Stephen Curry led the Golden State Warriors to a series-clinching victory against the Sacramento Kings in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series. Curry’s 50 points were the most ever in a Game 7, helping Golden State survive a contentious series. The Warriors will now face the Los Angeles Lakers in a conference semifinal. Curry, Thompson, and Green have spent years demolishing opponents as one of the NBA’s most celebrated cores. The Kings, on the other hand, were making their first postseason appearance since 2006.
The Warriors prepared for the finale of their first-round playoff series with the Sacramento Kings by gathering for an off-day film session on Saturday on an upper floor of Chase Center, their home arena in San Francisco, with a panoramic view of the bay. Coach Steve Kerr likes to stage his film sessions there when the space is available. Otherwise, he said, the team is stuck « in the dungeon down below, » outside its locker room. He was grateful for the open space, especially ahead of Sunday’s Game 7. It was a therapeutic experience.
The Warriors and Kings franchises have long been based less than 100 miles apart, but for much of the past decade, they have produced very different brands of basketball. As the Warriors busied themselves by winning championships, playing in NBA finals, and re-engineering the way basketball is played thanks to the Splash Brothers, the Kings spent the past decade-plus scuffling through a desert of futility that had them bordering on irrelevance. Their overhaul began last season when they acquired Sabonis, an All-Star center, in a deal with Indiana.
Keywords: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, NBA playoffs, Game 7, Chase Center, Steve Kerr, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA finals, Splash Brothers, Sabonis.