There haven't been too many memorable preseason games in Kings history. Or NBA history, for that matter.
But Wednesday night's thriller -- the Kings' 116-115 loss to the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center -- was full of late-game dramatics and teased what is ahead this season in a budding Northern California NBA rivalry.
De'Aaron Fox scored 25 points, but he was outdueled at the end by Steph Curry's go-ahead 3-pointer with six seconds left. Fox's 35-foot heave at the buzzer narrowly rimmed out.
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That rare preseason excitement provided the opportunity for ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins to bring up a point he made on "NBA Today" earlier this month: Kings-Warriors games are the NBA's most exciting matchup.
"We’re talking about preseason," Perkins said. "That was a playoff-type atmosphere in preseason. Imagine how these regular-season games are going to go when Sacramento and Golden State, De’Aaron Fox and Steph Curry match up. [Domantas] Sabonis and Draymond [Green] -- we know they’ve got beef. I’m just saying. I ain’t just talking. I’m speaking the gospel sometimes."
The growing rivalry between Sacramento and Golden State sprouted last season as the Kings emerged as Western Conference contenders. The Warriors, however, won three of four regular-season matchups and erased a two-games-to-none series deficit in their first-round playoff series and sent the Kings packing in Game 7.
This season, the Kings and Warriors will meet the normal four times: Oct. 27 and Nov. 28 at Golden 1 Center and Nov. 1 and Jan. 25 at Chase Center.
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"I told [Warriors coach] Steve [Kerr] before the game, 'We played y'all 11 times last year, we've got y'all twice in the preseason, play them the second game of the year and the fifth game of the year?' We're sick of seeing them," Fox joked after the game.
"It's a battle. We have respect for them. ... Going in, night in and night out, we expect to be in a fight."