5 takeaways from Warriors' Game 7 win over Kings
Facing elimination and an electric Sacramento crowd, Stephen Curry leads Golden State with a Game 7-record 50 points.
The first postseason meeting between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings delivered an epic series that needed seven games to decide which northern California squad would face the southern state-representing Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semifinals.
This Warriors-Kings matchup was billed as the upstart team trying to build on a breakthrough season versus the veteran squad filled with championship experience looking to make another run to the NBA Finals. In the end, it was Golden State’s championship mettle – along with a historic performance from its transcendent star Stephen Curry – that proved to be the difference on Sunday afternoon in Sacramento as the Warriors earned a 120-100 win to clinch the series on the road and extinguish the Kings’ victory beam for the season.
Here are five takeaways from the Warriors’ win in the final game of the opening round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
1. Curry drops Game 7 record 50 points
At this point in his career, there isn’t much that Stephen Curry has not accomplished on a basketball court. On Sunday, he put together a performance that no player had accomplished in NBA history: a 50-point performance in a winner-take-all Game 7, topping the 48-point game from Kevin Durant against Milwaukee in 2021.
CURRY TO THE RECORD BOOKS.
MOST POINTS EVER IN A GAME 7.50 POINTS.
7 TRIPLES.CHEF IN #PLAYOFFMODE pic.twitter.com/6KVKfunK1k
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2023
Curry was simply unstoppable on Sunday, draining seven 3-pointers on 18 shots from deep, but also hitting a variety of shots from the mid-range, in the paint and at the basket as he finished 13-for-20 on 2-pointers.
There were pull-up jumpers, floaters in the lane and George Gervin-esque finger rolls. Curry wasn’t just in his bag — he brought a full set of luggage worth of shots to put up a playoff career-high 50 points with the season on the line. The Kings threw multiple defenders at Curry — De’Aaron Fox, Terence Davis, Davion Mitchell, Keegan Murray, Harrison Barnes, Malik Monk — to try to slow him down, but none could cool him off.
"Hopefully we never find out."
Steph when asked who can stop him #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/qO22dm4KXK
— NBA (@NBA) May 1, 2023
Curry scoring by quarter:
- First: 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-4 3P)
- Second: 10 points (4-9 FG, 2-5 3P)
- Third 14 points (5-12 FG, 1-4 3P)
- Fourth: 16 points (7-11 FG, 2-5 3P)
Curry nearly made as many shots (20 on 52.6% shooting) as the rest of his teammates did combined (23 on 37.1% shooting), as well as the entire Kings’ starting lineup (23 on 39.7% shooting).
“You could tell from the start he wasn’t going to let us lose today, you could tell he was locked in and when he’s locked in like that he’s special,” Kevon Looney said.
“What an incredible all-time performance from Steph dropping 50 in a Game 7,” Klay Thompson said. “It’s the best [when Curry is on fire], especially when you have an off night yourself and the team, no one shot it well but Steph. There’s a reason he’s a two-time MVP and a Finals MVP, the way he pushed us over the top. … It just shows what he’s made of. He has nothing to prove anymore but he continues to take his game to a new level.”
The reactions from the NBA family came pouring in with every Curry bucket in the fourth quarter as he climbed past the likes of next-round opponent LeBron James (45), Sacramento native Kevin Johnson (46), Luka Doncic (46), Dominique Wilkins (46), Sam Jones (47) and former teammate Durant (48).
Stephen Curry cooks up an NBA-record 50 points in Game 7.
2. Third-quarter Warriors strike again
The Kings took a two-point lead into halftime — winning each of the first two quarters by a single point — with Domantas Sabonis leading the way with 16 points and a combined 18 points from Monk and Davis off the bench. But Curry was already at 20 points and four 3-pointers made and Thompson was lurking as there was no way he was going to have another 1-for-10 shooting half.
The Warriors kept it close throughout the first half, ensuring the Kings couldn’t go on an extended run to get the crowd frenzied. Over the first 24 minutes of play, neither team led by more than six points while there were seven lead changes and five ties.
Down by two to open the second half, the Warriors were ready to unleash one of their patented third-quarter explosions. But it wasn’t just a barrage of 3-pointers (the Warriors were 4-for-12 from deep in the period). Instead, it was a barrage of offensive rebounds, extra possessions and a parade to the free throw line.
The Warriors built a double-digit lead over the course of the period, and also sucked the collective life out of the Golden 1 Center. The Sacramento fans were ready to burst and push their team toward a win, but every offensive rebound and subsequent 3-pointer from Curry or foul that led to Warriors free throws elicited groans from the 18,000-plus in attendance.
“Steph got hot, we got a lot of good looks at the rim, we got to the free throw line, we missed a lot of free throws, but we were being physical, getting to the line, and that’s demoralizing for a defense,” said Thompson of the Warriors’ third quarter.
