SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors waited until the 35th game of the 2024-25 NBA season to finally square off against their Northern California rivals, just to lay an egg in a 129-99 blowout loss against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday at Chase Center.
At no point in the loss did the Warriors hold a lead in a game where the Kings were without star point guard De’Aaron Fox.
On the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors were their own worst enemy. Led by five turnovers from Draymond Green and four from Steph Curry, every Warriors starter had a turnover. Dennis Schröder was the only Warriors player who didn’t have multiple turnovers.
Curry scored a game-high 26 points in 30 minutes, taking only 12 shots. He made eight baskets, went 4 of 8 from deep and added seven rebounds but no assists.
Steph put his defender in a blender 😮💨
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 6, 2025
pic.twitter.com/qR8Gg8ib6x
Here are three takeaways from an ugly Warriors loss, falling for the first time in 2025.
Golden State Warriors
Turnover Troubles
The first time the Warriors touched the ball, they immediately turned it over. That was the theme for the rest of the first quarter, and much of the rest of the night.
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When the ball is moving, the Warriors always have been, and always will be, very hard to beat. When they’re careless, a struggling Kings team can crush them. Every indication from the start was that a sloppy offensive night was in store.
The Warriors totaled eight turnovers in the first quarter alone, tallying a lowly three assists. The Kings in return scored 11 points off the Warriors’ turnovers, helping them earn a 15-point lead after the first 12 minutes. Once the second quarter began, the ball finally started moving for the home team. But not for long.
Aided by two four-point plays from Curry and a Green 3-pointer, the Warriors cut the deficit down to four points in the second quarter, all for the Kings to go on an 11-0 run, which included back-to-back turnovers by Golden State.
Going into halftime, the Warriors already had given the ball away 13 times for 20 Kings points. Their final turnover total was 22 giveaways for 34 Kings points. The Warriors had the same amount of assists as turnovers.
Defense Takes Night Off
Whether it was in the paint, from 3-point range or in transition, the Kings scored at will on the Warriors. The Warriors allowed 36 points in the first quarter and 39 in the second to trail by 24 points at halftime.
At halftime, Sacramento, as the ball zipped around the court too fast for Golden State’s defense to keep up, was shooting 57.4 percent from the field and 47.7 percent on threes. The Kings in the first two quarters had twice as many assists as the Warriors – 18 to nine. They scored nine fastbreak points, while the Warriors failed to have any. Plus, the Kings had 24 points in the paint to the Warriors’ 16.
This was the third time this season the Warriors have allowed 70 or more points in the first half, and they’ve lost all three games.
Coming out of the half, the Kings scored 30 points in the third quarter to already put them at 105 points on the night, leading the Warriors by 30 points. The Kings ended with shooting splits of 51.7/44.2/90.9, dominating the Warriors in every which way.
Curry’s Night Wasted
After resting the first night of a back-to-back, Curry was sure to have a little extra pep in his step. The wait was worth it when he erupted in the second quarter.
As Keon Ellis followed Curry’s every move, the 36-year-old scored five points in the first quarter. Then in the second, he tripled that number. Curry in the second quarter alone scored 15 points on a perfect 4 of 4 from the field, including making all three of his 3-point attempts and all four of his free throws. Curry in the second quarter completed two four-point plays, marking the second game in his career where he has multiple four-point plays.
Curry now has three four-point plays this season, and 68 for his career.
Steph put his defender in a blender 😮💨
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 6, 2025
pic.twitter.com/qR8Gg8ib6x
The first half also was his seventh time scoring at least 20 points in a half this season. Yet the Warriors were being completely blown out.
Coach Steve Kerr being able to rest Curry the entire fourth quarter usually is a positive. Not this time. Curry’s night was done after three quarters with the game out of reach. The Warriors are now 10-8 when he scores 20 or more points this season.
