What we learned as Curry, big third quarter fuel Warriors’ win vs. Kings originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO – Kings players, coaches and the entire fanbase have to be sick of Steph Curry. At least a little bit.
In his first follow-up since Curry’s 50-point Game 7 performance to end the Kings’ season in the first round of the NBA playoffs, Steph once again made the baskets in Sacramento his second home. Curry scored 41 points to propel the Warriors to a 122-114 win over the Kings at Golden 1 Center.
Night, night to lighting the beam.
Curry in his last two non-preseason games in the Kings’ home building has scored a combined 91 points.
Chris Paul provided a 10-point, 12-assist performance in the Warriors’ win. His 12 assists are tied for the most ever for a Warriors player’s first road game with the team. He also only has two turnovers in his first two games.
Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox scored a team-high 39 points, including 22 in the fourth quarter.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ first win of the 2023-24 season.
Steph Show
A major silver lining to start the season was the fact the Warriors were a plus-5 against Phoenix when Curry sat. Early on in Sacramento, the non-Steph minutes were a mess. Curry continued to torture Kings fans, scoring 18 first-half points in 17 minutes on 6-of-9 shooting. The Warriors were a plus-13 with him on the floor through the first two quarters.
But they were a minus-10 when he sat in the first half and the Kings went on a 14-0 run with Curry watching from the bench at one point. Surprise, surprise – the Warriors still are a completely different team when No. 30 is on the court.
They also made the proper improvements in the second half when Curry wasn’t on the floor, starting with a third quarter where Curry scored 16 points in eight minutes and the Warriors outscored the Kings 39-27.
Whenever the Warriors needed a bucket and the right spark, they knew who to turn to. Curry took 19 shots on the night and only missed five of them. His 41 points came on 14-of-19 shooting, while going 7 of 10 from 3-point range and a perfect 6 of 6 on…
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