SACRAMENTO -- Playoff basketball gloriously returned to Sacramento on Saturday night, as the Kings snatched Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
A roaring sellout crowd of 18,253 fans at Golden 1 Center witnessed the Kings battle back from two 10-point second-half deficits and win 126-123.
Two days later, the Pacific Division rivals will run it back in Game 2.
As it goes in the NBA playoffs, Game 1 does not decide a series. Game 2 often looks much different than the first matchup.
With that in mind, here are three keys for the Kings to win Monday night and shift the series to San Francisco with a two-games-to-none lead:
Sabonis strikes back
All-Star center Domantas Sabonis is the heartbeat of the Kings' offense when it's at its best.
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He brings the basketball up the floor from coast to coast and conducts off-ball movement for his teammates with dribble handoffs, screens and his world-class vision for passing. But in Game 1, Sabonis' elite offensive abilities were scarcely found.
Sabonis logged a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds but wasn’t his typical efficient self, going 5 for 17 from the field.
Warriors center Kevon Looney, tasked with being the primary Sabonis stopper, impressed by challenging Sabonis with physicality near the rim. He and the Warriors also did enough to disrupt Sabonis' dribble-handoffs at the top of the key.
“He’s a great player,” Sabonis said of Looney at Kings shootaround Monday. “They did a great job of taking some things away from the offense, getting me out of my spots. We just need to do a better job of being more physical tonight.”
Sabonis has no issues dominating the glass against the Warriors. He averaged 21.3 points and 16.7 rebounds in three regular-season matchups, and grabbed 16 boards in Game 1, including five on the offensive glass.
But for the Kings to win Game 2, Sabonis needs to get back to his smooth offensive game down low.
Make it rain
The Kings’ best 3-point threats during the regular season, rookie Keegan Murray and sharpshooter Kevin Huerter, were a combined 0 for 8 from beyond the arc in Game 1.
That can’t continue into Game 2.
In fact, the entire starting five of De’Aaron Fox, Huerter, Murray, Harrison Barnes and Sabonis missed their first combined 15 attempts from 3-point range. Fox finally shattered the ice on the rim with a 3-pointer in the final minute of the third quarter.
Murray and Huerter never saw one go in. That likely was a big factor in those two playing a combined four minutes in the fourth quarter. Murray never left the bench.
"There have been times this year where I've gone through slumps," Murray said Monday at Kings shootaround. "I know that I'm confident in myself and my abilities, and my team is too, so I'm not going to shy away from any moment."
Sacramento leaned on Trey Lyles’ outside shooting Saturday night, as he nailed 4 of 6 attempts to keep the Kings within striking distance over the first three quarters. That was enough to win Game 1.
But in Game 2, the Kings will need at least one of their two best outside shooters to get things rolling.
Create chaos
The Warriors’ biggest weakness all season was reckless turnovers.
Golden State finished dead last in the league by coughing up the basketball 16.3 times per game and was even worse on the road (16.8 per game).
The Warriors were right around their season average with 15 turnovers in Game 1, but they committed just one in the fourth quarter. The Kings turned those 15 turnovers into 16 points. That’s not bad, but they can do better.
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The magic number for Golden State turnovers might be 18. The Warriors committed at least 18 turnovers in 13 road games this season -- nearly one-third of their road contests -- and were 2-11 in those matchups. One of those losses was the Kings’ 122-115 victory on Nov. 13, the win that propelled Sacramento back to a .500 record for good. Sacramento scored 26 points off the Warriors’ 16 turnovers that night.
If the Warriors are careless with the basketball in Game 2, the Kings need to pounce.