SACRAMENTO — Stephen Curry participated in the pregame huddle via Facetime, a bespectacled Draymond Green took on the role of assistant coach in a navy blue sweatsuit and Jimmy Butler was nowhere to be found Wednesday night inside the Golden1 Center.
Without their three biggest stars, two of whom did not make the short trip up I-80, the Warriors ran out of steam against a Sacramento Kings team also playing at less than full strength. Golden State raced out to a double-digit lead before halftime but watched it slip away in a 121-116 loss.
“It was an amazing effort by our guys, and it should be a learning experience for our group,” coach Steve Kerr said after his B-squad came up short against a Sacramento squad playing without Domantas Sabonis or Zach Lavine.
Will Richard scored a game-high 30 points, Moses Moody poured in a career-best 28 and Jonathan Kuminga added 24 to go with a team-high nine rebounds, but that was no match for Russell Westbrook’s triple-double (23 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists) and five other Kings who finished in double figures.
Richard, a second-round draft pick making his first career start, combined with Kuminga to score all but two of the Warriors’ first 23 points as Golden State raced ahead to a 32-25 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Both players were already deep into double figures by halftime, helping Golden State to a 62-57 lead at intermission.
“(I was) just trying to keep it simple, but make an impact on the game, do the little things, cutting, hitting open shots,” Richard said of his mindset entering the game.
Moody picked up the slack after halftime, scoring 18 of his points in the second half, including a late 3-pointer followed by a 3-point play that pulled Golden State within 2, 100-98. The Warriors had possession down 117-114 with under a minute left when Kuminga beat his defender down low. But he was unable to finish the play, Sacramento secured the rebound and sank a pair of free throws to clinch the win.
Drew Eubanks gave the Kings a 5-4 lead 2 minutes into the first quarter, and Sacramento didn’t lead again until Kuminga sent Nique Clifford to the foul line early in the third quarter, allowing the Kings to briefly pull ahead 67-66. Golden State’s lead was as large as 13 points in the first half.
It didn’t take long for the Kings to flip the score after halftime as the Warriors allowed them to get to the line 18 times in the third quarter alone while shooting 10-for-17 from the field. Meanwhile, Golden State’s offense went cold, connecting on one shot from the field over the final 3:57, and got sloppy, coughing the ball up eight times in the period to fall behind 92-85.
The Warriors only turned the ball over three more times than the Kings, but Sacramento turned them into a 30-11 advantage on the scoreboard.
“At the end of the day, the story of the game is the turnovers,” Kerr said.
Three of the third-quarter fouls were administered to Kuminga, and he picked up his fifth personal with 9:27 to play, forcing one of the Warriors’ few reliable scoring options to the bench with them trailing 98-90. Golden State shot 53.5% from the field in the first half (8-18 from 3) but was limited to 36.3% (9-25 from 3) after halftime.
“Defending without fouling is so important for a number of reasons, and part of it is you don’t want to give up cheap points, but it’s also hard to put up offense when you’re taking the ball out of the net over and over again,” Kerr said. “That was the other key. It was turnovers and fouls.”
The game marked the first time this season the Warriors were without any of Curry (illness), Butler (low back) or Green (ribs). In their place, they started the least experienced lineup the organization has rolled out since April 26, 2012, two years before Kerr joined the Warriors.
That lineup, featuring a rookie Klay Thompson, was the last time all five players in the Warriors’ starting five had less than four years of NBA experience.
While Curry and Butler stayed home, Green accompanied the team on the road and played an active role on the bench. On multiple occasions, Green pulled aside Kuminga during stoppages of play. In one instance, Kuminga scored over a smaller guard but was called for a travel.
“He told me, you just scored on a small guard (while) playing on two feet, trying to bully him. Find a way to get off two feet and you’re going to be able to raise over him,” Kuminga said of Green’s message. “He was just watching the game, trying to help us feel as comfortable as we can out there.”
Richard, the lone rookie in the starting five, not only set an early career scoring high but also became the Warriors’ first second-round pick to score more than 20 in his first career start since Eric Paschall in 2014. By reaching 30, he joined even more exclusive company: VJ Edgecombe, the third overall pick by the 76ers, is the only other first-year player to score as many points in one game so far this season.
“Will was amazing,” Kerr said. “This guy, from the beginning of camp, has shown he’s an NBA player. The experience, the poise, he doesn’t turn it over, makes the right play, he can handle the ball under pressure, makes the right pass. This guy’s a hell of a player.”
Afterward, Richard was asked if he was excited about his personal accomplishment.
“No,” he said. “We lost.”
