Sacramento Kings smash Golden State Warriors to win fourth in a row under Doug Christie
The Kings turned in an impressive performance Sunday, blowing out the Golden State Warriors to win their fourth in a row under interim coach Doug Christie.
Malik Monk had 26 points and 12 assists to lead the Kings to a 129-99 victory over the Warriors at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Domantas Sabonis had 22 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Kings (17-19), who won despite the absence of De’Aaron Fox.
Steph Curry scored 26 points to lead the Warriors (18-17). Andrew Wiggins had 18 points.
The Kings will be back in action when they play the Miami Heat on Monday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Injury update
Kings forward Keegan Murray was cleared to return after missing the past two games due to left ankle inflammation, but Fox was ruled out with a right glute contusion. Fox was injured after being undercut by Jaren Jackson Jr. on a dunk attempt with 43.8 seconds remaining in Friday’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Warriors were missing Jonathan Kuminga (right ankle sprain), Gary Payton II (left calf strain) and Brandin Podziemski (abdominal injury management). The Warriors said Kuminga will be out at least three weeks after suffering a significant lateral ankle sprain in Saturday’s win over Memphis.
Halftime report
The Kings came out firing, racing out to a 25-14 lead after going 10 of 17 from the field and 5 of 9 from 3-point range over the first eight minutes.
The Kings went up by as many as 18 points and led 36-21 at the end of the first period. They led by 25 in the second quarter before carrying a 75-51 advantage into the halftime break.
Sacramento shot 57.4% from the field and 47.8% from 3-point range while holding Golden State to 44.7% shooting. The Kings forced 13 turnovers, leading to a 20-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
Monk and Sabonis put up big numbers in the opening half. Sabonis had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Monk had 16 points and 10 assists, setting a new career high for assists in a half.
Second-half smackdown
Sacramento led 111-79 when Warriors fans started heading for the exits with nearly nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Kings went up by as many as 39 points before it was over.
Up next
The Kings will face the Heat on the second night of a back-to-back Monday in Sacramento before heading out on a three-game road trip.
The Heat (17-16) is coming off losses to the Indiana Pacers and Utah Jazz. Jimmy Butler has requested a trade and is serving a seven-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.
The Kings are 3-4 in back-to-back situations this season.
This story was originally published January 5, 2025 at 7:49 PM.
