Game 1 Shows These Kings Could Be Mighty in the NBA Playoffs

De’Aaron Fox led a fourth-quarter push that has become part of Sacramento’s formula to pull away in clutch moments.

An NBA playoff series isn’t won or lost after Game 1 alone, but the Kings illustrated they aren’t going to be a pushover, even if they lack big-stage experience, in their dramatic 126–123 victory against Golden State on Saturday night.

It was Sacramento’s first playoff game since April 2006, a little more than a year before the first iPhone hit the market. So many things went wrong for the Kings, who stand as perhaps the biggest, most intriguing question mark of this postseason:

• Domantas Sabonis, a likely All-NBA center, got carved up repeatedly by the Warriors’ backdoor passes, prompting coach Mike Brown to sit him on the bench.
• Sweet-shooting wingman Kevin Huerter, who has had a starring role flying off the shoulder of Sabonis in the Kings’ explosive dribble-handoff game, missed all five of his tries from deep range.
• Fellow starter Keegan Murray missed all three of his tries from outside, too.

Despite all of that, the Kings had Stephen Curry and the defending-champion Warriors right where they wanted them—in a close game where De’Aaron Fox could have the final say. That’s been Sacramento’s formula, and safe space, all season.

No player has been more devastating in those clutch moments than the sixth-year floor general. His 38 points Saturday night were the second-most in a playoff debut in NBA history. A whopping 15 of those points came in the fourth quarter, an amazingly fun stretch in which Fox went toe to toe with the legendary Curry and sped around defenders as if they were traffic cones at times. (He made Golden State’s Klay Thompson look like an old-timer on one nasty crossover move near the top of the key.)

On one fourth-quarter possession, Andrew Wiggins aggressively came out well beyond the free-throw line in an effort to deny Fox the ball. Fox, in turn, spun around and feigned a misdirection to fake out Wiggins and get the basketball anyway. And when former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green picked him up, Fox just sped away from him and drew a foul from Curry, who barely had any time to react to his change of direction. Fox simply plays at an entirely different pace—even in the late stages of fourth quarters—which is often what fuels the Kings’ historically efficient late-game offense.

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By no means was Fox alone in heroics, though. Reserve forward Trey Lyles came up big with 16 points, including four triples. Center Alex Len, who sparingly played just 161 minutes in the regular season—was a massive +10 in 13 minutes off the bench. (In spelling Sabonis, who had struggled defensively, Len was awarded the team’s Defensive Player of the Game award.) Sixth Man Malik Monk was also integral, pouring in 32 enormous points to help make up for the remainder of the starting five’s lack of scoring production. It was a Robin-type performance alongside Fox’s Batman-like showing; fitting given the men played college ball together at Kentucky.

If there was one takeaway on the night, aside from the Kings being comfortable in close contests where Fox can lead them home, it was Sacramento can win multiple ways. The lethal dribble-handoff game the Kings utilize better than anyone was a relative nonfactor, with Huerter and Murray both struggling and Sabonis out of rhythm. The team was far from dynamite from three-point range, making just 12 on the night.

But with Golden State looking a step—sometimes two steps—slow in guarding Fox and still just welcoming back Wiggins, who returned Saturday after missing two months of action, there are flaws that exist with the Warriors; if only from a cohesion standpoint. Also of note: Defensive stud Gary Payton II, who only joined the lineup in late March, logged just 20 minutes on a night where his teammates couldn’t contain Fox and Monk. That feels like too few, honestly.

We know about all the Kings’ flaws: Their lack of rim protection, lack of defensive athleticism, lack of relative playoff experience despite being a No. 3 seed. (Have we mentioned that, prior to this, Sacramento had experienced the longest playoff drought in major pro sports history?) But with the healthiest lineup in basketball, they do have season-long cohesion, and a firm identity. That’s more than the Warriors can say for the moment—especially when thinking about who specifically guards the speedy Fox, or whether Wiggins (1–for–8 from three-point range Saturday) can be the impact guy he was last postseason after missing so much time.

The coming days will show if the Dubs can generate a title-worthy rhythm again, but Game 1 showed it won’t be an easy task to dispose of the Kings.