Turnovers continue to plague Sacramento Kings in blowout loss to Golden State Warriors
Turnovers have been a big problem since the Kings traded De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs.
The trend continued in a 132-106 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday night at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Former Kings guard Buddy Hield and Moses Moody scored 22 points apiece for the Warriors (29-27), who have won four of five since acquiring Jimmy Butler in a blockbuster trade with the Miami Heat.
DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points for the Kings (28-28), who fell to 10th in the Western Conference play-in race with the loss.
The Kings were 28th in the NBA turnovers (15.3) in their first seven games without Fox. They committed a season-high 24 turnovers against Golden State, allowing the Warriors to amass a 38-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Kings will be back in action when they play host to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.
Stat leaders
Kings center Domantas Sabonis posted his league-leading 50th double-double of the season with 14 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.
Malik Monk, Zach LaVine and Keegan Murray scored 13 points apiece. Markelle Fultz, the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA draft, scored eight points in his Kings debut.
Brandin Podziemski scored 21 points for the Warriors. Steph Curry scored 20. Butler had 17 points and seven assists.
Halftime report
DeRozan scored 15 points in first quarter to help the Kings keep the game close, but it started to get away from them as the turnovers mounted in the second quarter.
The Warriors only led by three at the end of the opening period, but they went up by as many as 20 in the second period and led 68-53 at the halftime break.
Sacramento committed 12 turnovers in the first half, allowing Golden State to amass a 20-0 advantage in points off turnovers. The Warriors shot 50% from the field and 47.8% from 3-point range while the Kings shot 44.2% overall and 31.6% from beyond the arc.
DeRozan scored 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting, but the rest of the team combined to go 12 of 33 (.363) from the field.
Second half
The Kings got within eight after outscoring the Warriors 10-3 to start the second half, but the Warriors responded with an 11-0 run to go up by 20.
The Kings got a momentary spark from Fultz when he checked in with 6:01 to play in the third period. Fultz scored his first two baskets as part of an 8-2 run as the Kings cut the deficit to 14 — and later threw down an emphatic dunk over Hield — but Sacramento trailed 100-83 at the end of the third quarter.
The Warriors led by as many as 29 in the fourth.
Up next
The Kings will entertain the Hornets on Monday before setting out on a four-game road trip.
The Hornets (14-40) have lost four of five going into Saturday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. They beat the Los Angeles Lakers 100-97 on Wednesday before suffering a 129-115 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 9:24 PM.
