What we learned as JK, Buddy lift Warriors to preseason win vs. Kings originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO – The last time the Warriors stepped foot on the Golden 1 Center court, their season came to an embarrassing end at the hands of a blowout loss from the Sacramento Kings in the NBA Play-In Tournament six months ago.
Revenge isn’t served in the preseason, but there were plenty of reasons for the Warriors to be happy with their 122-112 win over the Kings.
Buddy Hield, originally drafted No. 6 overall by the Kings in 2016, scored a game-high 22 points. He was a plus-13 in 19 minutes, making eight of his nine shot attempts, as well as going 6 of 7 from three.
Up and down the roster, the Warriors lit it up from long distance and also took care of the ball. The Warriors made 21 more threes than the Kings. They also had 34 assists on 44 made shots, turning the ball over only 13 times.
Kings offseason star acquisition DeMar DeRozan scored 15 points in 15 minutes, making all six of his shots in his debut with his new team.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors improving to 2-0 in the preseason.
New Starting Five
Steve Kerr has said this training camp and the preseason is all about finding the right combinations to determine who fits best together. The first group he went with Saturday in Hawaii was Steph Curry, De’Anthony Melton, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis. In the second game of the preseason, Kerr opted to swap Brandin Podziemski in for Melton and Kevon Looney replaced Jackson-Davis at center.
That starting five didn’t play together once all of last season.
When Kerr turned to his bench the first time four days ago, the Warriors trailed 17-12. The new-look starting five was down 16-13 before Kerr made his first swap Wednesday night, sending in Jackson-Davis for Looney. Curry then tied the game seconds later with a 3-pointer.
Looney began the game by hitting a mid-range jump shot and only took one more shot the rest of the game. Green in 16-plus minutes scored 10 points to go with five assists, two rebounds and two turnovers. Kuminga battled early foul trouble,…
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Author : NBC Sports BayArea
Publish date : 2024-10-10 05:12:26
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