Draymond Green This season, the Golden State Warriors had an 11-30 road record. Since they battled to a 123-116 victory in Sacramento, they are now down 0-2 in their first-round series.
Draymond Green, the team’s new sixth man, put on another remarkable playoff performance by scoring 21 points on 8-10 shooting. He contributed seven assists, four steals, and it seemed like every significant defensive play in the last minutes as Golden State hung on despite squandering a 12-point fourth-quarter lead that was all but one point. Green scored 20 points for the first time since the Warriors’ surprise win against the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day of last year.
But to hold off the ravenous Sacramento Kings in their home arena, Golden State required a tremendous effort from a number of guys. Steph Curry went inside and made 10-15 two-pointers while shooting 2-10 from beyond the arc, finishing with 31 points and eight assists. He also gave a late dribbling display, extending the shot clock before converting a dagger and-one in the last seconds.
WARDELL STEPHEN CURRY II 😱 pic.twitter.com/UTCIHlqvH3
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
Kevon Looney had 22 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass, matching a playoff career high. On 16 attempts, Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points and added two thefts, two blocks, including one that he threw so forcefully that it fell to Davis.
Wiggs sent the ball back to San Francisco pic.twitter.com/N2ubBdKvOZ
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
Klay Thompson’s 32 minutes were cut short by foul trouble, but on a night when his shooting was occasionally scorching, he poured in 25 points. Gary Payton II scored eight points, two steals, and four enormous offensive rebounds, while Jordan Poole had 10 points and six assists.
De’Aaron Fox led Sacramento with 25 points and nine assists, despite the fact that his fractured finger appeared to be bothering him late in the fourth quarter. Domantas Sabonis had five mistakes and no assists in the second half but finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Warriors played off of him. And after the break, Malik Monk and Harrison Barnes each had an impact, scoring nearly all of their respective 21 and 13 points.
With little over four minutes left, Sacramento had trimmed the margin to 111-110, but Draymond Green stole the ball on back-to-back Kings possessions. With 1:35 left, a Sabonis dunk trimmed the deficit to three, and Sacramento had a chance to tie when Barnes drew a charge on Looney. Prior to Curry’s Harlem Globetrotters tryout, though, Monk missed a three, Wiggins made a jump shot, and Fox missed a stepback three.
The Warriors had hoped to put their road defence issues behind them, but in the first quarter, they encountered the same issue that has dogged them all season: hot three-point shooting by the opposition. Sacramento made eight three-pointers in a quarter, a club high, and they did so on 12 tries. Fox’s finger was in a splint when he made his first three triples, but THIRTY-TWO PERCENT SHOOTER D instead of Bob Fitzgeraldavion Mitchell said, “TWO OF THREE?” Why doesn’t anyone enrol in a four-year college programme anymore?
Golden State started off with a 61.9% shooting percentage and a steady diet of layups. They restricted Sacramento to 40% two-point shooting, but the Kings were able to gain a 36-33 advantage thanks to a barrage of outside shooting. Curry sat with the team at -7, while he was +4. Of that, +3 was obtained by banking in a 3.
The bank stays open for Steph 🏦 pic.twitter.com/MQgxzyxe0L
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
Just before the first quarter buzzer, a shot over a perplexed Alex Len added an additional +3.
Steph is a cheat code 🎮 pic.twitter.com/Iy4GKwMR6P
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
The offensive activity was more calmer in the second quarter. Midway through the first, Klay Thompson erupted for three straight three-pointers to give the Warriors a 53-50 advantage.
Defense doesn't bother Klay pic.twitter.com/MPHHR4SCAs
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
Klay is a bad, bad man 💦 pic.twitter.com/f7O3XswLLK
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
After the half, Klay nailed a third three-pointer, and despite a Mike Brown timeout, he continued to heat up the game. A Draymond Green and-one made it a 12-0 run. The Kings only scored 20 points as a result of the Warriors’ improved road defence, which also benefited from the Kings’ 0-9 three-point shooting.
Draymond Green went 5-6 with 11 points and four assists off the bench in the first half after being inspired by the Golden 1 Centre crowd’s persistent boos. In contrast to Game 4, Steve Kerr insisted that Draymond Green come off the bench in the second half.
Kevin Huerter scored the first five points of the third quarter as Sacramento served up Red Velvet. Then Fox drove to the basket and was assessed a technical foul for using profanity.
De’Aaron Fox wasn’t too happy about a no call. Gets a technical. Warriors vs Kings pic.twitter.com/YEi2EZp6PC
— Ball Room Service🏀 (@ballroomservice) April 27, 2023
Four minutes into the third quarter, Fox drew Thompson’s fourth foul and scored a and-one in response to the reprimand.
Thompson was replaced by Draymond Green , and the Warriors sandwiched two driving laysups from Poole around a three-pointer by Wiggins to force a timeout.
All gas, no brakes ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/EiNjia9L3i
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
The Black Falcon, who had previously been silent, suddenly took off in the third. Harrison Barnes quickly crossed the goal line three times, including once for a and-one, to ultimately get a point. In total, Barnes committed four fouls—two against Curry and two against Wiggins—and went 7–7 from the charity stripe.
Donte DiVincenzo answered with a jam, maybe recalling Barnes’ participation in the 2014 dunk competition.
Donte cuts to the hoop ✂️ pic.twitter.com/AqVR0cko3d
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
Draymond Green’s offence helped the Warriors end the quarter on a 10-4 surge after Sacramento had rallied to within three points. He made two trips to the line before making a corner three-pointer. Fox fouled him on a loose ball during his final trip to the line, and he just avoided receiving a second technical penalty thanks to referee Tony Brothers’ kindness.
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With the score at 99-90, Malik Monk quickly made a comeback. He drove, found Sabonis for a dunk, and was then fouled by Gary Payton on another attempt. Although Payton’s collision with Monk’s knee was temporarily frightful, it also appears that the Kings occasionally choose to stay on the ground in case they are flagrantly fouled.
Draymond Green Golden state Warriors NBA
Young Glove successfully pressured the referees to make the incorrect mistake, thus the Warriors were awarded possession after GP2 replied with a dunk, a difficult rebound, a tip-in on a miss by Klay Thompson, and a tie-up on Sabonis. This may have gotten GP2 worked up by the whining.
Ball movement leads to a GP2 dunk
📺: NBC Sports Bay Area
📱: https://t.co/xZ06KkSiLu pic.twitter.com/2lfN90Bv7r
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
Young Glove successfully pressured the referees to make the incorrect mistake, thus the Warriors were awarded possession after GP2 replied with a dunk, a difficult rebound, a tip-in on a miss by Klay Thompson, and a tie-up on Sabonis. This may have gotten GP2 worked up by the whining.
This was called a foul … 🧐 pic.twitter.com/Rszn86z7kZ
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
After a five-game fight, the Warriors may now wrap things off at the Chase Centre on Saturday, though they won’t take the Kings lightly. Unfortunately for Draymond Green, the Sixth Man of the Year award has already been given out.