I haven't done this in a while, but out of a reason to keep myself entertained during what I think is going to be a stinker of a game, I've decided to diary my thoughts as the game is happening. Please enjoy what is sure to be a slow descent into madness.
1st Quarter: 0-0
12:00 - Derrick Williams has replaced Jason Thompson as the starting Power Forward in this game. Off to a great start already I see. Williams is in over Thompson ostensibly for "matchup" reasons, but Williams is not a good player. He's not even the first player I'd choose to start over Thompson due to a matchup (that'd be Casspi). Williams is a terrible defender, poor rebounder, non-passer and marginally ok scorer. However, given that the Kings have Cousins, Gay, Collison and McLemore in the starting lineup, the one thing that Williams is best at isn't exactly a priority with those guys. Now that I've spent a solid paragraph ranting about this, watch Williams go out and score 30 or something.
12:00 - The Kings are pouring the first concrete at the new arena site tonight. I have a sickening feeling that watching that concrete pour is going to be more exciting than this game.
12:00 - Speaking of the new arena, I hope that when the new arena comes that we stick with 7:00 start times and not these 7:30 slots that the Warriors and Lakers do. Just a personal preference, but I like getting home slightly earlier.
12:00 - And we're off. Warriors win the tip.
11:32 - Pick and pop with Cousins to put Kings on top to start. Warriors answer right back thanks to a nice cut and pass by Bogut. Bogut's an underrated passer.
11:03 - 1st turnover for the Kings, good transition D by Rudy to save the basket.
10:38 - Ben McLemore with a nice pass to Collison under the basket. Ben has some decent court vision, I wish he'd use it more.
10:07 - Well then that Williams cut to the basket and feed from Rudy was pretty nice.
9:47 - Ben airballs a three. He wasn't set. He's not very good at threes when not set.
9:28 - Two straight threes for Warriors put them up by four. They kill you with any space.
8:44 - Corbin calls timeout after the Kings fail to score or stop Warriors on three straight possessions. Warriors up 12-6. This could get ugly quick, the Kings can't afford to give the Warriors an early lead. I think it's time for a beer.
8:36 - A Cousins jumper where nobody else touches the ball was our call out of the timeout. It didn't go in. Warriors hit another three. Yay.
8:06 - Another Cousins Jumper where nobody else touches the ball. He missed again and Warriors score again.
7:13 - This is already so much worse than I could have thought. Two more unforced turnovers by Kings and another three by Draymond Green. Warriors have 20 with 7:13 left.
6:49 - Harrison Barnes with a very nifty up and under. He's improved nicely since his rookie season.
6:30 - Man, the Warriors play so freaking fast. But it's controlled. They're not playing fast just to play fast. They know what they're doing. Meanwhile Kings have to take another timeout as Warriors have 24 with more than half the quarter left.
6:03 - Even Quincy Miller is ahead of Casspi in the rotation now? He's in for Williams. Stauskas for Ben.
5:42 - Cousins can't get inside, settles for another jumper. An airball. Oy vey.
4:26 - Hey, Stauskas hits a three! That was nice to see. Maybe he can get some more time in this game and get something going.
3:37 - Justin Holiday checked in. He killed us last time.
3:05 - Even the Warriors failed offensive possessions look pretty. Lot of passing, quick decisions. We just dump the ball into Cousins or Rudy and wait for them to create. We take so long to get into our offense.
2:26 - Wow, what a take by Stauskas into the teeth of the defense and even better finish. That's the Stauskas we want. Meanwhile we still can't guard them and they're up 15.
1:37 - Quincy with the steal and Stauskas with the putback! Bench bringing some energy.
0:57 - Darren scores and we're back in single digits thanks to a 14-5 run... so of course Curry comes back down and hits a three.
0:31 - Cousins takes it inside on Speights, gets blocked, gets the ball, goes on other side of rim and scores plus the foul. He's remarkable.
0:00 - Man, Quincy just missed a great opportunity right at the rim thanks to a great pass by Cousins. That would have cut it to 7. All in all, pretty good end to the quarter to at least keep it in single digits. They've still got a lot of work to do, especially on defense, if they hope to have a chance. Also 7 turnovers in the quarter. That's too many.
2nd Quarter: 25-34
11:54 - Collison scores to start the 2nd. He and Cousins have yet to leave the game.
11:21 - Boogie cuts it to 5 with a jumper. Kings feeling it a little bit. Ride the momentum (at least until Bogut comes back)
10:51 - Rudy pulls up for three. Nobody else touched the ball. He missed. I hate those possessions. It was super early in the shot clock too.
10:29 - Kings get the steal and Casspi takes it right down the middle with a Euro-Step. Three point game!
9:59 - Darren Collison is bent over and Corbin has to take a timeout. Hopefully it's nothing serious. He's limping but walking under his own power.
