Kings fight back for home win over Warriors. Here’s why the road ahead will be difficult
The Kings boarded a flight to Denver late Wednesday night to start a hellacious road stretch that could make or break their season, but first they treated their fans to one more heart-pounding performance at home.
DeMar DeRozan led a huge second-half comeback to help the Kings beat the Golden State Warriors 123-117 before a sellout crowd of 17,832 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento and a national television audience on ESPN.
DeRozan scored 19 of his 32 points in the third quarter as the Kings stormed back from an 18-point deficit. Sacramento improved to 10-2 overall and 7-0 at home since interim coach Doug Christie took the helm after Mike Brown was fired Dec. 27.
“Super proud of the fight our guys showed tonight,” Christie said. “... Home is a special place. I’ve tried to impart that message to our guys that we protect home. It’s a safe place for our fans to come and rock out. You know we’re gonna put on a show. We come here to play a certain way, and when you leave, win or lose, you’re going to know that we gave you everything we’ve got.”
The Kings moved up to seventh in the Western Conference playoff race, just one game behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers for fifth and sixth.
The Kings came back to win after trailing by 15 points or more for the third time in Christie’s first 12 games. DeRozan said the team’s recent resurgence reflects a new level of buy in and belief in the locker room.
“There wasn’t one moment of the game where we felt like we were down and out, especially using that energy here at home on top of that confidence the coaching staff gives us,” DeRozan said. “We just go out there and lay it all on the line. We don’t feel like we’re out of a game at any point these last couple weeks.”
Domantas Sabonis posted his league-leading 38th double-double of the season with 26 points and 18 rebounds for the Kings (23-20), who will start a six-game road trip Thursday when they visit the Denver Nuggets on the second night of a back-to-back.
Malik Monk had 20 points and nine assists for Sacramento. De’Aaron Fox scored 14 points, going 2 of 11 from the field but 10 of 10 at the free-throw line, while Keegan Murray added 13 points.
The Kings finished with a stunning 28-0 advantage in fastbreak points, including 23 in the second half.
“That’s really who we want to be,” Christie said. “... Defensively, you want to keep the pressure, and sometimes you’re going to be a step slow. That’s where other guys come off the bench and give you a lift like Keon (Ellis) did tonight, and all of a sudden, things slowly started turning as they turned the pressure up. I think that’s how you get out in the open court and get buckets.”
Andrew Wiggins scored 25 points for the Warriors (21-22), who have lost 19 of 28 after going 12-3 to start the season.
Buddy Hield scored 17 points for Golden State, going 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Gui Santos came off the bench to score 16, making 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.
Warriors star Steph Curry was held to 14 points. He went 6 of 11 from the field and 1 of 4 from 3-point range while being hounded by Murray and Ellis.
“Steph is Steph,” Christie said. “You’re not going to stop him. You want to make it as humanly difficult as you can, and I thought both of those guys did that.
The Warriors jumped out to an early seven-point lead as the Kings went 4 of 12 from the field and 1 of 6 from 3-point range to start the game. Golden State led 24-20 at the end of the first quarter and went up 44-31 midway through the second.
The Warriors led by as many as 18 before carrying a 65-48 lead into the halftime break. They shot 48.9% from the field — going 14 of 26 from 3-point range — while holding the Kings to 39.5% shooting.
The Kings appeared to be headed for a blowout loss on their home court, but that’s when DeRozan went to work. He scored 19 points in the third quarter, including 15 in the final 5:35, bringing his team back from a big deficit while bringing the arena to life.
DeRozan went 7 of 7 from the field, 1 of 1 from 3-point range and 4 of 4 at the free-throw line in the third.
“He got it rolling for us when we were struggling on offense,” Murray said. “That’s kind of what he does. That’s what he’s done his whole career.”
The Warriors still led 85-73 following a basket by Wiggins with 2:41 to play in the third period, but the Kings closed the quarter with a 12-0 run to tie the game going into the fourth. They shot 57.7% in the third while outscoring the Warriors 13-0 in points off turnovers.
“They were trapping in the first half and we handled the traps beautifully, got wide open looks, knocked down shots,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Then in the second half, we lost our poise. They picked up their pressure, but other than maybe two or three plays where they trapped Steph and got a deflection, I thought almost every turnover was unforced. Sometimes when you get sped up, you make poor decisions, and I thought that happened a little bit tonight.”
The Warriors reestablished a seven-point lead following a 3-pointer by Hield with 9:07 to play. DeRozan, Monk and Ellis made 3-pointers to fuel a 13-0 run that put the Kings up 105-99. The Warriors responded with an 8-0 run to go up 107-105.
Golden State took a 113-109 lead on a 3-pointer by Wiggins with 4:03 to go, but Sacramento answered with a 10-0 run to take control.
“There wasn’t much said (at halftime),” Murray said. “I think we all knew what it was. We couldn’t have played a worse first half, so we knew we were capable of turning it around and we did.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2025 at 10:54 PM.
