SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry had his best scoring night in more than three weeks, but lost the ball near mid-court to end things as the Warriors (19-23) came up short against their Northern California rivals, losing 134-133 to the Sacramento Kings (25-18) on Thursday at Chase Center.
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Golden State trailed most of the night but whittled Sacramento’s lead to 128-124 behind a pair of three-point plays by Jonathan Kuminga. Curry followed with his sixth 3-pointer of the night, then later went behind his back twice and made a lob pass to Kuminga for a dunk that pulled the Warriors within 132-131.
Another Kuminga dunk put the Warriors ahead before Domantis Sabonis answered with his own dunk for the game-winning points.
Curry finished with 33 points and six rebounds. Kuminga kept his recent scoring surge going with a career-high 31 points.
The loss came on the second night of a back-to-back after the Warriors were off for eight days while dealing with the sudden death of assistant coach Dejan Milojević.
Golden State Warriors
Golden State seemed to be in a better place emotionally before the game against Sacramento but couldn’t sustain the good feelings.
Harrison Barnes, the Warriors' former first-round pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, paced the Kings with a career-best 39 points.
The schedule gets a little more difficult for Golden State in the coming days. The Warriors host the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday and the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday before beginning a five-game road trip at Memphis, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Indiana.
After their latest matchup, the season series between the Warriors and Kings is tied at two games apiece.
Here are the takeaways from Thursday's loss:
CURRY FINDS HIS MARK AGAIN
Curry regained his shooting touch and was back to his usual stellar self on the offensive side. The two-time NBA scoring champ, who shot less than 37 percent over his previous six games, shot 13 of 26 and made six 3s against the Kings.
The Chase Center crowd roared with every mde shot by Curry, providing the Warriors with a huge energy boost all night.
Curry also added another milestone to his Hall of Fame resume when he passed Larry Smith for the second-most defensive rebounds in franchise history. Curry grabbed five defensive boards, giving him 3,734 for his career. Smith previously held the mark with 3,731.
Curry’s legacy already is cemented because of his shooting prowess, but this latest achievement is a prime example of the all-around player that he is.
3-POINT SHOOTOUT
Both teams shot extremely well from 3-point range no matter what defense was thrown at them.
That the Warriors lit it up from deep certainly is no surprise. Led by Curry, Golden State went 19 of 37 on 3-pointers. Dario Šarić had troubles scoring down in the post but was steady beyond the arc, making all four of his 3-point shots.
The problem for the Warriors was that they had a really difficult time trying to contain the Kings. Seven different players made 3-pointers for Sacramento. Barnes had his best game of the season and made seven 3s, one shy of his career high.
BENCH BRINGS IT AGAIN
One of the Warriors’ strengths all season has been the play from their reserves, and that scenario played out again against the Kings.
Led by another big night from Kuminga – his 22nd consecutive game in double figures – Golden State’s bench made an immediate impact during their first rotation and trimmed a double-digit lead by Sacramento down to eight in the first quarter.
In addition to Kuminga, who has been a scoring machine for the better part of the last month, the Warriors also got a significant contribution out of Draymond Green (11 assists, five points) while outscoring the Kings' bench 49-22.
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