What we learned as Monk, Sabonis fuel Kings’ demolition of Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Malik Monk had a huge game while handling a lot of the point guard duties in place of injured De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis came up shy of his fifth triple-double of the season, and the Kings continued to play well under interim coach Doug Christie, handing the Golden State Warriors a thorough 129-99 beating on their home court Sunday.
Monk scored 26 points and matched his career high with 12 assists as the Kings stunned the crowd at Chase Center with their first win in San Francisco since Jan. 18, 2023.
Sabonis was up to his normal tricks with 22 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Kevin Huerter added 16 points off the bench, while DeMar DeRozan scored 12 and Keegan Murray had 11 in his return after a two-game absence.
Kings rookie Devin Carter got in on the fun and made his first NBA basket. He finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
That’s four consecutive wins under Christie, Sacramento’s longest winning streak of the season.
It was the first meeting between the two Northern California rivals since the Kings beat the Warriors in the Western Conference play-in tournament at Golden 1 Center last season.
Beating the Warriors at Chase Center had to feel extra special, considering it had been nearly two years since they last did.
And they did it without Fox, who was out with a bruised glute he suffered while taking a hard foul in Friday’s win against the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s the first game this season that Fox has missed.
Sacramento poured in 75 points in the first half, led by as many as 33 and moved the ball as crisply and efficiently as it has all season.
Kings fans certainly cherished it. A section of fans began chanting “Light the Beam” as the final minutes of the fourth quarter wound down.
Here are the takeaways from Sunday’s game:
Monk Mania
Last year’s NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award runner-up, Monk has been a solid addition to the Kings’ starting lineup in December and took things to another level against the Warriors.
The Kings’ veteran guard was one of the best players on the court, which says something since there were five All-Stars out there between the two teams. Monk had a double-double by halftime with 16 points and 10 assists. The 10 dimes are the most that Monk has had in any half during his NBA career.
Since becoming a starter in Sacramento, Monk is averaging 17.7 points and 5.9 assists.
Filling in for Fox
It’d be difficult to replace Fox with one player so the Kings turned to the combination of Monk and Ellis.
Monk took care of a lot of the scoring in Sacramento’s backcourt with his huge day. He had a double-double by halftime and was toying with defenders while knocking down shots.
Ellis held up well, had two steals and took an offensive foul that led to a technical on Warriors coach Steve Kerr in the third quarter.
The Kings are optimistic Fox’s absence will be brief, though it has to be encouraging how well the offense flowed without him.
First things first
The Kings’ inability to begin games smoothly and efficiently has been a big problem this season but surprisingly wasn’t an issue at Chase Center.
Even without their top scorer and play-maker, the Kings built a 15-point lead and shot better than 58 percent (14 of 24) in the first quarter. Sabonis had eight of his points in the first 12 minutes of the game while Monk and Ellis had seven points apiece.
As good as the offense looked, the defense was better while limiting the Warriors to 21 points. The Kings forced Golden State into eight turnovers and limited the Dubs to 3 of 11 shooting in the first quarter.
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