SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points and had a game-high 3 assists that lead the newcomer Sacramento Kings to their second straight victory over the defending champions. Golden State Warriors114-106 Monday Night.
The Kings finished the game strong after Golden State’s Draymond Green was ejected for a flagrant foul and became the first team to go 2-0 in the Warriors series in the Stephen Curry era.
The Warriors will attempt a return to the series when they relocate less than 90 miles southwest of San Francisco for Game 3 on Thursday night.
The game heated up in the fourth quarter when Green stomped on Domantas Sabonis’ chest with 7:03 to play, resulting in a sack for a flagrant foul.
During the review, fans in Sacramento shouted insulting cheers at Green, who urged them to wave his hands, put a hand to his ear for louder cheers and stand on a stool.
The Warriors fought back to tie the game before the Kings went on a 17-8 run to run with it to the delight of the towel-waving crowd.
Fox’s 3-pointer made it 107-101 with 2:17 to play and the Kings were in control from there. Davon Mitchell put him up with another 3 that made it 112-103 with 1:18 remaining.
Sabonis added 24 points for Sacramento and Malik Monk scored 18 off the bench.
Curry led the Warriors with 28 points but made only 3 of 13 from 3-point range as Golden State struggled for offense. The Warriors committed 22 turnovers.
The success-hungry Sacramento crowd didn’t fail in the home opener when fans celebrated the franchise’s first playoff game after a record-breaking 16-season drought.
The crowd started to get into it in the second quarter thanks to another bench spark from Monk, who scored 32 points in the opener. Monk hit three three-pointers in the first 2:04 of the period to help fuel a 23-8 run that turned a six-point deficit into nine.
Golden State fought back and connected on a 3 by Curry before allowing the final six points of the quarter to trail 58-52 at the half.
The Kings built the lead to 14 points in the third quarter before the Warriors scored eight straight. Sacramento led 83-75, heading for fourth.
slow start
The teams got off to a sloppy start with all nine turnovers in the first quarter. The 18 total turnovers in the first quarter were the most of any game in more than six seasons and the most in a playoff game since at least the 2001-02 season.
The Kings also missed their first 11 three-pointers before Fox made a first down.
Tip-ins
Warriors: Andrew Wiggins is back in the starting lineup at his second fullback after missing more than two months dealing with an undisclosed family matter. Wiggins scored 22 points. … Golden State committed five fouls in the first 1:42 of the third quarter.
Kings: Sacramento’s 41 points in the second quarter was the eighth time a team has scored at least 40 points in a playoff quarter against Golden State in head coach Steve Kerr’s tenure.
the next
Game three is Thursday night in San Francisco.
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