ORACLE ARENA — Golden State’s NorCal rival Sacramento Kings showed up with nothing. Nada. Zip.
The Kings could have just as easily not showed up at all in the massacre that ended with the Warriors winning 102-69.
Missing bigs Andrew Bogut (pelvic contusion) and David Lee (right hamstring), Golden State managed to stay in control down low, outscoring the Kings 54-28 in the paint and out rebounding the Kings 58-44.
Warriors coach Mark Jackson told SFBay the contributions of Marreese Speights (12 points 10 rebounds), Draymond Green (10 points) and Jermaine O’Neal (13 points) have been paramount with the starting front court on the bench:
“Those guys attack and they do a great job of setting screens, diving to the hoop, playing with one another and that why you see the points in the paint.”
The Warriors were getting everything they wanted, at every spot, at any time.
At the end of the first quarter, Golden State secured an 11-point lead while the Kings shot just 3-of-16 from the field. Sacramento failed to break the 30-point mark heading into halftime as the Warriors extended their lead to 59-27.
The Kings showed just the smallest breath of life in the third quarter on a 9-0 run, but by that point the Warriors had already stretched their lead to 42 points, so the small run didn’t faze the Dubs.
Kings center Demarcus Cousins finished the night with 19 points but found himself in early foul-trouble allowing the Warriors to take control. Cousins said Sacramento wasn’t able to recover because the team never settled into an offense:
“I think guys were so stuck on trying to make a play instead of just running the offense. That resulted in a lot of turnovers. We tried to force a lot.”
Starters Stephen Curry (13 points), Andre Iguodala (4 points), Klay Thompson (21 points) and O’Neal sat during the fourth quarter as the Warriors reserves closed out the game.
Even Harrison Barnes, 16 points, whose struggles this season have been a hot topic, found his rhythm in the blowout victory with his first 15-point or more game since Feb. 8.
Jackson said he has confidence in Barnes and that, going forward, the team is going to need everything Barnes can give:
“We need him…He’s a great guy that works his tail off and he cares. I know he’s going to win games for us down the road. It’s great to see him making shots.”
For Sacramento, long out of playoff contention, the stats were worse than terrible, shooting just 32.1 percent on the night and turning the ball over 16 times for 18 Warrior points.
The Warriors, now 47-29 overall and 6th in the West, are back at home to face the Utah Jazz Sunday.
The Warriors finished the Pacific Division home slate with a perfect 8-0 mark, the first time in franchise history they’ve gone perfect at home against the Pacific. … The Warriors led by as many as 42 points en route to a 33-point win, their second-largest win ever against the Kings franchise next to only a 62-point win on Nov. 2, 1991. … The Warriors matched their win total from last season with their 47th win tonight. … Marreese Speights tallied his first double-double as a Warrior with 12 points and a season-high 10 rebounds, the first double-double by a Warriors reserve this season.
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Last modified April 5, 2014 5:15 pm
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