Sports Writing (USA), Apr 18 (EFE).- With another victory of enormous merit for a team that continues to grow, the Sacramento Kings made it 2-0 in their tie against the Golden State Warriors in which they Draymond Green was ejected for stepping on the chest of Domantas Sabonis (114-106).
Stephen Curry’s legendary team, with four rings in the last eight years, has had obstacles and challenges of all kinds throughout its dynasty.
But these talented and enthusiastic Kings have presented them with an unprecedented challenge, as in the Steve Kerr era they had never trailed 2-0 in a playoff series.
The most tense moment of a vibrant and very exciting game came when Green was sent off with 7 minutes to go.
Sabonis was on the ground after falling in the fight for a rebound, from there he grabbed the foot of a Green who wanted to go on the counterattack and the Warriors center responded by stepping on Sabonis’s chest.
While the referees reviewed the action, which ended with a flagrant type 2 for Green and a technique for Sabonis, the Warriors player, who could be sanctioned by the NBA, faced some fans and celebrated the boos that came from the stands .
For the Kings, Sabonis put his gray first game behind him and finished with 24 points and 9 rebounds (8 of 12 shooting), De’Aaron Fox had 24 points and 9 assists and six local players had more than ten points.
The locals suffered in the triple (9 of 38) but controlled the rebound (58 of 46) and took advantage of the 22 turnovers of their rivals.
Stephen Curry stood out for the Warriors with 28 points and 6 assists while Andrew Wiggins, who started again, contributed 22 points.
The tie now travels to San Francisco, where the third game will be played on Thursday.
NERVES FROM BEGINNING TO END
The two teams entered the field with such enthusiasm that they went completely overboard.
In a very hasty start and full of errors, the Kings and the Warriors added 9 turnovers each to the despair of their coaches.
At least, the Warriors found some success in front of the basket, with a remarkable Green with 7 points, but the Kings crashed from the perimeter with a painful 1 of 13 on three-pointers and went into the second quarter wanting to forget the first period. as soon as possible (17-23).
The Sacramento bench came to the rescue with an electric Malik Monk, who connected three triples in a row to revive those in purple on the fast track (30-27 with 9.56 for the break).
That powerful 13-4 start filled some Kings with morale who won in defense and who, in addition to Monk, began to fit their pieces in attack: Sabonis, Kevin Huerter, Davion Mitchell…
Sacramento got to +10 but the Warriors avoided a setback thanks to 10 points from Curry in the second quarter (58-52 at halftime).
Mike Brown’s men controlled the pace at the restart against some frayed Warriors, somewhat stunned by the local energy and with a damaged compass.
In addition, Kevon Looney soon added his fifth foul and left the inside rotation of the visitors very touched.
With Sabonis in front and despite a terrifying 1 of 10 from the entire team in three-pointers in the third quarter, the Kings reached the denouement marking the pace and with the wind in their favor (83-75).
Golden State managed to get to just 4 points in the fourth quarter just before Green’s ejection.
Far from that incident slowing them down, the visitors continued their comeback, led by Curry and Klay Thompson, until they evened the score (93-93 with 6.07 left).
But in the denouement, the Kings turned to Fox, the best player in the league this year in tight finishes, and counted on a lethal three-pointer from Mitchell from the corner to sentence the Warriors who leave Sacramento already with a very wide margin of error. little.
