Villain Draymond Green stomps on Domantas Sabonis but winning is the Kings’ revenge | Opinion

The Sacramento Kings are halfway to eliminating the greatest NBA franchise of the last decade with one of the best collections of players ever assembled.

This 114-106 Kings win Monday over the Golden State Warriors will be remembered forever by those who were in Golden 1 Center and by the nation of Kings fans watching and with unbridled joy.

The noise generated in this asylum of long-suffering Kings followers was enough to hurt your ears and your temples. But it was worth the pain to witness 17 years of frustration vented in every direction, all of it set to the sounds of cowbells and hoarse screams from thousands of throats that are going to hurt Tuesday.

They won’t hurt as much as the Warriors, who battled and showed flashes of the form that has won them four NBA titles. The Dubs had their chances, and maybe they can turn this best-of-seven back in their direction once home in San Francisco on Thursday. But the veteran heroes of seasons past were worn down by Kings upstarts too ambitious and too full of fight to quit.

In the end, younger legs prevailed. The tenor of this fight required ferocity of purpose on every possession. The Warriors had little room for artistry in this octagon in downtown Sacramento. This was a tussle, and it went to the youthful challengers who simply had more gas in their tanks than the Warriors.

Opinion

It was a heavyweight fight until it turned into a wrestling match. It will be remembered for the ejection of Golden State Warriors heavy Draymond Green after he stomped on Kings big man Damontas Sabonis, who looked like a squirrel poised to climb up Green’s leg.

Kings had the weapons

This was an abysmal game if you love 3-point shots, but it was stirring and passionate, and breathless just the same. The Kings gave figurative punches as good as they got, proving again that they are not awed by a four-time champion that changed how NBA basketball is played.

It could have gone the other way.

Every time the Kings seemed poised to put the game away, the Warriors’ epic sharpshooter Klay Thompson would answer back.

But the Warriors simply struggled to contain all the offensive weapons the Kings had. Sabonis, Kevin Huerter, De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Davion Mitchell all scored in double digits

When Fox was struggling, Monk stepped in. The lack of points from rookie Keegan Murray was made up by Monk and Mitchell. Alex Len spelled Sabonis early, giving him a break from Warriors’ big man Kevon Looney.

But by the second half, Sabonis had grown into the game while Looney got in foul trouble. By late in the third quarter, Looney had five fouls and had to sit.

Dimming Warriors’ lights

But more than anything, the Kings dimmed the Warriors’ bright lights by harassing them physically, dogging their every move, and forcing turnover after turnover. They made the Warriors pay physically for every dynamic flourish and spectacular trick they used in years past to dominate one playoff series after another for a decade.

The Warriors made a run near the end of the third as Stephon Curry and Thompson sat on the bench. The Kings kept the Warriors in the game with spotty shot selection. Monk turned the ball over as the clock was counting down in the third, but the Warriors couldn’t capitalize.

By late in the third quarter, the tough Kings led by 13.

Curry tried to break free from Mitchell and he got the foul call – but Mitchell banged him hard and Curry felt it.

Amazingly, Curry missed a free throw. The great Curry bowed his head as the Kings faithful half-cheered and half-jeered the finest pure shooter in NBA history.

If the Kings had possessed their normal three-point accuracy, this game might have been a blowout. But the Kings clanked one 3-point shot after another and were 7 of 32 by late in the third. They finished 9 of 38, but it didn’t matter.

Warriors fans seemed a little louder in this game than Saturday, but not by much. Once again, the Kings’ crowd was electric before, after and especially during the game.

That the Kings were only down by six points at the end of the first quarter, 23-17 was amazing. The Kings missed 12 of 13 3-point shots. Fox hit the Kings’ first 3-point shot with a little more than a minute left in the first.

The Kings went a paltry 8 for 21 from the field or 38.1% of their shots. They turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter alone. Some of it was simply missing open looks, but much of it was down to the physical nature of the game.

Kings-Warriors rugby scrums

Many possessions were rugby scrums. Nothing was being given away. The play was hard-nosed, but not dirty until Green stepped across that line. In the end, the Warriors tough guy being sent off didn’t distract the Kings or lift the Warriors.

It was actually a bit sad to see Green taunting the Sacramento crowd, egging them on. He and Sabonis were mixing it up and then Green stomped him. The Kings got the best revenge by winning.

Meanwhile, the NBA refs did a good job all things considered.

Every time the Kings were called for a foul, the arena fans complained as if an injustice was being perpetrated. But in truth, the refs called the game even in the first half – 14 fouls to Sacramento, 13 to Golden State. By early in the second half, the Warriors had surpassed the Kings in fouls. In the end, the Warriors finished with 26 fouls and the Kings 25.

As he did in the first game, Monk brought the energy and the 3-point shooting to lift the Kings

The Kings , instead of scoring. clogged the passing lanes with a level of intensity they rarely showed in the regular season.

The intensity bothered the Warriors, but they dished it out as well. Looney hounded Sabonis and occasionally got behind him to score. Sabonis took one in the face in a sequence when his attempt at a layup was rejected by a cluster of Warriors.

But unlike Saturday night, Sabonis was making a difference with his defense and he was the Kings top scorer in the first half with 12 points. He and Fox each finished with 24 points.

And now they have their hands on the Warriors’ throats. A team that has been frightening the NBA for a decade was not scary at all in Sacramento. Meanwhile, Kings fans everywhere can dare to dream of more epic nights like this.