SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors handed the Sacramento Kings their seventh consecutive defeat with a 137-103 win in front of a sold out crowd at Chase Center on Jan. 9.
The Warriors were led by guard Stephen Curry who recorded a double-double with 27 points and 10 assists on the evening. De’Anthony Melton had 19 points off the bench, a game-high for all reserves. Draymond Green had 11 points, including 3-of-4 from three, and eight assists.
The Kings were right there with the Warriors after Dennis Schroder tied the game at 84 with 3:13 left in the third quarter. After that it was another collapse by Sacramento, mostly with Curry on the bench.
‘The end of the third quarter was the key to the game,’ Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. ‘They played well and hung with us. We never really got much going defensively in the first 32 minutes of the game or so. Good stretch at the end of the third to go up I think 14 going into the fourth to get some separation and obviously a great fourth as well.’
Kerr added: ‘Really good close to a game that we weren’t really handling very well through most of the first three quarters.’
Kerr said the early game lull wasn’t a concern but rather ‘to be expected.’
‘Sometimes, some of these games this time of year turn into a little bit of a pickup game for a while and loose. I think understanding how difficult it is to get through the 82 (games) and how hard these guys play night in and night out,’ Kerr said. ‘It’s just going to be nights when you don’t have that defensive edge. As a coach you pick your spots when to get on them a little bit and when to leave them alone. Tonight was a leave it alone night and trust that they’re going to find their way and they did.’
Kings crumble in the third quarter … again
Kings head coach Doug Christie addressed the third quarter collapse with the team in the locker room immediately after the game before speaking to reporters, he said.
‘It’s unacceptable. It can’t happen,’ Christie told reporters after the game. ‘It’s been a theme. Good enough to win, but also good enough to hang in there and get beat. So there’s a nastiness and a fire, it has to make you mad for you to break through.’
The Kings were led by DeMar DeRozan with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Zach LaVine and Schroder each scored 15 while Russell Westbrook added 13 points and seven assists.
‘The competitiveness has been there, but there’s a two-minute, three-minute span where it’s not there. In our game, that’s enough to do it,’ Christie said. ‘That’s why a 20-point lead in our game really isn’t that much anymore. It just takes a couple minutes, make some threes, get a couple stops, momentum changes and that’s what happened.’
What happened to the Warriors-Kings ‘rivalry’?
There was once thought to be a budding rivalry between these two teams, following a seven-game series won by the Warriors during the 2023 NBA Playoffs. The Kings got revenge the following year knocking out Golden State in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The Warriors (21-18) look to turn the page during their eight-game home stretch, where they’ve defeated the Milwaukee Bucks and now the Kings with six games left in the stand.
Despite being on the end of their dynasty run Golden State is out to prove that they have something left in the tank.
The Warriors are now 14-6 in their previous 20 regular-season meetings with Sacramento. The Kings won their first meeting with Golden State, 121-116, on Nov. 5, 2025.
Since they moved to Sacramento in 1985, the Kings’ all-time record against the Warriors is 77-91.
Curry shared his thoughts on whether a rivalry with the Kings exists.
‘Geographically, yes,’ Curry told USA TODAY Sports with a smile on his face. ‘That’s about it.’
