Curry’s Warriors out of NBA playoff contention after Kings defeat

AFP | Sacramento 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Sacramento Kings ended the playoff hopes of Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, routing the 2022 champions 118-94 in the NBA Play-in tournament.

The Warriors had finished 10th in the Western Conference and needed a win against the ninth-ranked Kings to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Instead, the Kings will play the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday for the eighth and final playoff berth in the West.

The last three regular-season games between the Northern California rivals had been decided by one point.

But the Kings dominated this one, with the Warriors never leading after the opening minutes in Sacramento. Keegan Murray led the Kings’ scoring with 32 points. De’Aaron Fox added 24 and Domantas Sabonis had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Sacramento as the Warriors offense struggled.

Curry shook off a slow start that saw him score just five points in the first half to finish with 22.

But Klay Thompson failed to score a point as he missed all 10 of his shots.

The resounding defeat is bound to raise questions about the future of the Warriors’ star trio of Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green, the pillars of the dynasty that won titles in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022.