9:53 - Thompson comes in for first time to give Boogie a break. Surprised he played so long.
9:27 - Shaun Livingston takes it to the rim against Collison. He's gonna be a problem with his size.
8:48 - Kings get a stop but can't secure the rebound and David Lee gets the put back and-one. *Sigh* I feel like the Kings lead the league in defensive stops that still end up being scores for the other team.
8:41 - Rudy Gay has not been good so far. He's got 4 assists but he can't get anything scoring wise against this defense. The Warriors are a very tough matchup for him, even without Iguodala playing. He just missed an easy hookshot and is frustrated.
8:41 - Ramon Sessions is in. Think it might be time for another beer. Also Cousins is back in. Huh. Not much of a rest there.
8:15 - Rudy Gay is frustrated and just got thrown out of the game. Wow. He picked up one tech and then kept chirping and got thrown out. Well, looks like Quincy Miller is going to play a bunch tonight. Warriors up 13 now.
8:02 - Miller makes a nice cut and gets rewarded with a pass from Cousins. Shot didn't go in but he got the line. I like this kid, think the Kings should keep him for the rest of the season. He's definitely got potential.
7:38 - Cousins gets a steal and then gave it to Ramon Sessions. Sessions got blocked. Of course.
7:19 - Bogut is content to let Boogie shoot as many jumpers as he wants. That's a good defensive possession for Golden State at this point.
7:11 - Ben's good at the set shot but he really needs to work on shooting on the move, as he misses another one of those jumpers. That will be another step in his development.
6:18 - Boogie playing PG right now and I'm not even mad because the alternative is Sessions.
5:29 - Bogut draws a charge on Cousins there. It was a forced drive and he lowered the shoulder. Can't do that, especially against the savvy Bogut. He gives Boogie more trouble than most players in the NBA.
5:07 - Fly Ben Fly! He's so fun on the fastbreak.
4:37 - Thompson gets fouled by Bogut but it's not called. Thankfully he also fouls Boogie and that one is called. Two FTs and we can get back to single digits again if he hits both. A better result for us since Cousins is a much better FT shooter.
4:12 - Oooh Boogie's feeling it. Takes it right at Bogut and scores.
4:04 - Jesus Steph Curry. 3 guys on him, nails the three.
3:47 - Draymond Green just outhustled three Kings for a rebound. Fortunately Curry missed off Green's pass.
3:26 - Cousins and Curry Jump Ball! Curry doesn't even jump he knows he can't win. Warriors steal the ball after anyway because of course.
2:50 - It's Miller time! He nails a corner three off the pass from Cousins. 7 point game.
2:16 - Derrick Williams is the only player around Andrew Bogut at the rim as Steph Curry passes to Bogut, and by around Andrew Bogut I mean not paying attention to him at all. Bogut dunks.
1:48 - Cousins helps too much on Curry and Curry finds Speights rolling to the rim for an easy dunk.
0:56 - Boogie to the line again. He's already had 7 attempts in the half. Warriors lead will be 7 if he hits both.
0:41 - Kings pretty small with Williams and Miller in the frontcourt. Not getting much help on the glass and it's allowing second chances for David Lee and Harrison Barnes.
0:26 - THERE'S a three on the move for Ben, coming off a screen. It rattles home and cuts the lead to five!
0:00 - Kings get lucky at the end of the half. Miller gets lost on defense and leaves Barnes wide open in the corner but he misses. Collison misses a running three point attempt at the buzzer and it's 56-51 at the half. Not bad, all things considered.
3rd Quarter: 51-56
11:51 - Hey! A three by Collison to start the quarter! Two point game!
11:23 - And Williams scores after a Green miss from three and we're tied!
10:58 - We're ahead! Cousins scores in the post on Bogut. Either the Kings are playing better or this beer is working!
10:32 - Klay Thompson's goatee looks stupid.
10:10 - Kings go 4 on 1 fastbreak with Boogie as the PG... Turnover. Luckily Warriors turn it over right back.
9:41 - Well that didn't last long. Warriors back on top after that Klay Thompson turnaround.
9:03 - Cousins is getting whatever he wants and gets to the line yet again. He has as many Free Throw attempts (11) as the Warriors now.
8:40 - Man the Kings are getting lucky with some of these threes the Warriors are missing... and as I say that they hit one.
7:33 - I LOVE that Ben is actively attacking the basket this year. I'd love to see it even more.
7:12 - Kings get the steal and Derrick Williams misses a three. Meanwhile the Warriors hit their own three and go up by two. Why is Williams in the game again?
6:40 - Steph Curry hasn't got it going yet. You have to think he'll heat up at some point.
6:02 - Ugh. Curry to Klay lob after Williams gets blocked by Bogut.
