Game 37 Notes: Sacramento Kings Lost, But Showed Growth Against Golden State
By Rafe Wong
The Sacramento Kings played hard last night but ended up losing to a very strong Golden State Warriors team 128-116. The Kings were able to keep the score relatively close for the majority of the game, but a third quarter surge by Golden State ended up being the main difference to why the Warriors came out victorious.
Top players from the Warriors were Stephen Curry recording 38 points and 11 assists and Draymond Green scoring 25 points. The players of the game for the Kings were DeMarcus Cousins scoring 33 points and grabbing 10 rebounds and Rudy Gay who added 23 points.
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Although this game will end up just being a loss in the standings the Kings continue to show growth entering the new year. Yes, Sacramento in the past usually play a lot better when they are the underdogs in games but in this particular night, they were able to show their fans something that will keep them optimistic.
During the fourth quarter, the Warriors were having their way with Sacramento leading the game 115-99. The Kings had no answer in containing the Warriors high-powered offense and the momentum towards the Kings were completely lost with just a little bit over five minutes left in the contest.
Usually, when the Kings lose their momentum they end up conceding to their competition and take the loss in ugly fashion. It looked like Kings fans were going to experience that same conclusion once again, but that was not the case.
Instead, the Kings found some rhythm. Thanks to back-to-back-to-back three-pointers contributed by Gay, Cousins, and Marco Belinelli with the mix of forcing defensive stops the Kings were able to get back into the game. The 16 point lead that the Warriors had with 5 minutes left quickly decimated down to just 5 points with 3 minutes remaining in the game.
Although the Warriors kept answering back to the Kings with buckets of their own the Kings never showed signs of giving up until it was clear with under a minute remaining that the game was over. The Kings kept fighting for the momentum back and made it hard for Golden State to put the game away.
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Hopefully, this is a sign of growth going forward into the season. Obviously, it was only one game and fans have seen Sacramento microscopically play like this before, but right now the Kings have shown a solid level of efficiency in the last five games they played, which is rare for them.
Overall the Kings lost this game, but they still played well against a Warriors team that in most cases their opponents will have to play a perfect game in order to beat them. Hopefully, the team doesn’t get discouraged by this loss and understand that for a solid span of games they have been showing growth in their team that will make them better in future games.