NBA highlights on April 16: Back to the drawing board for the Warriors

The Sacramento Kings beat the Golden State Warriors 118-94 in the Western Conference play-in tournament game at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, on Tuesday, earning the chance to play the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday for a playoff berth.

The Kings were determined to stay in the postseason from the beginning of the game, driving early offense at all costs and showcasing excellent defensive aggression. They shot 52 field goals (FGs) in the first half, 13 more than the opponents, had six steals and forced nine turnovers by the Warriors. Of course, the Kings had to carry the cost of committing nine fouls in the first two quarters. Three of them were called on their offensive spine, Domantas Sabonis. However, the team's constant pursuit of speed and their ferocious and continuous charging against the paint forced the Warriors to change their game plan in the second half.

Coach Steve Kerr replaced Trayce Jackson-Davis (TJD) with Jonathan Kuminga in the Warriors' starting lineup from the second half. Such a small-ball squad should have been better at switching on the defensive end, but the Kings made all of their first six 3-pointers in the third period by four different players, quickly foiling the opponents' defensive strategy. The Warriors trailed by over 10 points again six minutes into the third quarter and never came back.

All five of the Kings starters scored double-digit points, led by Keegan Murray's 32. The 23-year-old knocked down eight triples out of 13 attempts, shutting down over half of the opponents' rallies. Keon Ellis shot 5-for-8 from the field to contribute 15 points, five assists, three steals and three blocks. He did a remarkable job of containing Stephen Curry in the second half. Harrison Barnes got 14 of his 17 points in the second half, including nine in the fourth period, in which his side outscored the opponents 27-18.

As the Kings' star duo, De'Aaron Fox and Sabonis didn't have the same high offensive efficiency as their teammates, partly because the two shouldered bigger loads and faced tougher defense. Nonetheless, Fox scored 14 points in the third quarter, which had a decisive effect on Tuesday's game. Sabonis contributed a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds in addition to seven assists while carrying five personal fouls.

Compared with the Kings, who came to the contest well-prepared and implemented their strategies down to the last detail, the Warriors looked absent-minded during most of Tuesday night's game. Their ball distributions were careless, their passes were sloppy, and the team lost most of the battles for 50-50 loose balls.

The Warriors committed a total of 16 turnovers, six of which came from their ace Curry. At least half of his turnovers were steals of the ball by defenders directly from his hands. Moreover, he only took five shots in the first half of the game, the fourth-fewest of all 10 starting players of the two sides.

Curry was not the only member of the "Splash Brothers" who struggled. The other of the pair, Klay Thompson, played one of the worst games in his career after missing all 10 of his FG attempts and amassing zero points. He and Curry became defensive deadweights on the perimeter, which the Kings exploited in the second half.

Tuesday's loss ended the Warriors' chaotic 2023-24 campaign and began their rough offseason. Contract extension negotiation with Thompson, decision-making over Chirs Paul's non-guaranteed $30 million in the final year of his deal, as well as extensions with Kuminga and Moses Moody, are on perhaps top on general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr.'s to-do list. Letting Thompson and Paul go will greatly ease the financial pressure the team has been suffering from for years.

Despite their flaws, Kuminga and Moody represent the Warriors' future alongside TJD and Brandin Podziemski. One thing Dunleavy Jr. must have noticed is that, the team came the closest to reversing the situation in Tuesday's game when Kuminga and Moody were the two best-performing Warriors on the court.

Injuries cost the Pelicans their best shot at the playoffs

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Pelicans 110-106 in the other play-in tournament game in the West earlier on Tuesday at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, making the playoffs as the No. 7 seed. They will meet the Denver Nuggets in the first round for a West Finals rematch from last season.

Injuries haunted both sides. The Lakers' big man ace Anthony Davis was held back by back spasm. He played over 40 minutes on the court, but obviously couldn't give full play to his athleticism. His finishing work in the paint took the biggest hit, as he missed 10 of his 16 shots. However, Davis still earned 10 free throws and made eight to get 20 points. He also grabbed 15 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass, and had three blocks.

LeBron James, 39, has been dealing with a left ankle peroneal tendinopathy, but that didn't keep him from playing nearly 41 minutes in Tuesday's game. He struggled to make six of his 20 FG attempts but went 10-for-10 at the free throw line to contribute 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in addition to three steals and two blocks. His importance to the purple and gold could be easily seen when the opponents took advantage of his break time to cut the deficit quickly at the end of the third period.

When Zion Williamson broke into the paint and made a floater over Davis to score his 40th point that tied the score at 95 for the Pelicans, his side looked very hopeful of coming back to beat the Lakers when there were more than three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, he immediately exited the game in the next possession, went to the locker room and never returned. The team's executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin also went to the locker room.

It was revealed later that Williamson felt left-leg soreness, which, according to The Athletic, was a hamstring injury. As a result, the Pelicans had to play through the final three minutes of Tuesday's game without three of their best players: Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum. Ingram was playing with a time limit due to a left knee injury, and McCollum was in poor form, becoming a defensive weak link.

Despite all the difficulties they faced, the Pelicans managed to keep the game close until the final play thanks to the excellent performances of their role players including Jose Alvarado, Larry Nance Jr., Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones. Among them, Alvarado ignited the team's spirit with his great energy on both offense and defense. The team will need them to continue to perform like this against the Kings on Friday.