SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors almost blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter Sunday night but narrowly held on for a 130-125 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Golden State missed 12 consecutive field goals and scored only eight points in the final seven minutes of the game, giving the Kings an opportunity to come within four points.
The Kings trailed by as many as 26 points late in the third quarter before coming back down the stretch. Coach Steve Kerr had to re-insert some of his starters after the Kings trimmed the Warriors’ advantage down to single digits in the last three minutes.
Stephen Curry, who went to the bench before the fourth quarter thinking he was done for the night, missed a layup with just over a minute remaining. Chimezie Metu responded on the other end with a dunk to make it 126-122.
Ultimately, the Warriors managed to stay on top for their second win of the season.
“It was closer than it should have been but I give Sacramento a lot of credit,” Kerr said after the game. “We let our guard down and they took advantage of it, but we got the win and I’m pleased with that.”
Sunday looked like a scoring clinic at Chase Center, with both teams having their ways offensively.
Andrew Wiggins was hot out of the gates, scoring 13 of his 24 points in his first nine minutes on the floor.
The Kings remained within striking distance of the Warriors most of the first half. With about seven minutes remaining in the second, Keegan Murray, the No. 4 overall pick of this year’s draft, drained a 3-pointer to pull within one point of the Warriors. That was the closest Sacramento would get to Golden State for the rest of the night.
Things started snowballing for the Kings from there.
The Warriors outscored Mike Brown’s squad 31-14 over the last seven minutes of the quarter, with Stephen Curry leading the way by scoring 19 of those points.
Sure, the Warriors gave up 70 first-half points for the second consecutive game. But Sacramento still trailed Golden State by 18 points heading into the break. The Warriors’ 89 first-half points were the third most scored in a half in franchise history.
After exploding in the second quarter for 50 points, Golden State scored only 41 in the entire second half.
“In the first half, I thought we played really well… we had great flow and the ball was moving,” Kerr said. “In the second half was a totally different story. We played very poorly and let our guard down but we’ll learn from that.”
Curry finished with a game-high 33 points and sank seven 3-pointers. Three other Warriors players finished with double-digit scoring, including Jordan Poole who scored more points Sunday night than he did in the first two games combined.
Poole, who signed a four-year, $123 million extension before the season, finished with 24 points and four assists.
Backup guard Donte DiVincenzo injured his hamstring contesting a shot in the third quarter and won’t travel to Phoenix on Monday, Kerr said.
The Warriors (2-1) are scheduled to hit the road for their first away game of the season. They’ll travel to Phoenix and play the Suns Tuesday before returning to Chase Center Thursday to host the Miami Heat.
