It’s very strange to see Russell Westbrook in a Sacramento Kings jersey, especially wearing No. 18. But seeing Westbrook torment the Golden State Warriors with rebounds, fast-break baskets, and getting
to loose balls with hustle that seems unnatural in a 36-year-old man? That’s not uncommon.
Westbrook had his 204th career triple-double in the Kings’ 121-116 win Wednesday night, putting up 23 points, 10 assists, and a stunning 16 rebounds while helping force the Warriors into 18 turnovers. After the Warriors took a one-point lead with 6:45 to go, Westbrook spearheaded a 13-1 run that ultimately buried the shorthanded Dubs. He had four points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal down the stretch, which doesn’t count a few times he tipped out rebounds, and effectively ended the game by knocking the ball of Brandin Podziemski’s leg and out of bounds with nine seconds left.
It was a Strength In Numbers game for the Warriors. Playing without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green, the team with the oldest starting lineup in the NBA on paper (when Al Horford is included) ended up with a starting lineup where Quinten Post was the oldest, at a grizzled 25 years of age.
They hung with the Kings well for about 42 minutes. Rookie Will Richard scored 30 points in his first NBA start, adding seven rebounds and shooting 5-for-8 on threes. He had three assists, five offensive boards, and only a single turnover.
After the game, Richard told reporters that the performance meant nothing to him because the Warriors lost, which should endear him to the floor-slapping community of Warriors fans.
Moses Moody followed up his 24-point effort from Tuesday with 28 points Wednesday night, drilling five threes, blocking four shots, and nabbing two steals. He shot 16-for-26 overall and 11-for-19 on three-pointers, bringing his season numbers to 21-for-41 from deep. That’s pretty good!
Jonathan Kuminga started out hot, scoring 17 points and delivering three assists in the first half, but he was frustrated by foul trouble in the second half. Kuminga had four fouls and only two buckets after the break, shooting 2-for-10. He was part of a miserable Warriors third quarter where they turned the ball over seven times (18 for the game) and committed a staggering 11 fouls, three by Kuminga. The Kings outscored the Warriors 35-23 and 14 of those points came from foul shots.
Quinten Post didn’t make a shot, but he did block two and grabbed two steals. Podziemski delivered a Draymond-esque line of 14 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists — plus four turnovers. He led the team with a +14 plus/minus.
Where did the Warriors struggle most? On the bench. Promoting three reserves to the starting lineup meant the deep reserves had to play more minutes, and they got smoked. Al Horford did all the little things, with seven boards, two assists, and two steals, yet none of the big things. He was scoreless in 28 minutes and his 0-for-7 mark from three-point range was a killer, especially when he went 0-for-3 during the Kings’ decisive 13-1 run.
Pat Spencer was a game-low -19, pressed into duty for 17 minutes with the Warriors low on ball handlers. He had six points and two turnover and couldn’t deal with the speed of Malik Monk (21 points, 6-for-12). Spencer did throw down a dunk for only the fifth time in his NBA career, which inexplicably made announcer Bob Fitzgerald talk about Spencer’s golf game. He’s now only 22 dunks behind Steph Curry.
Mainly, the bench just didn’t have anyone who could score. The Kings bench outscored the Dubs bench 31-20, mainly due to Monk. And as so often happens when Dennis Schroder plays the Warriors, he did very little for most of the game before exploding in crunch time. For the first 42 minutes, Schroder had seven points. In the last six minutes, he hit three three-pointers, grabbed three rebounds, blocked a shot and scored 11 points.
He may not be great overall, especially in a Warriors uniform. But in the clutch, especially playing the Warriors, or any time he’s wearing the Team Germany jersey, Schroder is a Hall of Famer.
DeMar DeRozan had a game emblematic of his entire career. He shot 8-for-20, missed his only three, but ended up with 25 points thanks to going 9-for-9 from the foul line. DeRozan had two rebounds and two assists, because his job is to get buckets, efficiency be damned. He’s now only 268 points behind Vince carter on the all-time scoring list.
Overall, it was a disappointing game but educational for the Warriors’ youngsters. They can rise to the occasion, and they can also foul too much and turn the ball over. Which is honestly what the Warriors old guys do a lot of the time as well. But it’s nice to have Jimmy Butler or Steph Curry when you absolutely need a basket late in the game. Hopefully the Warriors will have both when they play the Denver Nuggets Friday.
