Sacramento Kings force a Game 7 against the Golden State Warriors

SACRAMENTO, CA - APRIL 15: Sacramento Kings teammates Domantas Sabonis #10 and De'Aaron Fox #5 congratulate each other after winning Round One Game One of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on April 15, 2023 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net

Malik Monk scored 28 points, De’Aaron Fox added 26 points and 11 assists, and the Kings beat the Golden State Warriors 118-99 to force a Game 7 at their home, in Sacramento on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s a big opportunity,” Fox said.

Rookie Keegan Murray scored 15 points with four 3-pointers and grabbed 12 rebounds for his first playoff double-double, while Lithuanian big man Domantas Sabonis was in foul trouble but had seven points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 5:17 left.

Steph Curry scored 29, Klay Thompson 22 and Kevon Looney pulled down 13 more rebounds to give him an NBA-leading 85 this postseason. He was coming off a career-high 22 rebounds in a Game 5 win at Golden 1 Center.

But the Kings, in the postseason for the first time since 2006, answered almost every big play by Golden State in the third quarter and capitalized on regular miscues. They outhustled the Warriors to the boards.

“I thought we played hard but we didn’t play smart. We didn’t execute our game plan,” Looney said. “We know what we needed to do to win. All the small things, getting back in transition, the box-outs, the turnovers, different things like that, we didn’t execute.”

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