SAN FRANCISCO – The Kings’ longest road trip of the 2023-24 NBA season began Thursday, 90 miles southwest of Sacramento.
After facing each other three times in less than a month early in the season, the Warriors (19-23) welcomed the Kings (25-18) to Chase Center eight weeks later for the fourth and final time of the regular season.
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And like all their previous matchups, this one was a nail-biter.
Harrison Barnes had a career-best performance, and the Warriors' late rally fell just short despite key contributions from Steph Curry and Jonathan Kuminga.
It wasn't easy, but Sacramento pulled out the win and received the momentum it needed before a 13-day road trip.
Here are the takeaways:
NBA
Chef Curry cooks early
The Kings received a not-so-friendly reminder Thursday from the man who ended their historic 2022-23 season.
Steph Curry got hot early, scoring 18 first-quarter points with five made 3-pointers. He played the entire first quarter and then just seven minutes of the second.
The Kings found a temporary solution for the 3-point king, containing him to zero points in just over seven minutes in the second quarter.
But he got back in the kitchen in the second half. Curry finished with 33 points on 13-of-26 shooting from the field and 6 of 14 from deep, along with six rebounds and two assists.
Curry's longtime backcourt mate Klay Thompson contributed 16 points, Andrew Wiggins had 17 and Kuminga had 31.
HB stays hot
One game after a lights-out performance, Harrison Barnes kept the ball rolling against his former team.
Barnes led the Kings to a much-needed victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday at Golden 1 Center before the team packed their bags for a seven-game road trip, scoring a team-high 32 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field and 4 of 8 from behind the arc.
The 31-year-old got going again early Thursday, scoring 20 points with four triples in the first half.
His aggressiveness on the offensive end of the floor didn’t end after two quarters, either, as the Black Falcon stayed hot in the second half.
Barnes dropped a career-high 39 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the field and 7 of 12 from downtown, adding four rebounds in 40 minutes.
Welcome back, Mr. Clutch
De'Aaron Fox shook off his midseason funk Thursday night, and it couldn't have come at a better time.
The Kings' All-Star point guard was on track for a career-best season, but it's no secret that his numbers have decreased in recent weeks.
Fox had just six points in the opening quarter, but he did what he does best in the second half -- come up clutch.
The 26-year-old finished with 29 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 3 of 7 from deep, adding one rebound and five assists in 36 minutes. He also made all eight of his free-throw attempts -- an area he has struggled with in recent games.
The reigning NBA Clutch Player of the Year looked like his old self again against a familiar foe. And it's just what the Kings needed as they live out of suitcases for the next two weeks.