The Golden State Warriors’ trying season—and perhaps its championship window as well— came to a screeching halt Tuesday after a 118-94 loss to the host Sacramento Kings in the Western Conference play-in tournament.
Keegan Murray torched the Warriors with 32 points, including eight three-pointers. De’Aaron Fox added 24 points, while Keon Ellis delivered on offense (15 points) and defense (three steals, three blocks).
Not even a little foul trouble for Domantas Sabonis (16 points, 12 rebounds) could stop the Kings from steamrolling the Warriors in the second half, 64-44.
Meanwhile, the Warriors struggled mightily on both ends. Most notably, Klay Thompson went scoreless en route to missing all 10 of his shots.
Golden State finished at minus-25 with Andrew Wiggins on the floor. Stephen Curry had a quiet night (22 points) by his standards and committed six turnovers.
Young reserves Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody produced 16 points apiece, but it wasn’t enough as the Warriors bowed out to the team they beat in the first round of the playoffs one season earlier.
The Golden State dynasty appeared over in 2020 when the team, which had won five Western Conference titles and three NBA championships from 2015-2019, fell to a league-worst 15-50 during the pandemic-shortened season.
The Warriors bounced back, though, first with a winning 2020-21 campaign before reclaiming their championship crown in 2021-22 for four titles in eight years.
However, the team hasn’t come close to that success since. A 44-win season last year led to a No. 6 seed in the playoffs and a first-round win over the Kings, but their title hopes ended in the second round to the Los Angeles Lakers.
A seismic offseason move then landed Chris Paul in the Bay Area for Jordan Poole, but it didn’t bring much more success.
This year’s Warriors team hovered around .500 for much of the year but finished with 10 wins in 12 games to go 46-36. That was only good enough for the West’s final play-in spot, though, and the campaign officially ended in Sacramento.
Now it’s fair to wonder if the championship-contending run is truly over for the Curry-Thompson-Draymond Green trio, which has enjoyed so much success over a decade.
Curry is still under contract for two more years and Green for three, but this could be the end in Golden State for Thompson, who is a free agent.
Regardless of what happens, these Warriors have stamped their mark on NBA history with their tremendous championship runs. However, the next dynasty to go on forever will be the first.
Fans and analysts alike produced two primary reactions on social media during and after the defeat. Many celebrated the dynasty’s presumed end, while others recognized the run’s greatness in real time.
