The Golden State Warriors aren’t done yet.
With Draymond Green suspended and their backs against the wall in their first-round series against the Sacramento Kings, the Warriors pulled out a 114-97 win in Game 3 to avoid an 0-3 hole. Now down 2-1, they will play a pivotal Game 4 on Sunday (3:30 pm ET, ABC) in San Francisco.
It was a wire-to-wire win for Golden State, which never trailed and built up a double-digit lead late in the second quarter. The Kings never got the lead down to fewer than 7 points after that.
Green’s controversial suspension for a stomp of Domantas Sabonis loomed large entering the game, with the defending champions missing their defensive leader against the NBA’s leader in offensive efficiency this season. After allowing 126 and 114 points in Games 1 and 2, respectively, the Warriors defense held the Kings to 38% shooting (23.9% from deep) with 15 turnovers.
The Warriors started Jordan Poole in Green’s place, but the players who had to step up were Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga. Both saw increased minutes in Green’s absence and pulled their weight, combining for 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting with 5 rebounds.
Stephen Curry unsurprisingly led the way on offense, finishing with 36 points on 12-of-25 shooting (6-of-12 from deep), while Kevon Looney showed his value with 20 rebounds and 9 assists.
This was the Kings’ chance to push the Warriors to the brink. After a near-perfect start to the series in Sacramento, the team is now facing the prospect of a Game 4 with Green playing in a raucous Chase Center. They still have home-court advantage, no small thing given the Warriors’ bizarre home-road splits, but opportunities like Thursday are the kind you don’t want to squander when you’re trying to ascend into the NBA elite.
They can only hope they don’t end up regretting it.