remaining in the regular season, now is not an ideal time for the Sacramento Kings to experience growing pains.

In what was a critical game regarding the current state of the Western Conference postseason race, the Kings looked flat against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night at Golden 1 Center.

While it may have been the first game back from a week-long All-Star break, Sacramento was outplayed on both ends of the floor during a 132-106 loss to their Northern California rivals–a defeat that dropped the Kings (28-28) to the tenth and final Play-In seed in the Western Conference standings.

The Sacramento offense was incredibly clunky in this one, while the Kings’ already poor three-point defense also held true to its season-long identity.

As a brutal March schedule nears, there is no easy fix for Sacramento’s problems. The roster is what it is, and the Kings will have to bank on internal improvements for the final stretch if they want to avoid completely missing the postseason for the first time since 2021-21.

After watching Friday night’s game, internal improvement seems like an enormous ask—but that’s their only option.

JIMMY BUTLER III IS A ONE-MAN WRECKING CREW 🔒🔒

He guards everyone on this possession to force the shot-clock violation! pic.twitter.com/DdQE9RexnX

— NBA (@NBA) February 22, 2025

Kings vs. Warriors recap & takeaways

Following an eight-day lay-off that genuinely felt like weeks rather than days, Sacramento took the hardwood on Friday in need of a bounce-back effort after a disappointing overtime loss in New Orleans that sent the Kings into the All-Star break on a sour note.

Sacramento needed someone to set the tone early against a new-look Warriors team that entered the night tied with the Kings in the Western Conference standings, and DeMar DeRozan answered the call in the first quarter.

‘Deebo’ caught fire against the Golden State defense, scoring 15 of Sacramento’s 28 points during the first frame. While DeRozan knocked down five of his first seven attempts (including three of five from downtown), the rest of the Kings offense was unable to find the bottom of the net.

Outside of DeRozan’s 15 points, Sacramento scored 13 points on four-of-16 (25%) shooting from the floor as Golden State took an early lead.

The Kings’ three-point defense has plagued them all year, and the start to Friday’s action would immediately put pressure on Sacramento. The Warriors converted 11 of their 22 attempts from beyond the arc during the first half.

Not only did Golden State hammer the Kings on the perimeter, but they also took advantage of Sacramento’s sloppy play by scoring 20 off of 12 turnovers. The Warriors also controlled the battle of the paint (30-16) in what was, overall, a lethargic display on both ends by the Kings.

On a night that Sacramento needed to show up and compete, they entered the break staring at a 15-point deficit as Golden State put the Kings behind the eight-ball before play entered the second half.

STEPHEN CURRY TWO-WAY MASTERPIECE ‼️

RIPS THE BALL OUT ON ONE END AND THROWS THE DIME ON THE OTHER 🤯 pic.twitter.com/YVwC2eXc2Y

— NBA (@NBA) February 22, 2025

Sacramento played with urgency to begin the third quarter, trimming a 20-point deficit to eight points thanks to DeRozan’s consistent effort and a strong period from Domantas Sabonis.

Although it appeared as if the Kings had finally broken through on both ends, the success was short-lived.

Golden State answered by stretching its lead back to 17 points heading into the fourth, as it appeared Sacramento was on the verge of falling beneath the Warriors in the Western Conference standings.

The Kings’ failure to control the basketball loomed large on Friday, as Sacramento finished the night with a season-high 24 turnovers. Golden State scored 38 points off those turnovers, a massive advantage over the five points the Kings scored off 12 Warriors turnovers.

“You aren’t going to win many games turning the ball over 24 times,” Kings guard Malik Monk said of his team’s mishaps. “We can’t get punked like that at home. That can’t happen again. We’ve just got to look ourselves in the mirror and take care of the ball.”

Nothing went Sacramento’s way against the Warriors. Paint scoring? Lost 50-46. Bench scoring? Lost 46-21. Second-chance points? Lost 13-11.

Lastly, the Kings’ abysmal three-point defense allowed Golden State to shoot 20-of-43 (46%) from downtown, with three players (Moses Moody, Stephen Curry, and Buddy Hield) hitting at least four triples.

“We have to want to win more than we want to breathe,” head coach Doug Christie said following the loss. “I know what these fans and this organization want, and that ain’t it.”

Twenty-six games stand between Sacramento and the finish line of the regular season. As of Saturday morning, they have a slim 1.5-game cushion over Phoenix for the West’s 10th and final postseason spot, with old friend De’Aaron Fox and the San Antonio Spurs sitting three games behind them.

The Kings have the fifth-hardest remaining strength of schedule in the NBA (fourth-hardest in the West), meaning that upcoming games against lowly Charlotte and Utah have arrived at a much-needed time for Sacramento.

Following Friday’s brutal showing, a bounce-back performance is a must–but the Kings have a lot to prove before we can expect them to take care of business.

STEPHEN CURRY WHAT WAS THAT 😱

📺 @NBCSAuthentic pic.twitter.com/la8e7Jbmq3

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 22, 2025

Following the Fox trade, Sacramento is still searching for stability at the point guard position.

Malik Monk has been a strong distributor this season, but the former Sixth Man has looked shaky in the new role. Monk has turned the ball over 20 times during his past six games–3.3 per contest–including two on Friday night.

DeRozan has been a solid volume scorer in the early days of the post-Fox era, but the Kings desperately need consistency from recently acquired star forward Zach LaVine, who scored just 13 points on five-of-12 shooting (two-of-seven from deep) against Golden State.

LaVine, who shot nearly 45 percent from three-point range this season with Chicago, is shooting just 26 percent from deep over seven games in Sacramento.

Fox is no longer the go-to point-of-attack scorer who can save the Kings in scenarios like Friday night. DeRozan (34 points) did his best but received no help from his teammates (no other Sacramento scorer finished with more than 14 points).

The post-Fox Kings are searching for their identity, and it’s hard to see how the best version of this team surpasses the one we witnessed rattle off seven straight wins just over one month ago.

It’s tough to gauge the ceiling of this roster as currently constructed, but the early returns haven’t been encouraging. The offense is less smooth. The defense is non-existent. Those two factors will undoubtedly spell trouble the rest of the way if things don’t turn around quickly.

Notes

• Domantas Sabonis racked up his NBA-leading 50th double-double of the season during the loss: 14 PTS | 14 REB | 9 AST
• Markelle Fultz scored eight points on four-of-five shooting over nine minutes in his Kings debut
• DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 34 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field (10-of-10 from the free-throw line).
• Sacramento is now 3-15 (.166) when allowing opponents to score 120+ points this season.

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

The Sacramento Kings will look to secure a win over the lowly Charlotte Hornets on Monday night when the two teams meet at Golden 1 Center.

Sacramento will play five of their next six games on the road following Monday’s matchup against Charlotte.

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

Upcoming schedule for the 2024-25 Sacramento Kings

• Monday, February 24th – vs. Charlotte Hornets – 7:00 PM PT
• Wednesday, February 26th – @ Utah Jazz – 6:00 PM PT
• Saturday, March 1st – @ Houston Rockets – 5:00 PM PT
• Monday, March 3rd – @ Dallas Mavericks – 5:30 PM PT
• Wednesday, March 5th – @ Denver Nuggets – 6:00 PM PT

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