Coming into the night on a six-game skid, the Sacramento Kings extended it to seven after suffering a 137-103 loss to the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
Malik Monk returned to the rotation in favor of Precious Achiuwa, as Sacramento’s league-worst offense put together a respectable performance. Keon Ellis also started in favor of Achiuwa.
After being tied at 84, conceding a 13-0 Golden State run to close the third quarter was the beginning of the end. Head coach Doug Christie’s squad couldn’t overcome that deficit in the fourth quarter, as they were outscored 40-19 in the final frame.
Stephen Curry ended the night with 27 points and 10 assists on 10/21 from the field and 6/12 from three as his team shot 54.7 percent as a collective. Sacramento was led by DeMar DeRozan, recording 24 points and three assists on 10/19 shooting.
The worst of Sacramento’s defense (third quarter) and offense (fourth quarter) appeared in the second half. With plenty of home games ahead, the Kings will look to get back in the win column Sunday when they host Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, and the Houston Rockets.
Sacramento Kings @ Golden State Warriors Game Notes
Coming into the night with the worst offensive rating in the NBA, Sacramento struggled to convert buckets early on. Seemingly attacking Curry in mismatches, they failed to convert while the Warriors made their first five shots, jumping out to a 13-4 lead.
Managing to force a couple misses and converting a pair of their own triples recovered to 13-10. LaVine found his way to convert seven of the Kings’ first 17 points. With Ellis in the starting unit while featuring a smaller team, Malik Monk made his first appearance since three consecutive DNP-CDs.
And he showed why he’d previously been in consideration for the Sixth Man of the Year award by providing an offensive spark. Yet on the other end, switching everything on and off-ball was a coverage that Curry capitalized on, even if it wasn’t picture-perfect.
Ellis also struggled to keep the former MVP in front of him on the perimeter. As often has been the case, the Kings’ reserves helped keep it close. The Warriors’ scoring didn’t slow down, though, as they made 65 percent (13/20) of their shots in the opening frame.
Clifford with the alley, Monk with the OOP 💪 pic.twitter.com/hntLuz0cgk
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 10, 2026
Sacramento managed to remain afloat by going 4/9 from three, trailing just 34-29 after one. Curry was up to 11 points and three assists.
Monk helped contribute to a 12-4 run in the Kings’ favor, securing their first lead of the night, 41-38. The second quarter played out similarly to the first, with Curry being the focal point on both ends.
Golden State obviously heavily featured him offensively, while the Kings looked to attack him when switched onto the likes of DeRozan, LaVine, or Westbrook.
Sacramento’s league-worst offense coming into the night kept a solid pace in San Francisco. A behind-the-back pass from Curry to Draymond Green for three left the scoreboard 63-59 at the midway point.
DeRozan and LaVine had each tallied 11 points while Monk added 8 points (4/5 FG) in 11 minutes. Both sides converted 26 field goals and got 21 points from their benches. Golden State managed a slight advantage with points in the paint (36-30), but it was a fairly even battle.
After an uneventful back and forth, Curry’s barrage continued. A common counter that shooters use against switch defense is to pull up right as the switch is expected to take place, capitalizing on a brief moment of space. With each made triple, the Chase Center crowd came more alive, but Sacramento’s offense kept them afloat — namely, DeRozan.
From Curry to Brandin Podziemski, the mid-range maestro found advantageous matchups en route to an 11-point quarter.
Deebo has 2️⃣0️⃣ pic.twitter.com/2HcBlncrgX
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 10, 2026
Yet their often effective bench unit let them down in closing the frame. Tied at 84 with 3:10 to play in the third, a few too many turnovers and not-so-close shots enabled a 13-0 run for the home squad.
That was the difference, as the Kings trailed 97-84 with 12 minutes remaining. Fighting an uphill battle at that point, they were going to have to be stellar in the fourth to recover.
Going roughly even in the first few minutes wasn’t encouraging. Resorting to their isolation-heavy playstyle, their misses were turned into quick buckets on the other end. Every bucket from Golden State put the game further out of reach, and the crowd knew it.
Poor defense in the third got them to the point, but a failure to score in the fourth sealed their fate. Christie’s offense couldn’t convert, and it became a 29-point game (125-96) when a timeout took place with 4:28 to play.
Christie’s squad was ultimatley outscored 40-19 in the final frame.
Stephen Curry ended the night with 27 points and 10 assists on 10/21 from the field and 6/12 from three as his team shot 54.7 percent as a collective. Sacramento was led by DeMar DeRozan, recording 24 points and three assists on 10/19 shooting.
The worst of Sacramento’s defense (third quarter) and offense (fourth quarter) appeared in the second half. With plenty of home games ahead, the Kings will look to get back in the win column Sunday when they host Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, and the Houston Rockets.
More Sacramento Kings coverage on Sactown Sports
The Sacramento Kings’ rotations have been inconsistent all season, largely due to an unfortunate number of injuries. Still, there’s been a rotation spot battle between Keon Ellis and Malik Monk, both of whom have been available for most games.
Most recently, Monk has been on the outside looking in. The 27-year-old was a healthy scratch in each of the last three games. Ellis logged two DNP-CDs earlier in the season, along with seven appearances of fewer than 10 minutes.
Sacramento head coach Doug Christie has often referenced the “logjam” at the guard position on his roster, with Monk, Ellis, Russell Westbrook, Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and rookie Nique Clifford.
Read More:
Doug Christie explains playing Ellis over Malik Monk
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Sunday, January 11th – vs. Houston Rockets – 6:00 PM PT
Monday, January 12th – vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 7:00 PM PT
Wednesday, January 14th – vs. New York Knicks – 7:00 PM PT
Friday, January 16th – vs. Washington Wizards – 7:00 PM PT
Sunday, January 18th – vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 6:00 PM PT
Thank you for readingSactownSports.com. Follow us onTwitterandGoogle News, and subscribe to ourYouTubechannel.