Warriors go ice cold from beyond the arc in Sacramento, falling 111-98

Lack of three-pointers and frustration from the coaching staff in Sacramento lead to the Warriors’ fourth consecutive loss to start the new year.

After playing some of their best basketball over the holidays, the Golden State Warriors have now dropped five-straight games prior to winning their previous four.

A slow start in Sacramento led to an ugly performance from the Warriors, ending with a 111-98 loss to the Kings. The Warriors went as ice-cold as they could possibly get, shooing a miserable 0-for-13 from beyond the arc in the first half.

Glenn Robinson III was finally able to knock down a triple in the third quarter, but that’s when the flood gates opened up for the Kings. Sacramento outscored Golden State, 38-24 in the third period, extending their lead to 26 points before the final quarter started.

Without D’Angelo Russell and Draymond Green, the Warriors struggled from tip-off, but played better in the fourth quarter. The understaff rotation outscored the Kings 34-21 in the fourth, but their poor shooting early spurned any chance of a comeback.

Robinson III led the Warriors in scoring, dropping 16 points, with Omari Spellman behind him with 13, but the Kings’ backcourt was better. De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield each scored 21, with veteran, Trevor Ariza adding 18 off the bench.

The Warriors schedule doesn’t get any easier with a pair of contenders next up on the calendar. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks head into Chase Center next, followed by a trip to the Staples Center with the Clippers waiting.

Missing the Splash Brothers

The Warriors started the game 0-for-17 from beyond the arc, missing every attempt in the first half. Golden State was able to knock down five 3-pointers against the Kings, after Robinson hit their first three with 7:00 left in the third quarter.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Warriors’ lack of distance shooting in the first half was the first time the Warriors didn’t make a three-pointer in a half in 808 previous halves of basketball.

Steve Kerr Ejected

Before the halftime buzzer sounded, Steve Kerr was already in the locker room after getting ejected in the second quarter. Kerr appeared to be upset after a De’Aaron Fox wasn’t called for a travel, and started arguing with officials. The next possession Kerr was assessed a technical, that only escalated the situation, leading to another technical for the Warriors’ coach, triggering an ejection from the game.

Kerr has only been ejected three times in his coaching career; however, two of his ejections have happened against the Sacramento Kings.

Assistant coach Mike Brown took over for Kerr to oversee the Warriors for the remainder of the game.