Golden State won the third quarter 35-23 and turned a two-point deficit to start the second half into a 10-point lead to open the fourth quarter. They capped off the period with a four-point play from Thompson as he made his second 3-point shot of the third quarter while drawing a foul from Davis and finishing the and-1. The Kings had a chance to trail by only six after that disastrous quarter, but even on an off-shooting night, Klay delivered a timely shot for Golden State.
3. Looney’s board work delivers again
Throughout the series, the pregame news conference from coaches Mike Brown and Steve Kerr featured plenty of repeated messages. Brown consistently had his four Ps: physicality, pace, poise and possession. For Kerr, it was consistently rebounding, taking care of the ball and winning the possession game.
At the half, the Warriors had done a solid job of limiting turnovers which could have fuel Sacramento’s fast-paced offense. Golden State had just five turnovers which the Kings converted to just four points. The turnover game was pretty much a wash as the Kings had four turnovers for four Warriors’ points at the break.
Kevon Looney on offensive rebounds: 'Not everyone can be out there shooting 3s'
Rebounds were a different story, as the Kings won the boards 28-21 in the opening half, including a 7-2 advantage on the offensive glass. However, the Kings didn’t take advantage of those extra possessions as both teams had six second-chance points at the break.
Then came the third quarter, when Kevon Looney took over the glass. After finishing the half with eight rebounds (one offensive), Looney exploded for 10 (seven offensive) in the third quarter alone. The Kings have not been known for their defense throughout the season, but after stopping the Warriors’ first shots on many possessions, Sacramento often failed to secure the defensive rebound. The Warriors are too good to give second, third and sometimes fourth chances to make a possession.
In the third quarter, the Warriors outrebounded the Kings 30-16, including a massive 13-1 edge on the offensive glass. And unlike the Kings, who did not capitalize on their second chances in the first half, the Warriors scored 11 second-chance points in the third quarter.
Kevon Looney comes up HUGE in the @warriors Game 7 win!
11 PTS
21 REB (10 OREB)
4 ASTLAL/GSW Game 1: Tuesday, 10pm/et, TNT pic.twitter.com/JnXfukV1Mz
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2023
For Looney, it was his third 20-rebound game over the final five games of the series. The Warriors won all three games in which Looney dominated the glass: 20 in Game 3, 22 in Game 5 and 21 in Game 7, with the last two efforts coming on the road.
“I just wanted to get us extra possessions, set the tone with physicality and energy,” Looney said. “Doing all the hard work, the pushing, shoving, getting hit with elbows, when we get an extra possession and I see them make a shot and shift momentum, that’s what is a lot of fun for me.”
4. Kings’ season has disappointing end
This season saw the Kings snap the longest playoff drought in NBA history and return to the postseason for the first time since 2006. The Golden 1 Center hosted its first playoff series in what turned out to be the best series of the opening round as the Kings pushed the defending champs to the full seven games before succumbing to Curry’s masterpiece on Sunday.
The Kings are now 0-4 in Game 7s in the Sacramento era, and while this one will sting, the Kings have plenty to build on as this young team pushes forward and looks to start of streak of playoff appearances.
“We just had a lot of fun this whole year, the city, the fans, the arena, especially at home we had a chance to do something special, but we didn’t get it done, so it stings right now,” Sabonis said after Game 7.
“We have to use this — what everyone’s feeling now — as motivation to come back next year even better.”
"This is a learning experience for us."
De'Aaron Fox looks ahead to a bright future for the Sacramento Kings.#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/iUNcTdIEwf
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2023
When the final buzzer sounded there was an exchange of mutual respect between the teams as they both knew they had been part of a memorable series.
“It’s the first time we’ve faced each other in the history of the game, it was a tough battle, I’ll remember this one for a long time,” Thompson said. “The travel was nice, cool to see another great fanbase just up the freeway, there’s two fanbases fighting for Northern California dominance; it’s nice to be on top this time around.”
5. Warriors have to turn the page quickly
The Warriors will enjoy this win today, but have to shift focus quickly with the conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers tipping off on Tuesday night at Chase Center (10 ET, TNT). With both the sixth-seeded Warriors and the seventh-seeded Lakers advancing out of the first round, the Warriors have home-court advantage in the series.
With the Warriors winning… all 8 seeds are represented in the Conference Semifinals for the first time:
1. Nuggets
2. Celtics
3. 76ers
4. Suns
5. Knicks
6. Warriors
7. Lakers
8. Heat pic.twitter.com/9G3FStr9jM— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 30, 2023
Once again, the Warriors will not have to leave the state of California as they look to take the next step in their championship defense. They’ll trade a 90-minute drive between San Francisco and Sacramento to a 90-minute flight between the Bay Area and the City of Angels.
After taking out a new playoff foe in the Kings in the opening round, the Warriors will face a familiar face in the conference semifinals in LeBron James. The Warriors and James met in four consecutive NBA Finals from 2015-18, with Golden State winning three titles to Cleveland’s one. Like the core four of the Warriors — Curry, Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala — James also entered the 2023 postseason in search of his fifth championship ring. Whose drive for five will stay alive with a trip to the Western Conference finals on the line?
