Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors had the opportunity to secure a spot in the second-round of the NBA playoffs on Friday night.
Instead, they ended up falling to the Sacramento Kings 118-99.
Now a Game 7 this weekend will determine which squad advances to face off against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals.
After the outing, Curry sat down for a session with the media. While there, he identified the X-factor that was most responsible for the Kings winning Game 6.
“[Malik Monk’s] been an X-factor in their wins, and when we’ve contained him, I think most of those games, we’ve come out with the win,” Curry said in his postgame interview.
“Even in Game 5, he got hot a little bit down the stretch, but in the first half, we kind of kept him in check. So, it’s just a matter of locking in on his energy.
“He comes in, he plays aggressive, [and] he loves to score. He was hitting his threes tonight. We kind of gave him to me open looks. So, you obviously have to key in on him. And the way that they mixed up their lineup, he’s featured a lot more. So, [we] got to make the adjustments.”
It’s hard to argue with Curry’s assessment. Monk finished the night with 28 points and 7 rebounds. He did his damage on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
This has been a wild series from start to finish. And not just as far as the players go. The Kings owner’s daughter went viral midway through over her provocative photos. Then a team cheerleader did the same over her racy pictures. On and off the court, this has been the craziest match-up of the first round.
Now that’s how you celebrate your girlfriend’s birthday. https://t.co/4OVATcAv5L
— Game 7 (@game7__) April 29, 2023
Heading into Game 7, it’s hard to bet against one of the greatest NBA teams of all time. The Warriors have been here before, and the moment won’t be too big for them. That said, the Kings have shocked the world consistently in 2023. Do they have one last run left in them? Time will tell.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
