Saturday, April 15, 2023

2023 Kings versus Warriors - Playoffs: West 1st Round, Game 1

Almost 17 years ago, May 5, 2006, I was at Arco Arena for the Kings last playoff game, a loss to San Antonio. The Kings have been in Sacramento since 1985; this is the first time since then that the Kings and the Warriors have both been in the Playoffs in the same year!

Larkin and I went to game one of the first round of the NBA Playoffs: Sacramento Kings versus Golden State Warriors. We met at the Sheraton. This was a smart decision. The place was half empty. It was happy hour. We had a beer and some appetizers. In contrast, the area around the arena was crazy and packed with people! When we got to the arena, it took us about 20 minutes to get into the building.


The Kings trailed Golden State 61-55 at the half. Sacramento starters missed their first 15 attempts from 3-point range before De'Aaron Fox hit one late in the third quarter. The Warriors built the lead to 10 points in the third quarter before Sacramento ended the quarter on a 15-4 run fueled by 10 points from Trey Lyles to take a 91-90 lead into the fourth. The Kings held on to win by the score of 126 to 123. I really need to watch the last few minutes again; it was chaotic!

As you would expect, Steph Curry was the high scorer for the Warriors. He had 30 points on 11 for 20 from the field, 6 for 14 from three and 2 for 2 from the free throw line.

De'Aaron Fox was the high scorer for the Kings. He had 38 points on 13 for 27 from the field, 4 for 8 from three and 8 for 12 from the free throw line. Malik Monk came off the bench to score 32 points!

At halftime, we wandered up to the Sierra Nevada House. Drew, Kyle and Kelsey were also at the game.

It was a fantastic experience!

The Kings have five wins and one loss in games that I have seen in person during the 2022-2023 NBA season.

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