Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson sinks Sacramento Kings in final second for 102-101 win
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Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (right) made a basket with less than one second remaining against the Sacramento Kings.
PHOTO: USA TODAY SPORTS
SAN FRANCISCO – Klay Thompson drilled a contested jumper from just beyond the free-throw line with two-tenths of a second remaining, delivering the Golden State Warriors a 102-101 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday in San Francisco.
Said Warriors forward Draymond Green: “It’s huge. Everything was stacked against us.”
He later told ESPN: “Last year we had an awful team as far as chemistry goes. It was hard to come to work. Not fun.
“So this year you see the joy on guys’ faces when they come into the building...
“You’re like, ‘OK, this is a group that likes to be together’.”
Teammate Stephen Curry added: “You understand the vibe of what happened last year... The time we got to spend together as a group was huge.”
Golden State improved to 2-0 in early season National Basketball Association (NBA) games against Sacramento, rematches of last season’s first-round play-off match-up that the Warriors won in seven games.
After Domantas Sabonis banked in a 20-footer to put Sacramento up 101-100 with 14.5 seconds remaining, the Warriors advanced the ball without a time-out but were unable to free Curry, their leading scorer with 21 points.
Instead, the ball went to Thompson and, with nowhere else to turn and time running out, the veteran made his way close enough to get off his game-winning shot.
Left with just two-tenths of a second, the Kings used a time-out to advance the ball to mid-court but failed on an alley-oop inbound pass, settling for a second loss to their rivals in six days.
In winning for the fourth straight time after an opening home loss to the Phoenix Suns, the Warriors were able to overcome a 48-36 rebounding disadvantage and 18 turnovers, three more than the Kings committed.
Curry shot four-for-10 on three-point attempts en route to his team-high point total, but his teammates hit just seven of 21 from long distance.
The Kings, who were playing without guard De’Aaron Fox (right ankle), matched the Warriors’ 33 points from beyond the arc.
Dario Saric added 15 points off the bench for the Warriors, while Thompson and Andrew Wiggins had 14 each, Green had 13 to go with a game-high nine assists, and reserve Jonathan Kuminga finished with 12.
Sabonis paced Sacramento with game-high totals in points (23) and rebounds (11), including three offensive boards.
The Kings retrieved 14 offensive rebounds to help keep them in the game despite shooting just 40.9 per cent.
The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics are the only teams left with perfect records.
Grant Williams matched his career highs of 25 points and seven treys as the Mavs improved to 4-0 for the first time since the 2004-05 season, by notching a 114-105 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls.
Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum collected 30 points, 12 rebounds and four assists to lead the Celtics to a 155-104 victory against the short-handed Indiana Pacers.
The points total was the second-highest ever in Celtics history, behind the 173 scored in a win over Minneapolis in 1959. REUTERS, AFP
