The Warriors suffered their first 0-2 series loss under Stephen Curry when they fell to the Kings 114-106 on Monday night. The Warriors hadn’t dropped consecutive postseason games since the 2019 NBA Finals before Monday’s defeat.
Turnover trouble
Similar to Game 1 of the series, the Warriors struggled with turnovers in the early going. Within the opening four minutes of the game, the Warriors committed five turnovers, which allowed the Kings to score their first eight points. The Kings took an 8-7 lead after back-to-back dunks by Harrison Barnes and De’Aaron Fox off of errors by the Splash Brothers. But after Draymond Green attacked the rim for a layup and sank a 3-pointer from the right corner, the Dubs went on a 9-0 run. In the first quarter, the Warriors (9) and Kings (9) combined for more turnovers (18) than field goals (17), but the Dubs closed the period leading by six points by making the Kings miss their first 11 three-point attempts. Comparing their three made triples
No Curry No Baskets
Early in the second quarter, the Kings lifted the lid off the basket, making three of their first four 3-point attempts. For the Kings, Malik Monk hit all three of his three-point attempts, and his back-to-back threes compelled Steve Kerr to take a quick break. Three minutes into Kerr’s rest time, the Kings went on a 16-4 run, forcing Kerr to reintroduce Stephen Curry into the game. The Kings had scored 19 points by over five minutes into the second quarter, surpassing their total from the first quarter (17 points).
With Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, and Gary Payton II in the frontcourt later in the second, the Warriors went small, which helped them retake the lead in the contest. They started a 14-4 run right away.
Foul trouble
The Warriors went over the foul cap less than two minutes into the third quarter, putting the Kings in the bonus for the remainder of the period. Steve Kerr was forced to go deep into his bench after Draymond Green committed his fourth foul and Kevon Looney committed his fifth. Despite their foul issues, the Dubs came back, finishing the quarter on an 8-2 run to stay in the game.
Draymond Green ejection
Domantas Sabonis grabbed Draymond Green’s leg in the fourth quarter as he attempted to move down the court after making the defensive stop. Green stomped on Sabonis’ chest in retaliation and was later disqualified from the game after being assessed a flagrant foul penalty two.