The Sacramento Kings stunned the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Friday night with a 118-99 road win in Game 6 to force a Game 7 back at home on Sunday. This was the first elimination game the Kings have won since 2004.
Malik Monk, who has been spectacular all series long, led the way off the bench with 28 points, six rebounds and four assists. De'Aaron Fox, meanwhile, shrugged off a broken finger on his shooting hand to put up 26 points and 11 assists. As a team, the Kings knocked down 17 3-pointers and pulled down 18 offensive rebounds for 18 second-chance points.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Kings' performance, however, was their defense. They were not known for their work on that side of the ball in the regular season, but they were all over the place in this game and held the Warriors to 37.6 percent shooting from the field. That was the worst shooting performance in a playoff game for the Warriors since Game 5 of the 2016 Finals.
Here are some key takeaways from Game 6:
Considering the stakes and the location, this was one of the most impressive wins the Kings have had since moving to Sacramento in 1985. They were on the road against a Warriors team that has won four of the last eight titles and was 35-8 at home this season between the regular season and playoffs.
This was the first time the Kings have won an elimination game since Game 6 of their second-round matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2004. That game was at home, though, as were the other four elimination games the Kings had won prior to Friday night since moving to Sacramento. If you want to go back even further, this was the first win in a road elimination game for the franchise since Game 7 of the second round of the 1981 playoffs, when they were still based in Kansas City and took down the Phoenix Suns.
Now, the Kings will get to go back home, where they'll have a chance to win their first playoff series since 2004, when they beat the Dallas Mavericks in the first round. If the crowd in Sacramento was crazy for the first three games, you can only imagine what they'll be like for a Game 7.
Malik Monk had some huge games off the bench during the regular season, namely his 45-point outing in the Kings' thrilling double-overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers. So when he went off for 32 points in the Kings' Game 1 win, it wasn't much of a surprise. Few expected him to be so consistent during this series, though.
This is his first playoff experience, and entering Game 6 he was averaging 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game to give the Kings a huge scoring boost. He kept up that play on Friday with 28 points, six rebounds and four assists to lead the Kings in scoring.
His quickness and ability to get in the paint, both in transition and the halfcourt, has been too much for the Warriors' perimeter defenders to handle. Time and again he was making simple straight line drives to either score or create for teammates. It will be interesting to see if Kings head coach Mike Brown keeps Monk on the bench for Game 7 or inserts him into the starting lineup for the struggling Kevin Huerter.
The Kings were not known for their defense during the regular season. In fact, they were one of the worst teams in the league on that side of the ball. Their defensive rating of 116 points allowed per 100 possessions ranked 24th and was the worst of any playoff team.
But with their season on the line, they found a way to dig deep and deliver an impressive defensive showing, which goes to show that defense is about effort and concentration as anything. They were flying around, making second efforts and forced 18 turnovers, which they converted into 23 points.
This isn't the peak Warriors, but even still, opponents usually do not stifle them to this extent. The Warriors' 37.6 field goal percentage was their least-efficient shooting performance in a playoff game since Game 5 of the 2016 Finals, when they shot 36.4 percent from the field.
The Kings have pushed the lead up to 19 points, which is their biggest advantage of the series, and the Warriors look ready to toss in the towel. Just a super impressive performance from the Kings, who are a few minutes away from forcing a Game 7 back in Sacramento on Sunday.
Pretty dumb foul there by Sabonis to pick up his sixth foul. Andrew Wiggins had his back to the basket and was trying to kick the ball out and Sabonis just pushed him in the back. No reason to do that and Sabonis is now done for the night. Tough finish to a game he started so well. Though the Kings have actually played fairly well with Trey Lyles as the lone big tonight
Really impressive poise from the Kings here in the fourth quarter, and really all second half. Any time the Warriors seem like they're building momentum for one of their patented runs, the Kings get a bucket on the other end and settle the game back down.
The Kings controlled that quarter and briefly pushed the lead up to 13 points, but the Warriors are still within striking distance as we enter the fourth. Kings have done a much better job taking care of the ball since the first quarter and started to find their offense a bit there in the third. Malik Monk is up to 20 points to lead the way, while De'Aaron Fox has 19 of his own despite a broken finger.
The Kings were hot from downtown in the first few minutes, then cooled off significantly, but they're heating back up late in the third quarter. They just hit three of them in less than a minute and have pushed their lead up to 11 points with 3:08 to play. Malik Monk had two of those triples and is now up to 17 points off the bench in another strong effort
Bit of an rough moment there for Domantas Sabonis as he turns over the ball, then Steph Curry stops shorts and gets the big man to run into him. That's five fouls now on Sabonis and he's going to have to sit for a long time, probably at least until the fourth quarter
The Kings haven't been shooting the ball all that well today, but they're ahead because of the work they're doing on the offensive glass. They've rebounded 16 of their 42 misses and have turned those into 15 second-chance points. The Warriors, meanwhile have eight offensive rebounds for four second-chance points.
Draymond Green has been coming off the bench since he returned from his Game 3 suspension, but with Jordan Poole struggling mightily, Steve Kerr moved Green back with the starters for the start of the second half. Will certainly help their defense and energy, but will leave them with less spacing on offense
Impressive second quarter from the Kings to jump in front at the break. Malik Monk was terrific and already has 11 points, five rebounds and three assists to lead a Kings bench attack that has combined for 28 points. Keegan Murray also has 12 points and eight rebounds. Perhaps the only negative for the Kings is that they could be up by more if they had taken care of the ball a bit better; they already have 12 turnovers.
The Warriors are really struggling to find any consistent offense and are shooting 35.6 percent from the field with nine turnovers. Klay Thompson is leading the way with 16 points, but that's on 14 shot attempts. They'll need someone besides him and Steph Curry to make a few shots if they want to win this game
Whoa, Sabonis has a huge knot under his eye that is already swollen and black and blue. It looks like a boxer's injury. We'll see how that impacts him as the game goes on. Hopefully it doesn't impact his vision in any way
