The Christmas Day Games are the most exciting games of the season. The NBA carefully selects teams, and the Kings have been rewarded for their previous good seasons. Usually, it starts in New York with a good Knicks/Nets.
They are followed by a Sixers/Heat and a Mavericks/Nuggets. But the California game between the Kings and Warriors is also highly anticipated, not to mention the classic Celtics/Lakers. Among these teams, none has a negative record, and apart from the Lakers, all are top 5 in their conferences.
Among the teams left out for this evening, we can think of the Bucks, the Thunder, or the Pacers, but we had to make a choice, and the NBA chose well. The Kings are No. 1 in the league with a 24-4 record. The Thunder and Knicks share a 23-6 record.
It's unfair to the Thunder, but everything is decided before the season.
Curry has aged, but he is so strong that it has no impact on his shooting quality. But physically, he squeaks both, ditto for Thompson and Green. And they always have to face Sacramento in a hostile Golden 1 Center.
The game begins with an alley-oop pass from Hector to Fox. Deep down, the two moved on, but the disappointment of the 2023 playoffs against the Warriors did them better than hurt. Podzielski is the rookie selected by the Warriors in 2023 and now has his starting spot, scoring a layup with Green's assist.
De'Aaron dictates the tempo with a driving layup. Thompson tried to get the 3-pointer going but missed two straight; in the meantime, Jones missed a free throw but made the second. The Kings' mission is to avoid getting into a 3-pointer war against the Warriors.
The Warriors don't make their 3-pointers, and the Kings aren't in a hurry. This is not their specialty despite sufficient spacing to do so. But the Kings have one of the best pick-and-roll duos in the league, and that duo is put into action during a Hector layup.
Hector grabbed his second bounce and gave the ball to Fox. Fox accelerates, is still one of the fastest players in the league, and draws a foul but misses his layup. He makes both of his free throws. Klay Thompson finally hit his 3-pointer, and the Kings know the situation is dangerous.
But Jones will activate with a step back on the shoulders and then two free throws. Podzielski made a layup between Jones' two plays, but the Kings had a significant physical advantage. Fox grabbed the rebound and then passed to Barnes, who made an assist for a driving layup from Hector, received an assist from Keegan, and scored a 3-pointer.
Curry for the moment with a cold hand, but nothing prevents him from making an assist for a layup of Green. Hector grabbed an offensive rebound and drew a foul from sophomore Cook. He converted free throws and got another rebound after yet another 3-pointer missed by the Warriors.
He climbed into the opposing camp, ball in hand, and then gave the instructions. Barnes recovers the ball on a handoff dribble and then drives to the basketball. But it was planned because, after a good screen of Hector, Fox finds himself alone in the corner and receives the ball for a 3-pointer.
Hector grabbed another rebound and gave the ball to Fox, who accelerated and ran toward the basket. Fox's threat is so strong that he frees Jones with a long 2s. Curry scored his first point with a free throw, but someone was missing from the Kings' side, and that person just woke up. Keegan Murray scored a 3-pointer.
Nico Mannion has returned from Europe to help the Warriors. He makes a floater to avoid Hector's sprawling arms. Curry warms up little by little. He pulls off a driving layup with the crowd and the free throw that goes with it.
Hector is active in rebounding and goes to the free throw line with a 2/2. After a 3-pointer from Mannion, Hector performs a Mexico Step on Looney's head, who can do nothing. It serves as a deterrent to miss the layups of Mannion and Looney after he grabs the offensive rebound and then secures the defensive rebound. He gave in to Brown, but problems came.
Leading 18-31, the Warriors are in trouble, and Curry is a skilled superhero. With a 3-pointer stepback of which he has the secret, a driving layup with the crowd, and two free throws, he attempted a blitz to reduce the gap between the two teams that made the quarter ended on a score of 26-31.
If we look at the score, we could think that the Warriors are not far away, but it is evident that the Kings bully the Warriors rarely.