Kings rookie Keegan Murray is taking everything, even the losses, as a learning moment.
Playing a career-high 38 minutes in the Kings' 130-125 loss to the Warriors at Chase Center on Sunday night, the 22-year-old explained what he took away from facing the defending champions.
"I think it helps me a lot in the long run just because I came off an illness and I'm able to play these minutes right now," Murray told reporters postgame. "So I think playing against them, playing 38 minutes, will just help me mentally, physically get better."
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Playing in only his second career NBA game -- after missing the Kings' season opener with COVID-19 -- Murray's 38 minutes was the most played from either team.
Murray made his debut against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night and when asked how he felt after playing his first back-to-back, Murray said it was a "good challenge."
"I mean, I felt good throughout the 38 minutes, conditioning is something I take to heart and so if I'm on the floor, I feel like good things will happen," Murray said.
Although Murray played the most minutes of all the players, the Kings (0-3) got off to a rough start.
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It appeared as if Golden State (2-1) scored at will, putting up 89 points in the first 24 minutes, shooting 67.4 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from 3-point land in the first half.
"The thing that disappointed me the most that first half defensively is the amount of times we scored and then they scored in transition," Kings coach Mike Brown said. "That was really bothersome to me.
"And it happened time after time after time and our pace getting back was the same. We didn't change it until halftime."
Of note, the Warriors' 89 points were the most points allowed in a half in Kings franchise history.
Although the third quarter was similar to the first two quarters, the fourth is where things got interesting.
Despite trailing by as much as 26, Murray and the Kings continued to fight back. Down 19 to start the fourth quarter, Sacramento went on a 20-1 run in the fourth, forcing Warriors coach Steve Kerr to insert his starters.
After a few missed layups from the Warriors, the Kings cut Golden State's lead to four, 126-122, with just about a minute left.
However, it appeared that the Kings ran out of energy as shots were falling short, a sign of fatigue. In the end, the Warriors were able to weather the Kings' 23-3 run to walk away with the five-point win.
De'Aaron Fox continued his hot start to the season, tallying 26 points, dishing out 10 assists and grabbing five rebounds in 36 minutes. Meanwhile, Murray had 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting to go along with four rebounds and a steal.
Curry led all scorers with 33 points on 50 percent shooting (11-of-22) from the field, hitting 7-of-12 3-point attempts while also snagging five rebounds and two assists.
When asked what changed between the two halves of basketball, Murray said that the Kings made it more of a half-court game.
"In the first half, they got out in transition, hit a lot of open 3s, a lot of momentum shots," Murray said. "So that's 90 points in the first half right there."
With his first game against the defending champions in the book, Murray says that in order to compete at a high level, the Kings have to "put a whole game together."
"If we want to be a really good team in this league, you have to be able to put four quarters together and execute," Murray concluded.
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Murray and the Kings will hope to get their defense back in order for four quarters Thursday when they take on Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies at Golden 1 Center at 7 p.m. PT.