Harrison Barnes completed his unexpected comeback to lead the Kings defeat the Golden State Warriors in a thrilling victory to start a seven-game road trip this season.
Barnes scored a career-high 39 points to lead the Kings to a 134-133 victory over the Warriors before a sellout crowd of 18,064 at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Barnes went 14 of 24 from the field and 7 of 12 from 3-point range to eclipse his previous career high of 36 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 20, 2021. Barnes posted his third 30-point game of the season and his second in a row after scoring 32 against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
“I think the biggest thing, honestly, is just getting this road trip started off right,” Barnes said. “We talked about the importance of where we’re at in the season and how we’ve been playing lately, and I think just starting this road trip with a win was important for us.”
Barnes has experienced a drop in his scoring average and field-goal attempts this season with Fox, Sabonis and Keegan Murray carrying more of the load offensively, but he is still shooting 47.6% from the field and 39.9% from 3-point range.
“For the average fan, you look at a game and you say, ‘Oh, this person scored or this person did a lot of things,’ and there’s a lot of sacrifice that goes into it from the other four guys,” Barnes said. “So, the games when you don’t get those shots, maybe you set the screen or ran to the corner and somebody else (scored).
“In a game like tonight, where the average person says, ‘Oh, you scored a lot of points tonight,’ well that’s because Keegan screened. That’s because Kevin ran through. That’s because Domas gave me a good pass. We’re all working in concert, so I think not being attached as much to the credit, but just doing your job and knowing that the way you have a high-powered offense is all five guys are going to have to make a sacrifice at some point in time. Some nights you’ll be able to score baskets, but other nights you may set a lot of screens. You may make a lot of cuts or you may make a lot of passes that don’t show up in the stat sheet.”
De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points, going 9 of 16 from the field, 3 of 7 from 3-point range and 8 of 8 at the free throw line for the Kings (25-18). Domantas Sabonis had 18 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists. Sabonis recorded his 26th consecutive double-double to pass Oscar Robertson for the second-longest single-season streak in franchise history.
Stephen Curry scored 33 points for the Warriors (19-23). Jonathan Kuminga had a career-high 31.
The Kings came out firing in the first period, shooting 62.5% from the field and 53.3% from 3-point range. They went up by 11 points early and led 40-32 going into the second quarter.
Curry kept the Warriors in the game early, scoring 18 first-quarter points. Barnes picked up where he left off against the Hawks on Monday, going 3 of 5 from 3-point range for nine points in his first eight minutes of action.
The Warriors staged an 11-2 run to take a 48-47 lead with 8:48 to play in the first half. The Kings carried a 75-72 lead into the halftime break.
Sacramento went up by nine on a basket by Murray early in the third quarter. Golden State staged a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to one and later tied the game on a free throw by Draymond Green, who recently returned after serving a 12-game suspension.
Barnes hit a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter to give the Kings a 104-101 lead going into the fourth. Barnes made another 3-pointer to put Sacramento up by six with 7:01 remaining. Golden State came back to get within one on a basket by Curry, but Fox buried back-to-back 3s to give the Kings a 128-121 lead.
The Warriors mounted a 12-4 run to take a 133-132 lead on a dunk by Kuminga with 47.1 seconds to play. The Kings reclaimed the lead on a dunk by Sabonis with 22.1 seconds
The Warriors had a chance to win in the final seconds, but Fox and Huerter forced Curry into a turnover. Fox came away with the steal as time expired.
“For us to be able to get that stop at the end of the game, knowing we’re up one and you can’t give up any type of bucket, that was definitely big for us,” Fox said.
Props for Fox
Days after being named to the player pool for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team, Fox played in front of USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill, who was part of the TNT broadcast, and Team USA coach Steve Kerr.
Kerr had high praise for Fox before the game, one of 41 players under consideration for the Olympic team.
“He belongs on that list for sure,” Kerr said. “He’s one of the best players in the league. He’s really developed, especially in the last couple of years. He was always a guy who was tough to handle and he was going to put up big numbers, but the way he’s played the last couple years with this team, this iteration of the Kings, it’s such a well-balanced roster, and the connection he has with Sabonis, it just feels like he’s become a true winning player. I mean that as a huge compliment because I think there’s a big difference between being a high-scoring player and a winning player. I just think he’s a big-time winning player now.”
Remembering Dejan Milojevic
The Kings visited Golden State 24 hours after the Warriors paid tribute to assistant coach Dejan Milojevic during an emotional pregame ceremony. Milojevic, a beloved Serbian player and coach, died Jan. 17 after suffering a heart attack during a team dinner at a Salt Lake City restaurant. He was 46 years old.
Kings coach Mike Brown, who spent six years as an assistant with the Warriors, worked with Milojevic for a year before he was named head coach in Sacramento. During his pregame news conference, Brown wore a black T-shirt with “BRATE,” the Serbian word for brother, across the front.
“I can’t imagine what (the Warriors) are going through,” Brown said. “I feel for them because I know they’re going through a lot. You kind of want to be there with them, but in the same breath they spent the last year and a half with him and I wasn’t here, so you grieve and you feel for them from afar, especially for his family.”
All-Star starters announced
Starters for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game were announced Thursday as selected by fans, players and media.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic will start for the Western Conference. Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid will start for the Eastern Conference.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, will make his record 20th All-Star appearance.
Fox and Sabonis were not chosen as starters, but both have a chance of being selected as reserves.
Up next
The Kings will continue their long road trip when they visit the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday at American Airlines Center.
The Mavericks (24-20) have lost three in a row to the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns as they prepare to face visit the Hawks on Friday. They will be facing the Kings on the second night of a tough road-home back-to-back after flying back from Atlanta late Friday night.
Doncic is averaging 33.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 9.3 assists. Kyrie Irving averages 25.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists. Tim Hardaway Jr. (18.1 ppg) and Derrick Jones (10.3 ppg) are also scoring in double figures.
This will be the second of four meetings between Sacramento and Dallas this season. The Kings handed the Mavericks a 129-113 loss on Nov. 19 in Dallas. They will face each other two more times March 26 and March 29 in Sacramento.
