Fox, Sabonis lead Kings over turnover plagued Warriors; Green ejected in 4th quarter
SACRAMENTO -- DeAaron Fox scored 24 points and Domantas Sabonis added 24 points and 9 rebounds to lift the Sacramento Kings to 114-106 victory Monday night over the turnover plagued Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference playoffs.
The victory gave the Kings a 2-0 lead in the best of seven series with Game 3 in San Francisco Thursday night. It was also the first time Warriors coach Steve Kerr has faced a 2-0 deficit in the playoffs.
The game pivoted on one key stat -- turnovers. The Warriors had 22 on the night with Steph Curry and Draymond Green each having five. Sacramento scored 25 points off those turnovers.
Meanwhile, Malik Monk scored 18 points and Devion Mitchell added 14 both off the bench for the Kings.
The game got heated in the fourth quarter when Green stomped on Sabonis' chest with 7:03 to play, leading to an ejection for a flagrant foul.
During the review, the fans in Sacramento yelled derogatory chants toward Green, who egged them on by waving his hands, holding a hand to his ear calling for louder cheers and standing on a chair.
Both were given technical fouls with Green being ejected for a fragrant foul 2 with the Kings leading 91-88.
The Warriors then tied up the game at 93-93 on a Gary Payton II jumper with 5:54 remaining. The Kings went on a 17-8 run to run away with it to the delight of the towel-waving crowd.
Fox's 3-pointer made it 107-101 with 2:17 to play and Sacramento was in control from there. Mitchell put it away with another 3 that made it 112-103 with 1:18 left.
Curry led the Warriors with 28 points but made just 3 of 13 from 3-point range. Wiggins added 22.
With the Golden 1 Center crowd rocking, the Kings had rolled to a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter as both Kevon Looney and Green picked up their fourth fouls.
Sacramento was in the bonus with 10:56 to go in the quarter and threatening to put the game away, but the Warriors fought back behind the play of Wiggins.
In just his just his second game back after missing nearly two months, the former All-star scored 13 points in the quarter to head into the fourth quarter trailing 83-75.
As it has been a problem all seasons on the road, turnovers prove to be an issue for the Warriors in the first half. With Green turning the ball four times and Curry adding 3, Golden State had 13 in the first half which the Kings converted them into 16 points.
Defensively, the Warriors had dominated the first quarter, rolling to a 23-17 lead. Sacramento hit on one of 13 from the 3-point line in the quarter.
But the Kings quickly grabbed the momentum at the start of the second quarter. Monk hit on back-to-back the pointers to put Sacramento up 30-27 with 9:54 left in the half.
Monk and Mitchell would score a 20 combined points off the bench in the half as the Kings would roll to a 10-point lead before Golden State went on a 12-2 run to knot the contest at 52-52. Then Curry miscues led to a 6-0 Sacramento run to finish the half with a 56-52 advantage.
Curry had 15 points in the half, Klay Thompson added 9 with Green and Wiggins adding 7. Meanwhile, the Kings got 12 points and 5 rebounds from Sabonis and Fox chipped in 9 points with 4 assists.
