SAN FRANCISCO — Facing their Northern California rivals at full strength for the first time this season, the Golden State Warriors had no trouble putting away the Sacramento Kings for their eighth win in their past 11 games.
The Warriors didn’t have Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler or Draymond Green for the teams’ first meeting, allowing Sacramento to earn one of its eight wins when the teams met in November. They didn’t need Curry by the fourth quarter on Friday night.
Curry scored all of his game-high 27 points in the first three periods and added 10 assists for his second double-double of the season, De’Anthony Melton led five other scorers in double figures with 19 and the Warriors (21-18) dismantled the Western Conference’s worst team, 137-103.
Golden State led by four points at halftime but outscored the Kings (8-30) 74-44 the rest of the way.
The Warriors pulled away late the third quarter, widening their lead to double digits for the first time with 37 seconds remaining in the period. Melton and Al Horford converted buckets on back-to-back possessions to close the quarter, allowing Golden State to take a 97-84 advantage into the fourth.
Curry had 18 points and six assists by halftime, but the Warriors possessed only a slim 63-59 advantage. Golden State played a clean first quarter, assisting on 11 of its 13 baskets and turning the ball over only twice, but allowed the Kings to convert 15 second-chance points to keep the game close.
Golden State improved to 1-1 against their Northern California rivals this season after dropping their first meeting, 121-116 in Sacramento. The Warriors were without Curry, Green or Butler in the Nov. 5 loss but were at full strength for the teams’ second meeting on Friday.
Kerr on Kuminga
The Warriors had won seven of their past 10 games entering Friday’s contest, including a 120-113 win over the Milwaukee Bucks the last time they took the court, which Kerr said before tipoff was “really the first time we’ve seen our team as we envisioned it before the season started.”
Kerr has settled on a rotation, using the same starting five for nine of those 10 games. Kerr rolled with the same group against the Kings, meaning Jonathan Kuminga watched from the bench for the 11th game in a row. Kuminga is eligible to be traded beginning Thursday, with Sacramento emerging as the only serious suitor, according to the latest reporting from The Athletic’s Sam Amick.
“Well, I’m disappointed for him that things didn’t continue to go the way they did the first couple of weeks,” Kerr said of Kuminga, who started all of Golden State’s first 12 games but has appeared in only six of 27 since. “At the same time it was going to be tricky to start JK, Jimmy, Draymond at the 2, 3 and 4. Anybody can see that’s a tough combination … based on shooting. We gave that lineup several weeks and eventually the weaknesses of the lineup were exposed, so that’s why we went in a different direction.”
In his 12th season leading the Warriors, Kerr has heard it all when it comes to critiquing his lineup choices. It’s part of the reason why he enjoys conversations with his mother, who “I don’t ever have to worry about calling to ask about Kuminga or substitution patterns, strategy,” Kerr joked.
Kerr can’t even catch a break in his fantasy football league, which he plays in with 11 others.
“We finished our season last week. The website updated all the of rankings. I finished 12th in coaching ranking,” Kerr said, reading from his phone. “The website said, ‘Coach Kerr had plenty of decisions to regret after his lineup choices left him as the worst gameday coach in the league.’ … This is a time for me to take a long look in the mirror. I have to reassess everything.”
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