Los Angeles (AFP) – The Sacramento Kings ended the playoff hopes of Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, routing the 2022 champions 118-94 in the NBA Play-in tournament.
The Warriors had finished 10th in the Western Conference and needed a win against the ninth-ranked Kings to keep their playoff hopes alive.
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Instead the Kings will play the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday for the eighth and final playoff berth in the West.
The last three regular-season games between the Northern California rivals had been decided by one point.
But the Kings dominated this one, the Warriors never leading after the opening minutes in Sacramento.
Keegan Murray led the Kings’ scoring with 32 points.
De’Aaron Fox added 24 and Domantas Sabonis had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Sacramento as the Warriors offense struggled.
Curry shook off a slow start that saw him score just five points in the first half to finish with 22. But Klay Thompson failed to score a point as he missed all 10 of his shots.
The resounding defeat is bound to raise questions about the future of the Warriors’ star trio of Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green, the pillars of the dynasty that won titles in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
“It’s too early for me to even think about that,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
“You invest so much in the season and there’s so much that goes on. It’s so emotional.
“The highs of this business are incredible, that’s why we’re all kind of addicted to it. You have to absorb the lows.
“We’ve been really blessed here with amazing players and multiple championships and Finals appearances, the highest of highs. This is the flip-side.
“What happens this summer and going into next year, we’ll worry about that later.”
© 2024 AFP
