What we learned as DeRozan gets no help in Kings’ loss to Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO — Most of the Kings looked like they still were on the NBA All-Star break during their rough 132-106 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday night at Golden 1 Center.
Both teams returned to action following a seven-day hiatus courtesy of the league’s annual showcase — but only one showed up. Outside of DeMar DeRozan, the rest of the Kings were nowhere to be found.
DeRozan finished with a game-high 34 points, but he received no help from his teammates on the offensive end of the floor. Turnovers didn’t make matters any better for Sacramento, which committed 21 turnovers in the ugly loss.
It was the third Warriors-Kings matchup of the season, but the first since each team’s roster makeover after the dramatic Feb. 6 trade deadline. Newly acquired Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III finished with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, with three rebounds and seven assists in 32 minutes.
Point guard Markelle Fultz made his Kings debut, finishing with a Sacramento bench-high eight points on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting with one monster slam in eight minutes off the bench.
Zach LaVine added 13 points in 34 minutes. Jonas Valančiūnas had six points in nine minutes. Jake LaRavia went scoreless but provided an energy boost off the bench at times in his 15 minutes, adding four rebounds (three offensive).
Both teams entered the game with a 28-27 record and expressed a sense of urgency for the final 27 games of the regular season. One stayed true to their word.
Here are the takeaways from the Kings’ forgetful loss that drops them to 28-28:
A solo effort
DeRozan had more than half of the Kings’ total points in nine minutes of the first quarter. He added nine more in the second frame, finishing the first half with a game-high 24 points.
The next leading scorer for Sacramento at the midway break was Domantas Sabonis with seven.
Three Warriors players were in double digits after the first two quarters. For the Kings, DeRozan was alone in that regard.
DeRozan finished with a game-high 34 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field and 4 of 7 from long range, going a perfect 10 of 10 from the free-throw line and adding four rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes.
There are times when DeRozan can put the team on his back and lead, but his teammates gave him close to nothing for 48 minutes.
A frustrating frame
The Kings and Warriors, who entered Friday’s contest sitting in the Western Conference’s final two NBA Play-In spots at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively, opened the game with a playoff-like basketball energy.
It was a back-and-forth first quarter for the most part after each team got going early from beyond the arc. The Warriors were 5 of 12 from deep and the Kings were 6 of 13. The Warriors led 31-28 after the first 12 minutes.
Then everything changed.
Golden State went on a 27-8 run in the second and led by as many as 20 points in the quarter.
And understandably, tensions rose as DeRozan showed his frustrations during a Kings timeout.
DeMar DeRozan, one of the most composed guys in the NBA, sat on the Kings bench during this timeout and threw down what appeared to be his water bottle toward the floor.
A frustrating second quarter of basketball for the Kings.
— Tristi Rodriguez (@tristi_r14) February 22, 2025
Frustrations can sometimes lead to a needed energy shift, and it did at times to begin the third quarter. But it wasn’t enough to overcome in the second half.
Turnovers galore
The Kings turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter. LaVine had three of them.
They cleaned it up a tad in the second quarter, “only” giving the ball away three times. But they committed five more turnovers in the third and finished the game with a total of X. The Warriors capitalized on the Kings’ carelessness, scoring 27 points off those turnovers.
Meanwhile, the Warriors turned the ball over 10 times, but the Kings scored just two points off those mistakes.
There was a lot of ugly basketball from start to finish for Sacramento, and it’s tough to defeat an opponent when you’ve already defeated yourself.
