The Kings Eliminated The Warriors With An Emphatic Play-In Tournament Win

Last season, the Sacramento Kings could not defend their home court in Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs, as the Golden State Warriors walked into Golden 1 Center and picked up a win. Fast forward to Tuesday night and the Kings got their revenge in the 9-10 game of the Play-In Tournament, as Sacramento was able to run Golden State out of their gym and into an offseason of uncertainty with a 118-94 win.

Keegan Murray was the star of the show for the Kings. The Warriors just had no answer for the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, as Murray went for 32 points with nine rebounds, six assists, and two steals. He was particularly hot from deep, as Murray went 8-for-13 from behind the three-point line.

Every other member of the Sacramento starting five managed to hit double-digit scoring. Domantas Sabonis had yet another double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, De’Aaron Fox had 24 points, Harrison Barnes had 17, and former undrafted free agent Keon Ellis had 15.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, the team just had nothing on the offensive end of the floor. The Sacramento defense was hellacious, as Golden State shot 41.3 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three. Steph Curry had 22 points on 8-for-16 shooting, but the story of the night might have been the struggles of Klay Thompson, as the usually reliable wing went scoreless in his final game before he hits unrestricted free agency — Thompson shot 0-for-10 from the field and 0-for-6 from three.

The win means that Sacramento will move on to face the New Orleans Pelicans, which fell to the Los Angeles Lakers earlier in the evening. The winner of the game between the Kings and the Pelicans will earn the 8-seed in the Western Conference and a matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the postseason.