Sports Writing (USA), Apr 23 (EFE).- The Golden State Warriors saved their second home game this Sunday (126-125), in a heart-stopping duel against the Kings who had the last shot to win, and they evened the series 2-2 before returning to Sacramento.
Harrison Barnes had his hands on the game-winning 3-pointer for the Kings at the buzzer but missed. For the Warriors, the outside game was key with Stephen Curry (32 points), Klay Thompson (26) and Jordan Poole (22).
De’Aaron Fox (38 points) stood out again for the Kings, who was accompanied by rookie Keegan Murray (23 points).
The game saw the return of Draymond Green from his suspension, but the Golden State inside started on the bench.
FOX ASKS FOR STEP
It was a match with a fast pace and up to 19 alternations on the scoreboard.
Domantas Sabonis was the protagonist from the start scoring, assisting and teaming up as well as ever with a Fox that closed this first quarter with 10 points and 2 of 4 on three-pointers.
The defense was very intense on both sides of the field, even aggressive at times on Sabonis.
The Warriors’ three turnovers in five minutes and Fox’s 7-point determination early on led to Steve Kerr’s first timeout and Green’s entry into the game.
It didn’t take long for him to have his first argument with Fox and it affected the concentration of the visiting team, generating a 10-3 run. It was 8 points in two minutes for Curry before his first break.
Alex Len added quality minutes instead of Sabonis: the center contributed 4 points and 2 rebounds without shrinking from Green’s provocations. Fox, from the triple, did the rest and put Sacramento ahead at the end of the first quarter (31-32).
The Warriors also dozed at the start of the second period and the Kings’ run continued to increase to a resounding 5-20 from the end of the first quarter. Thus they again forced Kerr to stop the game with 36-45 in the light.
Golden State worked on impulse, connecting and disconnecting from the clash as marked by their outside game with Curry, Thompson and Poole. Between the three of them they contributed 19 of the 34 points of the second quarter.
It was insufficient to combat the state of grace of Fox, who arrived at the break with 21 points and was well seconded by Murray’s 15 (65-69).
THRILL TO THE END
The game was even more even at the restart and the gains were never more than two points in most of the third quarter. The defenses prevailed over the attacks, but with four minutes to go Andrew Wiggins and Curry found a way to regain a six-point lead (89-83) with a 7-0 run.
Sacramento had a hard time digesting it and reflected it by making bad decisions in attack, losing balls, reducing their incidence in offensive rebounding and decreasing their effectiveness outside.
With the environment against it and the intensity of the locals, Sacramento got blocked and bottomed out in the last action of the third quarter. The Warriors circulated the ball in an exceptional way culminating in the hands of Thompson in the corner, who scored on the buzzer and put ten goals ahead (102-92).
Despite the lack of experience in the postseason, the Kings showed enormous competitive ability and knew how to return to the game with another 0-7 run starting the final period. They never lost face to the clash and kept their chances of winning until the end.
The last stretch had Curry and Fox as leading men in a spectacular duel with 10 and 12 points, respectively. The Warriors entered with +5 at the last minute but Mike Brown’s men still had a lot to say.
Fox hit a 3-pointer to make it 126-125 with 29 seconds left after Curry, in a blunder, called a timeout when his team was out of possession (technical and possession against).
Curry missed a shot later, and with 10 seconds left, it was the Kings’ ball to go for the win.
With a solid local defense, they ended up playing three Barnes in a good shot that took the rim and gave the Warriors the victory.
