Curry scores 37 as Warriors hold off Kings despite fourth-quarter flourish from Haliburton
Kings coach Luke Walton turned to rookie Tyrese Haliburton with De’Aaron Fox out of the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Golden State Warriors due to NBA health and safety protocols.
Haliburton gained invaluable experience while taking his game to another level in the fourth quarter, but few players on the planet are capable of matching Stephen Curry right now.
Curry scored 37 points to lead the Warriors to a 117-113 victory over the visiting Kings at Chase Center in San Francisco. The two-time MVP made 11 of 21 from the field and 7 of 14 from 3-point range, going over 30 points for the 13th time in 14 games.
“I thought our guys played Steph as hard as you can and he still showed why he is a multiple MVP winner with 37 points,” Walton said. “But I thought our guys did everything they could to make life hard and challenging, and he is just an amazing player.”
Kelly Oubre Jr. came off the bench to score 19 points for the Warriors (31-30), who now lead the Kings by 6 ½ games for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. Draymond Green had eight points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists.
Buddy Hield made 9 of 13 from the field and 6 of 8 from 3-point range to finish with 25 points for the Kings (24-36). Harrison Barnes added 23 points and seven rebounds, but the most encouraging sign for Sacramento was Haliburton’s performance in the fourth quarter.
The rookie first-round draft pick from Iowa State finished with 24 points and eight assists. He struggled with his timing and rhythm while going 3 of 10 to start the game, but he scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the fourth quarter.
“He was kind of struggling from a standpoint of finishing throughout the game, and then in the fourth quarter I thought he did a better job of really committing to the rim instead of settling for the floater,” Walton said. “The floater is a good shot for him. He feels confident with it, but I thought he did a nice job of committing to the rim, getting there, hitting rollers when they over-helped, and he did it down the stretch of a very competitive game against a team that’s fighting for the playoffs. This is a great opportunity, this final stretch of the season, for all of us, but for him especially.”
The Kings played their first game without Fox, who was placed under health and safety protocols on Friday. Walton elected to start Haliburton with Hield, Barnes, Maurice Harkless and Richaun Holmes, who returned to post 11 points and five rebounds after missing five games with a hamstring injury.
Barnes scored 14 points in the first period to help the Kings jump out to a 39-32 lead. They led 65-63 at the halftime break with Hield holding his own in a shootout with Curry. Hield finished the first half with 19 points. Curry had 23.
Curry scored 10 more in the third quarter to put the Warriors up 94-92, but Sacramento staged a 12-4 run with him on the bench to start the fourth. The Kings took a 104-98 lead on a 3-pointer by Haliburton with 8:05 remaining. The Warriors came back to take a 110-109 lead on a three-point play by Oubre with 2:09 to go.
The Kings had an opportunity to reclaim the lead when Haliburton and Holmes trapped Curry in the backcourt to force a turnover with 18.4 seconds remaining, but Hield mishandled the ball, blowing what would have been an easy layup. Sacramento still had one more chance, but Barnes missed a 3-pointer that would have given the Kings the lead with 2.8 seconds remaining.
Haliburton was not happy with the loss, but he seems to be embracing the opportunity before him.
“It’s going to be good for me and my development to kind of be put into a new role, asked to do more, asked to do other things with the absence of De’Aaron,” Haliburton said. “... At the end of the day, I just want to win games. I felt like I didn’t play that well until the fourth, so I’ve definitely got to be better.”
Up next
The Kings will return to Sacramento to face the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night at Golden 1 Center.
The Mavericks (33-26) have won three in a row since suffering a 121-107 loss to the Kings on April 18 in Dallas, including back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Lakers. Luka Doncic scored 37 points in the loss to Sacramento. Fox had 30 points and 12 assists for the Kings.
Doncic is questionable for Monday’s game due to a left elbow contusion. Kristaps Porzingis (ankle), Maxi Kleber (back) and Josh Richardson (hamstring) are also questionable.
Injury report
Kings: OUT — Marvin Bagley III (hand); De’Aaron Fox (health and safety protocols); Robert Woodard II (back).
Warriors: OUT — Kent Bazemore (health and safety protocols); Damion Lee (health and safety protocols); Eric Paschall (hip); Klay Thompson (Achilles); James Wiseman (knee).
Kings upcoming schedule
April 26 vs. Dallas Mavericks, 7 p.m.
April 28 vs. Utah Jazz, 7 p.m.
April 30 at Los Angeles Lakers, 7:30 p.m.
May 2 at Dallas Mavericks, 5 p.m.
May 4 at Oklahoma City Thunder, 5 p.m.
