Warriors stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson praise Kings’ De’Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray
Golden State Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson had high praise for De’Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray following Friday’s win over the Kings.
Fox scored 39 points while leading a furious fourth-quarter comeback, but he was outdueled by Curry’s 41-point performance in a 122-114 loss to the Warriors at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
“They’re both really hard to stop,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We were trying to guard the 3-point line in the fourth quarter with the lead. Fox got into the paint. I was okay with the floaters and the pull-up jumpers he was making, but he knocked down a couple 3s late that really made it a game. He’s tough to handle.”
Fox scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to help the Kings rally from an 18-point deficit, but a clutch 3-pointer from Curry in the final minute. Fox, the inaugural winner of the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year award last season, went 7 of 13 from the field, 2 of 4 from 3-point range and 6 of 7 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
“There’s not much you can do at times because he’s super quick,” Curry said. “He’s elusive. You can’t really get a body on him because he gets from point A to point B really quick, and then if he’s making shots, you have to give up something. It’s tough. It requires everybody to be on a string.
“Even so, there was a point down the stretch where we had a big lead, but he was coming down. You knew what they were going to do. It’s a high pick-and-roll with him and (Domantas) Sabonis, and he was getting off. At times there’s not much you can do because he’s that talented, that quick, and puts a lot of pressure on you.”
Murray finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. He made just 6 of 16 from the field and 3 of 11 from 3-point range, but Kings coach Mike Brown noted that Murray had three or four 3-point attempts that looked good before rattling in and out.
Thompson, who has expressed admiration for Murray before, continues to be impressed.
“I think he’ll be with the Kings for a long time,” Thompson said. “I mean, how old is he, 22? He’s got star potential. Between him, Sabonis, and Fox, that’s a nice big three, and Keegan is one you can’t just leave open. He’s a great shooter. The next step for him would just being a complete scorer and I know that’s down the road for him, but to do what he’s doing at his age is incredible, so good for him and good for Sacramento for discovering him.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2023 at 7:59 AM.
