SAN FRANCISCO – Turns out that 29-point loss to the New York Knicks wasn’t rock bottom for the Kings. Three days after getting shellacked at home, Sacramento’s 2024-25 NBA season reached a new low in Thursday’s 130-104 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Losing to the four-time NBA champions wasn’t the worst part, especially with center Domantas Sabonis again not able to play due to his hamstring injury.
It was the aesthetics that made it so bad.
The Kings’ season-long defensive issues were on full display in a bad way at Chase Center. Time and time again, Warriors’ shooters were given uncontested, wide-open looks. Even when Sacramento tried to D up, Golden State’s offense was too much to handle.
It wasn’t Stephen Curry doing the majority of damage. Although the NBA icon reached another mercurial plateau with his 4,000 career 3-pointer, it was the Warriors’ all-around effort that wore the Kings down.
On the positive side, DeMar DeRozan remained hot with 23 points and seven assists. Keon Ellis added 18 points off the bench while Zach LaVine scored 14. Jake LaRavia had 13 points.
DeMar grabs the tough and-1 💪
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) March 14, 2025
The Kings (33-32) don’t have much time to lick their wounds. They head to Phoenix for a key game against the Suns on Friday. Despite the loss to Golden State, Sacramento remains the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference while Phoenix is on the outer edge of the NBA play-in round.
The Kings came out against the Warriors a little sluggish on offense but seemed intent on preventing Curry from going off. That worked for a while, but the domino effect was what really hurt Sacramento.
With all that attention on Curry, the Kings were out of position when it came to defending Golden State’s other players. Draymond Green, Moses Moody and Buddy Hield made four 3-pointers apiece. Quinten Post and Gary Payton II each made three 3-pointers.
Sacramento trailed bv 23 in the first half before a late run in the second quarter to make things respectable at the break. Those good vibes went away shortly after halftime, as Golden State increased its lead in the third quarter then coasted in the fourth.
Here are the takeaways from Thursday’s game:
Sacramento’s perimeter defense might as well have been on the back of a milk carton. It was missing most of the night, one of the key reasons that enabled Golden State to control the flow and rhythm of the game.
Warriors shooters repeatedly were left wide open, either from the corner or at the top of the arc, and made good on their attempts when given space to operate.
Perimeter defense has been an issue for the Kings all season and was one of former coach Mike Brown’s biggest pet peeves. If they can’t get it corrected before the NBA playoffs, it will be a short but tiring postseason for the Kings.
With Sabonis still sitting out with a grade 1 hamstring strain, the Kings basically had zero presence on the inside, offensively and defensively.
Sacramento, which had four shots blocked in the key within the first 10 minutes of the game, did OK early without their big man in the middle and scored nearly a dozen points in the paint before settling for contested jumpers and distance shots.
Threegan Murray 💦
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) March 14, 2025
Jonas Valančiūnas continued to start at center in Sabonis’ absence and finished with five points and nine rebounds.
Sabonis’ unique ability to score from inside and outside makes him a perennial NBA All-Star contender, and those elements clearly were a sore spot against the Warriors. The good news is that Kings interim coach Doug Christie is optimistic that Sabonis would return soon.
Making his second consecutive start after missing a trio of games with a toe injury, Kings guard Malik Monk had a frustrating night. Although his offensive numbers were low – seven points on 3-of-13 shooting (0-for-5 from distance) Monk grabbed four boards and dished out six assists.
Monk obviously has earned a strong reputation for coming off the bench, but he has been very good as a starter for the Kings. Keeping him with the starters, despite his off night against Golden State, is a must for Christie.
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