Golden State Warriors defeat Kings after presenting NBA championship ring to Mike Brown
The Golden State Warriors presented Kings coach Mike Brown with an NBA championship ring and a loss Sunday evening in his return to Chase Center in San Francisco.
Stephen Curry scored 28 of his 33 points in the first half to lead the Warriors to a 130-125 victory over the Kings. Curry made 11 of 22 from the field and 7 of 12 from 3-point range.
Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins scored 24 points apiece for the Warriors (2-1), who held on to win after Sacramento stormed back from a 26-point third-quarter deficit. Klay Thompson was held to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting.
De’Aaron Fox had 26 points, five rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Kings (0-3). Domantas Sabonis recorded a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds before sitting out the fourth quarter while the Kings’ bench sparked their comeback.
Malik Monk had a breakout performance after struggling in the first two games, finishing with 16 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Rookie Keegan Murray also scored 16 points. Richaun Holmes had 15.
The Warriors held a pregame ceremony to present Brown and Kings assistant coach Leandro Barbosa with their NBA championship rings from the 2021-22 season. Brown and Barbosa were part of the coaching staff that led the Warriors to their fourth championship in seven years last season.
“Man, it’s going to be special,” Brown said before the game. “I got my mom in town. My girl’s in town. Her kids are in town. My boys would be, but they’re adults and they’ve got their thing going on right now, so I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to be here with me on this special night.”
Brown took a moment to reflect on his six seasons with the Warriors as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant.
“Man, starting with (Warriors executive co-chairmen) Joe Lacob, Peter Gruber, Bob Myers and his group, Steve Kerr, and then you factor in Draymond (Green) and Andre (Iguodala) and Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson and Loon (Kevon Looney) and Dot (Shaun Livingston),” Brown said. “I learned so much here and they embraced me right away. All I have are fond memories here. It was fantastic. I owe them a lot. I thank them for allowing me to be a part of it. I’m more than thrilled to be able to come back here and get a ring in this building at this time of the year. This is fantastic for me.”
Kerr raved about Brown and his contributions to the Warriors’ success.
“Mike is brilliant,” Kerr said. “He’s just got so much energy, so much love for the game, love for his job, for his work. He brings his enthusiasm every single day and that’s what we enjoyed so much over the last five, six years, however long he was here, and he and I were really a perfect pair. He sort of covered up for my weaknesses and complimented me really well. I just loved being around him.”
Kerr said he believes Brown will help the Kings change their fortunes after 16 consecutive losing seasons.
“Thrilled for him,” Kerr said. “It’s a great opportunity. A lot of good, young talent in Sacramento. I’ve watched them a few times in preseason and early on, and he’s got them playing hard and playing at a high level. I know they lost two close games so far, but they look good, and I think Mike’s going to do a great job there.”
That may be true, but the Kings are still searching for their first win under Brown. They gave up a 10-0 run to start the game and trailed 89-71 at the half.
Golden State’s 89-point first half represented the third-most points in a half in franchise history and the second-most first-half points in franchise history. The Warriors shot a sizzling 67.4% from the field and made 10 of 18 (.556) from 3-point range.
The Warriors scored 39 points in the first quarter and 50 in the second quarter. They led by as many as 22 in the first half and 26 in the second.
The Kings staged a 15-1 run to get within four on a basket by Chimezie Metu with 1:04 remaining, but two free throws by Poole and a transition dunk by Wiggins helped the Warriors hold on for the win.
“They did a good job getting back into the game, but we won, so I’m looking at the positive,” Kerr said. “We played, at times, brilliantly, and we couldn’t sustain it. It was closer than it should have been, but I give Sacramento a lot of credit. Mike is doing a great job with those guys. They are fighting. They’re competing. They’ve had three close losses now to start the year. They’ve gotten a lot better and we let our guard down and they took advantage of it, but we got the win and I’m pleased with that.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2022 at 9:18 PM.
