SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors’ Game 4 win over the Sacramento Kings came down to the final second and a few inches.
Former Warrior Harrison Barnes got the last shot on a possession that the Kings started down one point with 10.5 seconds remaining. De’Aaron Fox, who finished with 38 points, found Barnes for a wide-open shot he missed off back iron to preserve the Warriors’ 126-125 nail-biter win on Sunday afternoon at Chase Center. That evens the first-round series 2-2 heading back to Sacramento for Game 5.
The experienced Warriors nearly blew the win with a rookie mistake. Up four points with 42 seconds remaining, Stephen Curry called timeout when no team timeouts remained. That gave the Kings a technical foul free throw and the ball back on their end.
They made it pay with Fox hitting a second-chance 3-pointer to cut the Warriors’ lead to one. Then the series-changing miss.
It ended a chaotic game and, particularly, a back-and-forth fourth-quarter where the Warriors barely held an edge as Curry played the entire frame. Curry finished with 32 points, including 5 3-pointers on 11 attempts.
The Kings trailed by one with just under five minutes remaining when Curry and Klay Thompson hit two 3-pointers sandwiched by a pair of Fox free throws to extend the Warriors’ lead to five points. But Poole turned the ball over on a bad pass and found Davion Mitchell under the basket for an easy layup to cut the Warriors’ lead to three. Then a Looney offensive foul on a screen, challenged unsuccessfully, got the ball back to Sacramento for a miss.
Green blocked a layup attempt on the other end and Wiggins came up with a floater to extend the Warriors lead to five. The Warriors played staunch defense on the other end, forcing the Kings into four misses that helped the Warriors keep their small lead.
The game began with Golden State’s significant adjustment before tip off, opting to start Green off the bench — back from his one-game suspension — for the first time in a playoff game since 2014. Kevon Looney got the start along with Jordan Poole, who started Game 3 in Green’s absence.
Fox challenged the Warriors defense consistently, putting up 21 first-half points. Keegan Murray stepped up from a tepid first three games and put up 15 first-half points and the Kings entered halftime with a four-point lead at the half.
The Warriors had Looney and Green start the second half, where the Warriors tried to find some offensive momentum and regain an advantage on the boards. They had one offensive rebound heading into the half compared to Sacramento’s seven.
Green added three offensive boards in the third quarter and the Warriors found some momentum with second-chance points. Steph Curry scored nine points and Poole eight in a rabid third quarter punctuated by Klay Thompson’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Green defended Fox for most of the third quarter, limiting the Kings’ star to five points in the frame — though Green emerged with four personal fouls before the final quarter.
The Warriors and Kings face off again on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. PT at Golden 1 Center. No team has won a game on the road this series yet.
