The Golden State Warriors kept their hopes of repeating alive as they beat the Sacramento Kings in Game 3 on Thursday night. The Warriors were seemingly unbothered by the absences of Draymond Green (suspension) and Gary Payton II (illness) as they dominated the Kings.
Warriors-Kings Game 3: Golden State Stays Alive
Warriors-Kings: Game 3 Recap
Game 3 started with San Francisco raining boos down on Domantas Sabonis each time he touched the ball. The Warriors took a quick 5-0 lead off of Sacramento turnovers, a running theme in this game. Kerr unexpectedly sat Stephen Curry midway through the quarter while the Warriors had a 17-10 lead to get the star some early rest. The Warriors took a 29-20 lead into the second after making six threes on, astonishingly, 18 attempts in the quarter.
Donte didn't have to do 'em like that 😱😱😱 pic.twitter.com/JW3xbYBJN3
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 21, 2023
The short-handed Warriors continued applying pressure in the second. Kevon Looney showed he took the Kings’ past success on the offensive glass personally. He crashed the glass and created countless second shots. De’Aaron Fox hit two tough stepback threes early in the quarter, which was a bit of fool’s gold. The makes encouraged him to shoot more rather than attack the basket, and he missed three subsequent threes. An aggressive Curry led the Warriors to a 53-41 halftime lead.
Steph buries the triple to end the first half! ☔️
Warriors lead 53-41 at the break. pic.twitter.com/Uv2sbGWok6
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 21, 2023
Both teams started to balance their three-point shooting with more rim attacks in the third quarter. The physicality picked up too, and both teams took advantage with free throws. Curry again took a rest midway through the quarter, which gave him a respite from Davion Mitchell’s physical defense. The Kings’ defense struggled to slow Golden State’s ball movement and cutting, and Moses Moody provided a lift on both ends with scrappy play. Golden State overcame a late run led by Fox to take an 84-72 lead into the fourth.
The fourth quarter was more of the same. The Warriors were able to get great shots on offense, including against the Kings’ flummoxing box-and-one scheme. Golden State took a 20-point lead halfway through the quarter and cruised to a 114-97 victory.
🐐 doing 🐐 things pic.twitter.com/iXTVjZHzNi
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 21, 2023
Warriors-Kings: Game 4 Preview
The Warriors missed Green’s defensive presence, but his absence clarified things for the struggling Golden State offense. Looney was the only non-shooter to take the floor for the Warriors, a stark contrast to their normal starting lineup with Green and Looney. We previously called for the Warriors to start Payton in Looney’s place. Looney showed why that shouldn’t be the case with his rebounding in Game 3, but Kerr needs to stagger Looney and Green more dramatically in Game 4 to keep the offense functioning.
Although Sacramento scored only 97 points, their defense was the bigger issue in Game 3. They forced fewer turnovers and gave up a number of offensive rebounds, limiting their own chances to score. The Kings had their two best defensive performances of the season in Games 1 and 2, and need to repeat those efforts in Chase Center.
Step one is probably starting Mitchell in place of Keegan Murray. Mitchell has proven to be the only King with a shot to hold up against Curry one-on-one, and after the loss Coach of the Year Mike Brown needs to match his minutes Mitchell’s minutes with Curry’s as much as possible. Murray has looked overmatched throughout the series. In 54 total minutes, Murray has nine fouls and is shooting 1-7 from three this series.
Brown might also consider benching Alex Len, who committed four fouls in eight minutes in Game 3 with nearly all resulting in Warrior free throws. Chimezie Metu is a switchy, athletic option who could match up well against Golden State. Sacramento could also go small with Trey Lyles backing up Sabonis.
