Kings beat Warriors to advance in NBA play-in game and face Pelicans next originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
The Kings’ season is still alive and well.
Sacramento got its postseason retribution over the Warriors on Tuesday night at Golden 1 Center, earning a 118-94 victory over Golden State in a game-winner or go-home game to advance in the NBA Play-In Tournament .
Kings forward Keegan Murray capped off the big win with a game-high 32 points, while guard De’Aaron Fox scored 24 and big man Domantas Sabonis posted a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.
For the Warriors, veteran guard Klay Thompson struggled on the field and shot just 0 of 10 overall in what could be his last game in a Golden State uniform. Sacramento also held two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry to just 22 points that night — just a year after the Golden State star helped eliminate the Kings with a 50-point performance in Game 7 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs. last season.
Now that the Kings have returned the favor by defeating the Warriors and sending them home this season, Sacramento must look to their next play-in opponent: the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Los Angeles Lakers, number 8 in the Western Conference, defeated the Pelicans, number 7, by one score from 110-106 at the Smoothie King Center in a thriller that came to an end on Tuesday, meaning the Kings, as winners of the 9-10 game with the Warriors, will face the Pelicans in the next round of the tournament on Friday in New Orleans.
However, it’s not necessarily good news for the Kings.
Sacramento went 0-5 against New Orleans during the 2023-24 NBA regular season, most recently struggling a 135-123 defeat at the hands of the Pelicans last Thursday at the Golden 1 Center.
Williamson scored a game-high 40 points in the Pelicans’ defeat, while Lakers stars LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell combined for 44 points. With the win, Los Angeles advances to the 2024 NBA Playoffs as the No. 7 seed and will face the No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets in the opening round.
Now, with their path set, the Kings look to defeat the Pelicans in New Orleans and advance to the playoffs, where the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder are waiting.
