The Kings and Warriors will square off in the NBA postseason for the second year in a row. Both teams finished the 2023–24 regular season with ninth and tenth-placed records in the Western Conference, after being seeded above the play-in line last year.
While single-elimination basketball games can be chaotic and unpredictable, it’s worth revisiting their four regular season matchups. Funnily enough, three of their four matchups were decided by one point.
“We’re both familiar with each other,” De’Aaron Fox said after Monday’s practice. “There are no surprises.”
The first three were completed by the end of November, while their final battle occurred on January 25th.
Sacramento and Golden State have each played roughly 40 games since then and made notable rotational changes. When watching the regular season games, you’ll notice varying lineups for both sides that make for a complicated evaluation.
Revisiting the four Kings Warriors regular season matchups
Keegan Murray #13 of the Sacramento Kings is guarded by Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warri…
For the second consecutive season, the NBA postseason will feature a Kings-Warriors matchup. Last year, both teams were seeded above the play-in mark but now have the ninth and tenth-placed records in the Western Conference at the conclusion of the 2023-24 regular season.
While single-elimination basketball games can be chaotic and unpredictable, it’s worth revisiting their four regular season matchups. Funnily enough, three of their four matchups were decided by one point.
“We’re both familiar with each other,” De’Aaron Fox said after Monday’s practice. “There are no surprises.
The first three were completed by the end of November, while their final battle occurred on January 25th.
Sacramento and Golden State have each played roughly 40 games since then and made notable rotational changes. When watching the regular season games, you’ll notice varying lineups for both sides that make for a complicated evaluations.
Oct. 27: Kings vs. Warriors – Golden State won 122-114
The only game not decided by one point came in each team’s second regular season showing of 2023-24. Chris Paul was starting, while Brandin Podziemski didn’t see the floor. JaVale McGee was Sacramento’s backup center of choice, and Chris Duarte recorded 26 minutes — it wouldn’t be surprising if neither McGee or Durate saw the floor in Tuesday’s play-in.
Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis, who started the final 11 games of the regular season (winning nine of those eleven), did not play despite being available. There’s apparent variance compared to what’s to be expected.
Fox led Sacramento with 39 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals, shooting 14/28 from the field, 5/9 from three, and 6/7 from the free-throw line. Twenty-two of his total came in the final frame, but it was not enough to secure a victory.
For the Warriors, Stephen Curry recorded a game-high 41 points, four assists, four rebounds, and two steals on 14/19 from the field, 7/10 from three, and 6/6 from the free-throw line. It’s hard to defeat Curry when he shoots 70 percent from three with 16 of his team’s 39 third-quarter points.
Despite attempting 15 more free throws (Kings: 20/29, Warriors: 12/14), the difference in three-point production hurt Sacramento. They made two fewer triples than Golden State on eight additional shots from range. Fox made five of his team’s 12, while Keegan Murray went just 3/11 from deep.
Since making the NBA Finals repeatedly in recent years, Golden State’s weakness has been turnovers, and that remained true this season. They finished with the eighth-most turnovers per game (14.3). In this particular Kings Warriors matchup, they turned the ball over 19 times, leading to 18 Sacramento points.
The issue was Golden State securing 26 points off 14 Kings’ turnovers. Sacramento will have to be more efficient at scoring in the break after opponent mishaps on Tuesday.
