The Warriors eliminated the Sacramento Kings from playoff contention this Sunday with a final score of 120-100.
The 120 points the Warriors put up remain the most scored in a game seven in NBA history. The Warriors’ scoring effort was led by point guard Stephen Curry, who had arguably one of the best offensive performances in a game seven of all time.
Curry scored a historical 50 points on 52.6% shooting, 21 of those points coming from the three-point line. No other player in the history of the NBA has scored 50 points in a game seven. Prior to this game the most amount of points scored in a game seven was 48. Curry also contributed a series-high eight rebounds, six assists and a steal.
The unsung hero of the Warrior's game seven victory was center Kevon Looney. While Looney didn’t score nearly as much as Curry, Looney still contributed 21 rebounds, giving the Warriors a slight total rebound edge over the Kings.
What separated the Warriors from the Kings in this game was that they played ideal playoff basketball. Their rotation was cut shorter in comparison to the Kings, and the offense ran through their star players at a higher rate.
The Kings had seven different players play 20 minutes or more in comparison to the Warrior's five different players. Furthermore, the Warrior's five players to play over 20 minutes all played at least 30 minutes. On the other hand, the Kings only had three different players play over 30 minutes.
Curry alone attempted 38 field goals; in comparison, De’Arron Fox and Domantas Sabonis combined for 35 field goals. Additionally, the Kings had five different players take over ten shot attempts compared to the Warrior's three different players.
When it comes to Sacramento, they gave it their all this series; however, the loss they received tonight will stay with them for years to come. The Warriors were undoubtedly the most challenging opponent they could have faced in the first round. Still, a loss by 20 points at home in a game seven match is disappointing.
On the topic of disappointing, that sums up the Kings scoring efforts in game seven. Kings star point guard De’Arron Fox had his worst game of the series in the most crucial game. Fox shot an underwhelming 26.3% from the field, accounting for 16 points.
In addition, guards Malik Monk and Kevin Heurter saw similar shooting troubles. Monk shot 28.6% from the field, and Huerter shot 22.2%. Monk took the third most amount of shots this game for the Kings with 14 attempts.
Despite the King's terrible outing scoring the ball tonight, their defensive effort was not much better. Despite Curry having the hot hand all game, Kings backup guard Davion Mithcell only saw eight minutes of play.
Although Mitchell is relatively weak on the offensive side of the ball, he remains one of the best defenders on the Kings’ roster. When you consider Fox’s offensive struggles as well, Mitchell playing in his place likely wouldn’t have affected the Kings scoring output.
In fact, it likely would have improved. The offense would run primarily through Sabonis with Fox off the court. Sabonis shot much better than his peers in game seven, converting 62.5% of his shots.
Despite the King's loss to the Warriors this series, it was the first playoff appearance for the Kings since the 2005-06 NBA season. Before the Kings made the playoffs this season, they had the longest playoff drought in the NBA.
The Warriors will play next on May 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers, led by familiar playoff opponent LeBron James.
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