SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Stephen Curry picked up where he left off in last season’s playoffs against Sacramento, scoring 41 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 122-114 win over the Kings on Friday night.
“Steph loves every building and every rim,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s Steph. I don’t know what else to say.”
This was the first game at Golden 1 Center since Curry eliminated the Kings with a 50-point masterpiece in Game 7 of their first-round series last season.
That series sparked a Northern California rivalry between franchises that had never before had success in the same season.
“It feels like they’ve arrived,” Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. “For a lot of my career they were in a rebuilding phase. Now they have an identity and we respect them and they’re very good team. They have a ton of talented players. It’s a team you can’t sleep on obviously.”
A sellout crowd in the home opener was energized all night but left disappointed after the Kings once again had no answer for Curry, who put the game away with a back-breaking 3-pointer in the final minute.
PHOTOS: Curry scores 41 points to lead the Warriors past the Kings 122-114 in a playoff rematch
Curry scored 16 points in the third quarter to take control of the game. He even converted his 51st career four-point play, punctuated by a little dance to give Golden State an 11-point lead midway through the period.
“I’ve seen it before,” said Warriors newcomer Chris Paul, who has played against Curry for years. “Had a few dams and all that. We’re all on the same side now. It’s really dope.”
The Warriors built on that lead after Curry went to the bench late in the third with a 10-0 run capped by Jonathan Kuminga’s put-back jam that made it 94-77.
Sacramento mounted a late rally by taking advantage of sloppy play by the Warriors. The Kings scored 10 straight points to cut a 15-point deficit down to five with 1:15 remaining. But Curry then made his 3-pointer with 43 seconds remaining to seal the game.
“Once the shot starts going in, you just try to make it tough for him, get the ball out of his hand,” Kings guard De’Aaron Fox said. “Something. But it’s a difficult thing to do.”
Thompson added 18 points and Paul had 10 points, 12 assists and two turnovers in his second game with the Warriors. Paul has 21 assists and only three turnovers this season.
Fox scored 39 points to lead the Kings. Domantas Sabonis added 19 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists.
Sacramento had taken advantage of a long rest by Curry to go on a 14-0 run spanning the first and second quarters to take an 11-point lead. Golden State rallied after Curry returned to the game and led 60-57 at the half.
“We made a lot of mental mistakes that we can’t do against a great team like this,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “Every time we made a mistake they made us pay. Hopefully this is a good learning experience for us to go through.”
UP NEXT
Warriors: Visit Houston on Sunday.
Kings: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
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