The Sacramento Kings are moving on in the 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament. The Golden State Warriors are going home. The Kings ended the Warriors' season with a 118-94 win on Tuesday night in Sacramento. The Kings advance to face the Pelicans -- who lost to the Lakers earlier in the night -- on Friday night for a chance to win the West's No. 8 seed and get in the playoff bracket.
The Kings led for nearly the entire game, pulling away in the fourth quarter. Keegan Murray was the game's top scorer, finishing with 32 points and hitting eight 3-pointers. De'Aaron Fox added 24 points as the Kings knocked in 18 3-pointers compared to just 10 from the Warriors. Sacramento got some postseason revenge after the Warriors ended their season in a memorable seven-game series in the first round of last year's playoffs.
The Kings advance to face the Pelicans on Friday, and another win will give them a date with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 NBA playoffs. The Kings, however, are 0-5 this season against New Orleans.
The Warriors' season ended quietly. Stephen Curry had a team-high 22 points, but the rest of the Warriors' starters combined for 26 points. That included a scoreless performance from Klay Thompson, who was 0 for 10 from the field.
Golden State, just two years removed from the team's latest NBA championship, enters the offseason with plenty of questions. That includes the future of Thompson, who will be a free agent this summer.
CBS Sports will have more on this game shortly.
The Kings win the 9-10 game and head to New Orleans for a battle for the No. 8 seed and the right to face the Oklahoma City Thunder. For the Warriors, much more dire questions await, with an aging core and an uncertain future for Klay Thompson.
The Kings have pulled away with a 19-point lead, and the Warriors will need a dramatic run to prolong their season. They've been beaten in every facet of the game tonight, and Keon Ellis has done a tremendous job getting in Steph Curry's jersey. They have championship pedigree, but it's not looking great for Golden State right now.
Just like we saw in last year's playoffs, the Warriors have no answer for De'Aaron Fox. The slithery guard has scored 14 points in the third quarter, bringing his total to 24 for the game. Golden State's perimeter defense has struggled to stay in front of quick guards for years, and Fox is as quick as they come. On the other side, the Warriors simply can't generate enough offense with Steph Curry being blanketed by Kings defenders, which has led to the double-digit deficit.
Kerr isn't wasting anymore time. He starts Jonathan Kuminga in the second half in place of rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis, going with the Draymond Green-at-center lineup that did them so well in the second half of the season.
Six quick points from Jonathan Kuminga have brought the Warriors within eight points with three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first half. From the looks of it, Kerr might stick with this lineup of Curry, Thompson, Podziemski, Kuminga and Draymond Green as his go-to unit.
Moody has been impactful since entering in the second quarter, making a 3-pointer, dishing off to Kevon Looney for an assist and then getting fouled on a 3-point attempt. He also earned two free throws on a cut to the basket. Kerr is searching for some energy, and Moody seems to have been at least a temporary answer.
The Kings have generated some wide open looks for Keegan Murray, who started the game red hot scoring 14 points on 4-of-7 3-point shooting in the first quarter. Meanwhile Steve Kerr has been experimenting with different lineup combinations for the Warriors, with Kevon Looney getting an early shot at defending Domantas Sabonis. You can expect Kerr to trim down the rotation as the game goes along and he sees what's working.
Since the 7 through 10 play-in tournament began in 2021 ...
Both teams that entered last year's play-in tournament in 7th place made a deep run in the playoffs:
