The Golden State Warriors, after winning just nine games on the road the entire season, managed to win back-to-back road games when it mattered the most. Taking on the Kings in Sacramento on Friday, the Dubs emerged victorious and sealed a 119-97 win. Coming into Portland today, the Warriors knew a win would mean a guaranteed playoff seed. Stephen Curry and the team showed up with intent.
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Starting the game off strong, the Warriors built a 28-point lead in the first quarter alone. From there, they ballooned the lead to 59 points. In the end, they won the contest 157-101.
It was a collective effort, with Klay Thompson starting things off. Klay scored five triples in the first five minutes to push his tally to 300 for the season. Steve Kerr didn’t have to play his starters for long, and rested them all after just 21-22 minutes.
After the game, the Splash Brothers spoke about their upcoming first-round matchup.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson discuss the Kings
After fighting their way since the All-Star Break for a seeding, the defending champions have finally managed to book themselves a playoff berth. It only took all 82 games in the season to know their final seeding.
After the win tonight, and seeing how Clippers beat the Suns, the Warriors were locked in as the 6th seed and due to face Sacramento in the first round. Talking about the same, Steph said,
“Playing Sacramento, they’re a great team, they’ve had an amazing season. It’s going to take everything to beat them four times, especially starting on the road, but we love the opportunity in front of us!”
He continued and talked about how the Warriors have to level up to win in the Playoffs.
Klay Thompson spoke about the same as well. He said,
“Oh that’s going to be fun. First time in NBA History? That’s going to be really special!”
The History that Klay mentioned is that this is the first time the Warriors and the Kings have made the playoffs in the same season. It will be a fun North-Cal matchup.
Can the Warriors beat the Kings?
The Warriors’ success ends up depending on themselves more than the Kings. For as long as I’ve followed the Warriors, especially this core group, their biggest trouble is limiting their mistakes on the court.
Recently, Klay listed the three things the Warriors need to do if they want to repeat 2022’s success. These basically cover all that the Warriors would need to beat any team in the NBA. Facing the Kings won’t be an easy task, but at the end of the day, the Dubs are the defending champions, and will command the same respect.
