Klay Thompson heroics lifts Golden State Warriors to another win over Sacramento Kings

A tough mid-range jumpshot from Klay Thompson has sent the Chase Center crowd into raptures as the veteran shooting-guard delivered the Golden State Warriors another win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.

Having shot just 5-14 on the night and with the Warriors down one, Thompson dribbled left and hit a cold-blooded pull up over Davion Mitchell and Keegan Murray with 0.2 seconds on the clock.

Klay Thompson’s heroics has lifted the Golden State Warriors to a 102-101 victory over the Sacramento Kings, signalling their fourth-straight victory.

In a subpar shooting night for both teams, both found their rhythm late to go shot-for-shot down the stretch. Gary Payton II cut the Kings lead to one with a minute left, before a defensive stop allowed Stephen Curry to flip one in and give the Warriors the lead 30 seconds later.

However fortunate, Domantas Sabonis banked in his jumper to regain the lead, but it was Thompson who had the final say. His jumper secured a fourth-straight victory for the Warriors, with the Kings unable to produce a tip-in at the buzzer after the timeout.

Earlier in the game, Draymond Green began in unlikely fashion, nailing two threes as he and Andrew Wiggins combined for the Warriors first 10 points. But after a strong Golden State opening, the Sacramento bench responded late in the period. A Malik Monk three gave the Kings a 31-28 advantage, with the visitors shooting 58.8% from the floor and 57.1% from three in the first 12 minutes.

Sacramento extended their lead to six at 47-41, before the Warriors responded with a 12-3 run. Turnovers plagued the hosts late in the half, with Curry limited to just eight points and five turnovers through the first 24 minutes.

Golden State clung to a one-point lead at intermission, though that didn’t last long as Sacramento sought to ruin the Warriors impeccable third-quarter record this season. The Kings quickly built a double-digit lead early in the third, before Golden State answered despite being limited to just 17 points for the quarter.

A five-point Kings lead was quickly erased in the fourth, with Chris Paul continuing to control tempo with eight assists and zero turnovers on the night. Dario Saric’s 15 points and three made triples in the second-half proved crucial, though the Warriors still had plenty to do down the stretch.

Neither team was able to build any significant lead, leaving Thompson to call game with his size and shotmaking proving too much over Mitchell and the trailing Keegan Murray.

Golden State had six players in double digits, led by 21 from Curry on 7-15 shooting. Wiggins had a season-high 14 but was out of the closing lineup again, while Green looked closer to his best with 13 points, nine assists, two steals and two blocks.

The Warriors limited the Kings to just 40.9% shooting from the floor and 31.4% from three, but were plagued by 17 turnovers and Sacramento’s 14 offensive rebounds. Sabonis proved a handful without his running mate De’Aaron Fox, finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Golden State have now won six of their last seven meetings against the Kings going back to Game 3 of the teams’ first-round playoff series last season. After a solitary home game, the Warriors are back on the road for four-straight games starting with the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Friday.