They say a series doesn’t start until the home team loses. According to that adage, this series has yet to begin.
After dropping two games in Sacramento, the Warriors, as they have done all season, won their games at home. It was close, and nearly Chris Webber-at-Michigan level of disastrous, but with a 126-125 win, the Warriors evened the series up at 2-2.
Draymond’s return, off the bench
The controversial one-game suspension for Draymond Green concluded on Sunday. In his stead, the Warriors gave the Kings the business, beating them 114-97 for their first win of the series.
Following that win, and for the first time in almost exactly nine years (April 24, 2014), Green came off the bench in a playoff game.
According to Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic, it was a decision that Green was a part of. It was borne, reportedly, out of discussions with Steve Kerr.
The result was overwhelmingly positive. It kept Jordan Poole in the starting lineup and got him going early.
It was also an on-brand start for Green. He was an agitator from the moment he stepped on the court, getting dual technicals with De’Aaron Fox within the first minute of joining the action.
Green, for his part, was excellent on the defensive end and proactive — maybe too much — on offense. He missed a concerning number of layup opportunities, going a woeful 3-of-14 from the field and 0-of-2 from deep, but he was enormous in the second half and hit all six of his free throw attempts. He had 12 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, a steal and a block.
He had an outrageous number of strips on the defensive end, especially in the second half, and helped force the ball out of De’Aaron Fox’s hands on the final possession with a one-point lead.
That lead came because Curry, who was excellent all game, choked on offense in the final minute. With the Warriors up five points, he pulled a Webber, calling a timeout when the Warriors had none remaining. It resulted in a technical and a Kings’ possession, followed by a free throw and Fox three.
Curry then missed a floater that would’ve put the Warriors up three with 10 seconds left. Despite that, he came through with defensive effort on Fox on the final possession, and the Warriors got out of dodge thanks to a last-second missed three from Harrison Barnes.
Chaotic good from Jordan Poole, and fundamentals
Whenever Jordan Poole starts hauling down the court, it feels like the wheels are going to come off. He’s spinning, almost always falling, and running as fast as he possibly can.
His drives perpetually set up for something disastrous or the greatest play you’ve ever seen.
It’s a knife’s edge of brilliance, and it’s a perilous way to operate. But when it works, it’s hard to stop.
While he’s always chaotic, on Sunday, he was chaotic good. He had 22 points (8-of-15, 2-of-6 from 3-pt, 4-of-5 at the line), 4 assists, a steal.
When he’s at his absolute best, he’s penetrating, drawing in defenders much like Curry, then kicking out to wide open shooters or slashers, or finishing at the rim.
That approach was indicative of the effort from the Warriors as a whole.
They weren’t launching recklessly from deep — they got into the paint and got easy scores for themselves. They had 50 points in the paint, same as the Kings.
That effort also got the Warriors to the line, where they were ruthlessly efficient. For the first time this series, they took more free throws than the Kings, going 22-of-24 at the stripe. Sacramento was 15-of-18.
Accomplishing that without turning the ball over recklessly was a feat, too. The Warriors have turned the ball over more than any other team in the league this season, averaging 16.3 per game, but on Sunday, they had just 12 — outstanding for their standards.
That sort of penetration without turning the ball over is almost always an indicator of great Warriors ball movement. And when that happens, everyone gets involved — and Stephen Curry has more space to operate in.
Five Warriors finished with double-digit points, and Curry and Klay Thompson absolutely relished the spacing.
Curry had 32 points (11-of-22, 5-of-11 from 3-pt, hit all five free throws) with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a block. Thompson had 26 points (9-of-15, 5-of-11 from 3-pt, hit all four free throws) with 2 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.
Offensive rebounding and Keegan Murray
One of the most glaring problems the Warriors have faced against the Kings is offensive rebounding. They have enough trouble dealing with Sacramento’s athleticism and speed. Giving them second chances is not viable.
Steve Kerr has mentioned it either before or after every game this series as a point of emphasis.
In the first half, that’s how the Kings got an edge. Both teams shot lights out, better than 51.7 percent from the field and 45 percent from deep.
But the Kings out-rebounded the Warriors 7-to-1 on the offensive glass. Things were even on the defensive end at 17 apiece, but those second-chance opportunities gave the Kings 58 field goal attempts to the Warriors’ 45, including three more from three.
In the second half, Golden State got a handle on the rebounding.
That, as usual, can be attributed to Kevon Looney. He’s been outstanding in this series, as is increasingly the case. He had 8 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists with a block and a steal.
But the Kings kept close in the second half because Keegan Murray started to heat up.
After averaging 12.2 points per game in the regular season, the fourth overall pick had been held in check this series, tallying totals of 2, 2, and 6 points, respectively.
He finally snapped his skid on Sunday and gave the Warriors serious trouble, especially from deep. His shooting buoyed the Kings to keep them close.
At the start of the third quarter, which Golden State began up by 10, Murray hit a silence-inducing, fading 3-pointer to cut the Kings’ deficit to just three points after a little more than a minute.
He had 23 points (9-of-13, 5-of-7 from 3-pt) and 7 rebounds.
If he remains hot in this series, it could be a major issue for Golden State. His length and athleticism create mismatch problems when he’s shooting that well from outside.
Murray eventually fell out of the fray in the fourth, but a red-hot De’Aaron Fox, along with contributions from Malik Monk (16 points) gave the Warriors trouble. Fox had a ridiculous 38 points, but didn’t get a chance to take a shot on the final possession. Instead it went to Barnes, whose open miss to win the game will haunt him.
