Game 2: What we learned from the Kings’ win appeared first on NBC Sports Bay Area
Sacramento – The NBA regular season, especially on the road, is following the Warriors into the playoffs.
And now two losses away from the season.
Golden State never fully recovered from a disastrous second quarter and lost to the Kings 114-106 on Monday night at the Golden 1 Center in Game 2 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
The Warriors returned to the Chase Center trailing the best-of-seven series two games to none.
Stephen Curry scored 28 points, Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points and Klay Thompson scored 21 points.
The Warriors, once again, couldn’t handle Sacramento’s dirt and speed.
There are three observations from the Game 2 loss.
Draymond loses his composure.
Draymond Green has built an impressive career playing with emotion or playing at a high level. It exceeded the maximum in the fourth quarter.
Hanging in the paint with Kings center Domantas Sabinis, both on the floor, Draymond eventually didn’t curl up and get to his feet, but in the process went right over Sabinis’ exposed body.
With Draymond walking away and Sabinis protesting in pain, the officiating official, Zach Zarba, immediately called foul on Green. A decision was made after supervisors gathered to review the video.
Sandis received a technical foul, presumably for holding Draymond, to initiate the layup. Green, however, was given a Flagrant 2 foul and was automatically ejected with 7:03 remaining.
The Warriors have trailed by four and lost eight.
Draymond, upset by an earlier call, went too far this time. In terms of stakes, the holder must be protected.
The death of old habits
Warriors of recent vintage had a habit of erasing their bad habits with strong defense and excellent shooting. It is getting harder for them to thrive in the middle of the hill.
The Warriors survived nine turnovers in the first quarter to give up 10 points to the Kings as they took a 23-17 lead into the first quarter. Two minutes into the second quarter, however, they were trailing by three. With 6:44 left, it’s down to nine months.
That’s because Golden State committed three more turnovers instead of rallying and couldn’t make up for it defensively or shooting.
The Warriors managed 29 points on 47.4 percent shooting in the second quarter, while the Kings scored 41 points and drove in 54.2 percent shooting.
Coach Steve Kerr played 10 different players in the second quarter, desperate to stop the rain. Nothing works.
No longer can the warriors dance with danger and escape unscathed. The first two games of this series signal that times are changing.
L on the bench
Relying on four players — Jordan Poole, Gary Python II, Jonathan Cumiga and Donte DiVincenzo (after starting Game 1) — the Warriors entered the series confident they had an edge in bench prowess.
After losing in Game 1, Golden State’s bench fell apart in Game 2 thanks to Malik Monk scoring 32 points in 29 minutes and owning the fourth quarter with De’Ron Fox.
Sacramento got 36 points from the guard, who shot 13-of-29, while the Warriors scored 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting.
Poole (four points on 1-of-7 shooting) again lost to sixth man Monk, who tallied 18 points.
DiVincenzo had one of his worst games, shooting 13 over 13 minutes. Kuminga was no better than a forgettable Game 1, as he missed a shot and finished with 10 under four minutes.
Only GP2 and Moses Moody managed to acquit themselves well in desperation.
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