5:44 - Boogie is rolling. He's got 26 already.
5:30 - Unfortunately so is Klay. Also has 26 after another 3 and 13 in the quarter so far.
5:08 - Heat check for Boogie doesn't go in. Heat check for Klay does. 74-66 Warriors.
4:49 - Klay Thompson's goatee is still stupid.
4:35 - Miller gets to the line again off a cut. I like this.
4:28 - Ray McCallum in the game for the first time, ostensibly to try to slow Klay Thompson down. We'll see if it works.
4:18 - It didn't work.
3:56 - Boogie picks up his 4th foul far from the basket. Those are the ones we need him to cut out. Corbin is rightfully upset at Cousins.
3:24 - Klay Thompson is doing everything for Warriors now. He just set up Draymond Green for a dunk to push the Warriors lead to 11. He's definitely an All-Star.
3:24 -
Klay Thompson scored 19 points in a 4 1/2-minute span.
— Rusty Simmons (@Rusty_SFChron) January 24, 20153:12 - Really weird lineup for the Kings right now. Collison, McCallum, Stauskas, Miller, Thompson. I'm not sure what we're trying for here.
3:03 - Klay Thompson can't miss. A well contested three rolls in after several bounces. 8 for 8 in the quarter, 6 for 6 from three.
2:30 - Another make for Klay, this time at the rim. He's completely taken over this game. 37 points for him now. 24 in the quarter.
2:05 - ... 40 for Klay.
1:37 - ... 42 for Klay. Jesus. Kings haven't scored much during this run.
1:06 - WHAT THE HOLY SHIT. ANOTHER THREE FOR KLAY THOMPSON. 32 POINTS IN THE QUARTER. THIS IS UNREAL.
1:06 - Klay Thompson hasn't missed this quarter and is outscoring the Kings 32-19 by himself. I'm not even mad. This is incredible.
0:35 - ANOTHER THREE. 48. Can he go for 40 in the quarter???
0:04 - Klay hits another three after he was fouled. Doesn't count, but if he makes free throws he has 37 in the quarter and 50 for the game. This game was tied this quarter and Kings are about to go down by 24. I've never seen anything like this. Apparently Klay just broke the record for points in a quarter. This is one of the most amazing basketball performances I've ever seen.
4th Quarter: 73-97
11:45 - Klay is human. He missed. Warriors tipped it in anyway.
10:54 - Thompson to the line. He has 52 points on 23 shots. That's amazing. Meanwhile Kings continue to not be able to find a basket.
10:01 - 24 second violation... it's time to just concede this game and get the starters out of here.
9:28 - Klay Thompson is leaving the game, probably for the last time with Warriors up 30. Getting a well deserved standing ovation. I think the Warriors made the right call not trading him for Love this summer.
9:14 - Hey we finally hit a shot! Darren Collison loves that mid-range jumper.
8:33 - I'm still shell shocked from that performance. Just amazing. I hate that it had to come against my team, but I'm glad I got to see it as it happened because I don't think I'll ever see anything like that again.
8:16 - Corbin finally takes the starters out of the game after the timeout. Ryan Hollins is trying to run the offense out of the high post. Turnover.
7:16 - Everything's dropping for the Warriors. Speights takes a tough shot with Thompson in his face, gets fouled and the shot goes in. Back to a 30 point game.
6:53 - Second nifty drive of the game for Stauskas. Maybe this extended garbage time will get him some confidence.
5:54 - Sessions just ran into Jason Thompson on offense ... he's finding new and exciting ways to disappoint.
5:06 - The Warriors garbage time lineup is still pretty damn good.
4:41 - Mo Speights is a pretty solid 3rd big off the bench and a particularly good jump shooter.
4:17 - James Michael McAdoo in the game. Remember when that guy was a projected lottery pick? Didn't even get drafted.
3:34 - Stauskas to Hollins alley-oop! I like what little I've seen from Nik tonight. Now we need to see it on a more nightly basis.
2:54 - Another jumper for Stauskas who's got 9 points now on 4-5 shooting. Maybe he can pull a Klay Thompson over final few minutes and bring us back in the game.
1:57 - People are still on the court playing basketball for some reason.
1:06 - We need some sort of running clock in these situations.
0:52 - Ryan Hollins has surprisingly good touch on jumpers and free throws.
0:14 - BOOOOOOOO Speights fouled Stauskas on the fastbreak with the game decided. Just let this game end man. Ah well, Nik gets a couple free throws to get to 11 points for the game.
0:00 - Final score, 126-101. The Kings actually played surprisingly well until Klay Thompson went full thermonuclear detonation in the 3rd quarter. Just an amazing, amazing performance.
As for the Kings, Omer will have the recap soon. Thank you for reading.