At some point, all dynasties in the NBA will come to an end. On Tuesday night, we could have seen the end of the dynasty of the Golden State Warriors. They went on the road to face their rivals, the Sacramento Kings, in the NBA Play-In Tournament and got their doors blown out.
Golden State lost 118-94 as they never really got into a rhythm in the game. Their overall defense was solid as the Kings shot only 43.9 percent from the floor. But, the Warriors struggled on the perimeter, where they allowed Sacramento to shoot 46.2 percent from 3-point range.
Offensively, Golden State wasn’t much better. They shot 41.3 percent from the floor and 31.3 percent from 3-point range. They were stagnant throughout the evening as the Kings did a good job of eliminating Stephen Curry and daring other players on the team to beat them.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Klay Thompson & Golden State Warriors Updates
Unfortunately for the Warriors, no one else was able to step up. Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody did what they could, scoring 16 points apiece off the bench, but the other veterans on the team could not rise to the occasion.
The most disappointing performance was certainly that of Klay Thompson. Thompson has battled against naysayers since coming back from his two-season absence because of an ACL tear and Achilles injury.
Those naysayers may be correct about Thompson being well past his prime and unable to contribute to a winning team consistently. When the Warriors needed him most, he had arguably the worst game of his NBA career.
Thompson didn’t score a single point against the Kings, going 0-for-10 from the field and 0-for-6 on 3-pointers. It was the first time that he went without a made basket in a game since his rookie season and in the process, made some ugly Warriors history.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Klay Thompson & Golden State Warriors Updates
As shared by Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, the most misses without a made shot in an NBA Playoff or Play-In Tournament game in Warriors history had been eight. Harrison Barnes, who helped the Kings put away his old team, did it three times. Thompson now holds that record alone with 10.
NBA rumors have been swirling about the future of the Warriors as some major changes could be coming this offseason. This could very well have been the last time Thompson suited up for the franchise. It would be the end of a dominant era for Golden State, who won four titles with their Big 3 of Thompson, Curry and Draymond Green.
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