With a 24-point lead in the first half on Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors looked to be cruising toward a win over the Sacramento Kings and a ticket to the knockout stage of the in-season tournament.
However, the second half told a different story.
Although the Warriors still controlled the game for most of the half, fouls and turnovers cracked the door open for De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and the Kings.
As the Warriors piled up fouls, the Kings did damage at the line, racking up 19 points on 30 attempts from the line. With the Warriors needing a win by 12 or more points to punch a ticket to the next round of the in-season tournament, the Kings quietly started to mount a late comeback.
With their lead dwindling, and the Warriors clinging to a four-point lead, Steph Curry and Draymond Green each dished a costly turnover and the Kings took advantage.
After hitting a 3 to cut Golden State’s lead to one, Monk came through clutch again with a circus shot that fell with seven seconds remaining to steal the game in favor of Sacramento, 124-123.
With their collapse in Sacramento, the Warriors were eliminated from the NBA’s first in-season tournament in group play.
After the Warriors’ rough loss against the Kings, the NBA community on X, formerly Twitter, erupted with reactions. Here’s a look at what fans and analysts were saying on Tuesday evening on social media.
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