NBA playoffs: Stephen Curry scores 36 points to lead Warriors to Game 3 win over Kings

Stephen Curry scored 36 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 114-97 victory over the Kings in Game 3 of a contentious first-round playoff series between newly minted Northern California rivals.

The defending NBA champion Warriors needed a win in the worst way after dropping the first two games of the series in Sacramento. They got one in front of a raucous crowd of 18,064 at Chase Center.

The Kings still hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with Game 4 set for Sunday, but they will have to play much better to prevent the Warriors from evening the series.

“As champions, Golden State did exactly what they were supposed to do,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “They came home and they upped the level of physicality. They were the more physical team tonight on both ends of the floor.”

Andrew Wiggins had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Warriors. Jordan Poole scored 16 points. Kevon Looney had four points, 20 rebounds and nine assists.

“We knew what we had to do to win the game,” Looney said. “We had the right gameplan for the first two games. We kept falling up short. We didn’t execute it how we wanted to.”

The Warriors won despite the absences of Draymond Green, who was serving a one-game suspension following his outburst in Game 2 on Monday, and Gary Payton II, who was out due to illness.

“This is what we’re supposed to do,” Curry said. “I mean, being down those two guys, who bring so much to our defensive side and just our identity as a whole, we had to have guys step up, so we obviously understand the consequences if we lost tonight and nobody wanted to feel that.”

De’Aaron Fox nearly posted a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Kings. Harrison Barnes had 17 points. Domantas Sabonis recorded a double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds.

The Kings shot 38% from the field and 23.4% from 3-point range while committing 15 turnovers. The Warriors shot just 40%, but they grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and amassed a 24-12 advantage in second-chance points.

“I think they dictated the entire game tonight,” Fox said. “They came out. They hit us first. We really didn’t respond too well. There were times we got into single digits, but they responded and broke the lead back out.”

The Kings found themselves in a very hostile environment after winning the first two games in Sacramento. Warriors fans didn’t take kindly to the fact that Bay Area rapper E-40 was thrown out of Game 1 and Draymond Green was ejected from Game 2 after stomping on Kings center Domantas Sabonis.

The Chase Center crowd cheered the Warriors loudly during pregame introductions and booed Sabonis even louder every time he touched the ball. The Kings looked rattled early while committing four turnovers and five fouls over the first six minutes of the game.

The Warriors went up 23-14 on a 3-pointer by Klay Thompson. The Kings cut the deficit to three on a 3-pointer by Terence Davis, but the Warriors closed the quarter with a 6-0 run to take a 29-20 lead.

Sacramento had a chance to close the gap against Golden State when the Warriors went scoreless for a span of 3:45 in the second quarter, but Kings managed to get only one basket during that stretch on a breakaway dunk by Kevin Huerter. Curry ended the scoring drought with a floater with 4:33 to play in the half, giving Golden State a 41-33 lead.

Sabonis answered with a jump hook to cut the deficit to six, but the Kings found themselves down by double digits after Huerter fouled Curry on a 3-point attempt. The Warriors went up 50-39 on a basket by Poole and carried a 53-41 lead into the break when an offensive rebound gave Curry a second look from 3-point range with 1.3 seconds remaining.

Golden State went up by 14 early in the third quarter before Sacramento battled back to cut the deficit to six following back-to-back buckets from Barnes and a free throw by Keegan Murray. The Warriors responded with a 10-4 run to take a 71-58 lead on a 3-pointer by Poole. They went up 79-63 on a 3-pointer by Curry and extended the lead to 18 on a three-point play by Curry moments later.

Fox made a 3-pointer and then converted a three-point play of his own to get the Kings within 12 at the end of the third quarter. They cut the deficit to 10 at the start of the fourth, but they couldn’t get any closer.