San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Stephen Curry makes 10 3-pointers, scores 42 points as Warriors defeat Kings.
SACRAMENTO — The NBA has trended toward a Warriors-like brand of basketball — in which threepointers are encouraged, tempo is ratcheted up and positions are largely ignored — with a simple mind-set: To dethrone the champions, why not copy their template?
This formula has been surprisingly successful this season as Golden State struggles to contend with more extreme versions of the style it pioneered. In Saturday night’s 127-123 win over the Kings at Golden 1 Center, the Warriors were again forced to grapple
with the fact that the rest of the league — even Sacramento — has narrowed the talent divide.
In a game that featured 18 lead changes and 11 ties, Golden State and the Kings combined to hit 41 three-pointers (the Warriors made 21, Sacramento 20), breaking the record of 40 in a game.
“I’d rather play inside the three-point line, but you have to adapt,” Warriors forward Kevin Durant said. “I think a lot of players have adapted their games and changed how they play. … That’s what we signed up for.”
The Kings nearly weathered an inspired offensive onslaught from Golden State, pouring in 32 fast-break points and dishing out 34 assists. After digging an early 16-point deficit, Sacramento stormed back to take a 103-96 lead into the fourth quarter.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry scored 20 points in that final period. After De’Aaron Fox hit a driving layup with 2:40 left to put the Kings up 121-120, Curry responded with a layup and a free throw. Little more than a minute later, Draymond Green found Andre Iguodala for an alleyoop dunk, giving Golden State a four-point cushion and silencing a raucous crowd.
Such a heated, backand-forth affair only fueled Kings fans eager for a rivalry with their Northern California neighbors. In its three matchups this season with Golden State, Sacramento has lost by a combined 10 points. A team long considered a Western Conference doormat is looking like a playoff contender and a difficult out for years to come.
And it got to this point by following the Warriors’ lead. Quoting a league source, ESPN reported in January 2017 that Kings principal owner Vivek Ranadive — a former Golden State minority owner — has an “unhealthy fixation on the Warriors.” Only after Sacramento implemented an up-tempo, movementheavy system reminiscent of Golden State’s did it begin to thrive.
Like the Warriors, the Kings have built through the draft and a couple of shrewd trades. Guard Buddy Hield, whom Ranadive has compared to Curry, scored a teamhigh 32 points Saturday with Curry-esque efficiency: 12-for-21 shooting, including 8-for-13 from three-point range.
Seldom is a replica as good as the original, however. Hield didn’t score in the fourth quarter, while Curry erupted for 42 points on 14-for-26 shooting, 10-for-20 from three-point range. Five threes came in the fourth.
“It’s fun — it’s really fun,” Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. “The three-ball looks great when you’re shooting it well. I’m sure fans had a great time.”
Saturday was yet another reminder of how
the Warriors’ recent dominance has changed the NBA landscape.
During coach Steve Kerr’s first season with Golden State in 2014-15, it led the league with a pace of 99.3 possessions per game. It is now 10th in that category with 101.6.
In 2014-15, the Warriors were second in the NBA with 10.8 threepointers per game. They are tied for fourth this season with 12.3.
Thursday night, Golden State fell at home in overtime to a Houston team whose general manager, Daryl Morey, has publicly proclaimed that he built it to beat Golden State. With Saturday’s win, the Warriors moved to 1½ games behind Denver — a club also trying to top Golden State using a fast-paced, three-pointcentric style — for the West’s top seed.
“They say imitation’s the sincerest form of flattery, and that’s true,” Kerr said. “We’re seeing a lot of teams that are coming at us, just like we’ve been going at other teams for many years. The league’s gotten better.” Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle. com Twitter: @Con_Chron
in front of family, friends and his former Antioch coaches. Head coach John Lucido, offensive coordinator Brett Dudley and other Antioch assistants are planning to attend Monday’s game. So is Louie Rocha, the school’s principal.
“Every time I come back to Northern California, it feels like home,” Harris said. “This game isn’t any different, it’s just another team. But to be back home, that’s big. I didn’t think I was ever going to play at home again.”
Even so, Harris returns with mixed feelings about his situation at Alabama. He has rushed for 724 yards this season, averaging a team-high 6.7 yards per attempt.
On Saturday, in a 10minute interview with The Chronicle, he made clear his frustration at not having a bigger role in Alabama’s offense, especially after his breakout performance in last year’s championship game — 64 yards on six carries in the fourth quarter.
“I’m happy to be back