Domantas Sabonis watched from the sideline as the Sacramento Kings suffered what felt like a fatal blow to their hopes of securing a top six seed and an automatic playoff berth in the Western Conference.
Draymond Green scored a season-high 23 points and Steph Curry became the first player in NBA history to make 4,000 career 3-point goals as the Golden State Warriors handed the Kings a dispiriting 130-104 loss Thursday at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Sacramento now trails Golden State by 4 ½ games for the No. 6 seed in the West with 17 games remaining.
“I think we all know the season is kind of toward the end of it, so every game means that much more and you’re getting less opportunities, and by that, I mean games, to increase your place in the standings,” Kings guard Keon Ellis said. “We know each one is very important to where we end up at the end of the season. I think everyone in the locker room knows as each game goes by, they only get more important.”
Green led eight players who scored in double figures for the Warriors (38-28), who have won six in a row and 11 of their last 12. Jonathan Kuminga returned to score 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting after missing 31 games with an ankle injury. Moses Moody scored 17 points, Buddy Hield had 16 and Gary Payton II added 11.
The Kings held Curry to 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Limiting Curry’s looks was Sacramento’s plan, but the Warriors made them pay with Green, Moody, Hield and Payton combining to go 15 of 23 from beyond the arc.
“When you hold Steph to 11, game-plan wise, you’ve got people shooting the ball that you want to shoot the ball,” interim Kings coach Doug Christie said. “Give Draymond credit. Early on, he knocked down a couple. Gary Payton knocks down a couple. Those are people that we want to shoot the basketball, and they made them.”
Curry knew the Kings were trying to prevent him from shooting the ball from the start.
“Sacramento was playing that gimmicky defense all game where they were literally face-guarding me, top-locking, and nothing was clean about it,” Curry said. “But everyone else was getting great looks, and that’s just good basketball.”
DeMar DeRozan had 23 points, five rebounds and seven assists for the Kings (33-32), who have lost three in a row and four of five as they prepare to visit the Phoenix Suns on the second night of a back-to-back Friday.
Ellis came off the bench to score 18 points. Zach LaVine went 4 of 4 from 3-point range, but he was held to 14 points after taking only six shots.
Christie was asked if that was an acceptable level of aggressiveness from a player who averaged 27.4 points over a seven-game stretch before attempting a total of 16 shots over the past two games.
“I think more than anything, in some sense, you have to give Golden State credit for the way they approach a player like Zach, but no, I want him shooting 16 (shots), 26 shots,” Christie said. “That’s more the level we want to see from him, but at the same time you have to give them credit.
“They were physical with him. They switched off on him physically the way you are supposed to switch off of a really, really prolific offensive player. For him, I’m sure he’s going to be upset, and I’m hoping he brings his game at the same efficiency but at a higher level tomorrow.”
The Kings trailed by as many as 23 before coming back to cut the deficit to four in the third quarter, but the Warriors had too much firepower for Sacramento.
“I think as the season has gone on, we realize we’re a team that can fight back,” Ellis said. “But I think on a night like tonight, you have to have one of those good starts, especially against a team like this that’s been hot lately.”
The Warriors outscored the Kings 17-6 over the first 5:07 and went up 23-9 on a 3-pointer by Gary Payton II with 4:46 to play in the opening period. The Kings trailed 30-18 after shooting 36.4% from the field with five turnovers in the first quarter.
The Warriors took a 50-30 lead on a basket by Green midway through the second quarter. They led by as many as 23 before the Kings came back to cut the deficit to 10 after closing the half with a 12-1 run.
Sacramento got within four early in the second half. The Kings seemed to have momentum on their side, but Curry’s milestone 3-pointer provided a spark for Golden State and it wasn’t long before the Warriors reestablished a double-digit lead.
The Warriors led 96-83 at the end of the third quarter. They went up by 16 early in the fourth and pulled away over the final six minutes.
“Coming out of the third, they had a lot of confidence,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “They knocked down their first couple of shots. It was really more a matter of just continuing to play. We only had six turnovers, I think, second half. One of those was a shot clock violation at the end. Just by staying solid the course of the second half I thought we were able to pull away.”
Sabonis missed his sixth consecutive game since straining his left hamstring in a 113-103 victory over the Houston Rockets on March 1. He was listed as questionable after fully participating in Wednesday’s practice, but he was ruled out in the hours leading up to Thursday’s game.
Christie was asked before the game about the decision to sit Sabonis and the possibility of him playing against the Suns on Friday.
“I think it’s going to be day to day,” Christie said. “That’s all medical. I look at him and see what I see as a coach, and I’m just happy to see him first and foremost, but when it comes to the playing aspect, that’s medical and front office and everything that goes with that.”
Christie was then asked how Sabonis’ body responded following Wednesday’s practice.
“I don’t really know,” Christie said. “From being a player, I know sometimes when you get in situations like that, I’ve been in many where I felt great and I wake up in the morning and not so much. I didn’t talk to him about exactly how he felt, but like I said, that’s a medical staff question and front office from that standpoint. I’m just happy to see him making the proper progress because we surely need him, no doubt.”
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Jason Anderson is The Sacramento Bee’s Kings beat writer. He is a Sacramento native and a graduate of Fresno State, where he studied journalism and college basketball under the late Jerry Tarkanian.