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Warriors-Kings Game 6: De’Aaron Fox Stars as the Kings Force Game 7

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The Sacramento Kings earned a 118-99 blowout victory over the Golden State Warriors in Chase Center. The Kings were dominant, racking up 17 threes on 45 attempts. They overcome 19 turnovers, a black eye, and Domantas Sabonis and Terence Davis fouling out to down the Dubs.

The most entertaining and evenly-matched first-round series is officially going seven games. How was Sacramento able to dominate after losing three straight to the defending champions? Can the Warriors overcome their road woes to advance to the second round?

Warriors-Kings Game 6: De’Aaron Fox Stars as the Kings Force Game 7

First Half Recap

Sacramento came out determined and started the proceedings with an 8-0 run. Stephen Curry answered with a personal 6-0 run, but this wasn’t a high-scoring affair to start. Both teams played with nervous energy. Sabonis looked flustered despite making a three by committing two turnovers in the opening minutes and giving up multiple offensive rebounds to Kevon Looney. In contrast to Game 5, De’Aaron Fox started slowly with four points and three turnovers in the opening frame. The Warriors took a narrow 25-23 lead into the second quarter after a late three from Donte DiVincenzo.

The Kings started the second quarter on a run led by Malik Monk and Trey Lyles. Lyles backed up Sabonis at center instead of Alex Len and made a three early; the threat of his shooting opened up the paint for Sacramento. Monk has been the Kings’ second-best player this series after Fox. He repeatedly drove to the basket for layups and set up open threes for his teammates. Keegan Murray joined the party by drilling two corner threes set up by Fox and Monk.

Sacramento surged to a 49-38 advantage with 4:35 left after a three from Davis, who had played sparingly in the series to that point. Klay Thompson channeled his Game 6 persona to keep the game close, but the Kings carried a 58-51 lead into halftime.

Second Half Recap

A strangely lackadaisical Golden State squad took the floor in the second half. They allowed a (missed) wide-open Murray three in the first 10 seconds and gave up multiple open layups after refusing to hustle back on defense. Kevin Huerter finally made a three at the 7:45 mark after being absolutely frigid in this series. Sabonis picked up his fifth foul with 6:23 left in the third; the Kings were up eight while he was diving for a loose ball. The Warriors couldn’t take advantage, however, thanks to their own turnovers and the Kings’ hot three-point shooting.

Lyles again subbed in for Sabonis, and former Kentucky Wildcat teammates Fox and Monk each set the other up twice for threes. Sacramento earned their 90-80 advantage through three quarters, while Golden State searched for consistent scoring from someone other than Curry and Thompson. 

The Kings’ hot three-point shooting continued unabated in the fourth. Curry scored 10 points in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter and could only add a made free throw. But it made no difference as the Kings shot 5-11 from three and paraded to the free-throw line throughout the quarter. Huerter continued to find a rhythm with two more made threes in the quarter. The Warriors sat their starters with 3:30 left in the quarter. Sacramento capped off a convincing road win to force Game 7.

Warriors-Kings Game 7 Preview

Mike Brown’s adjustment to use Lyles as Sabonis’ backup instead of Len worked wonderfully. The Warriors have struggled to defend drives from Fox and Monk all series, and those two thrived with the extra space created with Lyles standing at the three-point line. The Warriors may need to try more switching in Game 7 to slow those two.

A switching scheme probably means less playing time for Jordan Poole, given his defensive struggles. His offensive performance in this series hasn’t helped his case for more playing time, either. He’s only exceeding 40% shooting from the field once in this series (Game 4) despite starting Golden State’s three wins. His erratic play and wild missed layups in this game fueled the Kings’ transition attack. Moses Moody’s strong play shows he can take some of Poole’s minutes.

Rotations usually shrink deep into a series, but Steve Kerr might consider playing Jonathan Kuminga in Game 7. Kuminga played just three minutes in Game 4 and never left the bench in Game 5. He wasn’t able to match the Kings’ intensity early in the series, but his perimeter defense makes him a good theoretical matchup against either Fox or Monk. His athleticism should boost the Warriors’ transition defense, too, something they struggled with in this game.

The Last Word

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