Kings stun Warriors, advance to NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinals originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
BOX SCORE
The Kings erased a 24-point deficit Tuesday night and stunned the Warriors 124-123 at Golden 1 Center to advance to the NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinals and eliminate their Northern California rivals from the inaugural event.
Kings guard Malik Monk banked in a wild go-ahead shot with 7.6 seconds remaining, and Steph Curry’s buzzer-beater on the ensuing Warriors possession clanked off the front of the rim as time expired on Sacramento’s thrilling victory.
The Kings’ path to In-Season Tournament advancement was to either beat the Warriors outright or lose to them by 11 or fewer points, and they accomplished the former with their victory in the West Group C finale.
Up next for the Kings, who went undefeated in group play and are the West’s No. 2 seed: A quarterfinal date with the No. 3 New Orleans Pelicans at 7 p.m. PT on Monday in Sacramento. Matchups with the Pelicans haven’t been kind to the Kings so far this season, though, as they lost both games in New Orleans on Nov. 20 (129-93) and Nov. 22 (117-112).
The top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers will host the wild-card Phoenix Suns in the other West quarterfinal.
The two West quarterfinal winners will meet in the In-Season Tournament semifinal on Thursday, Dec. 7, with a chance to advance to the NBA Cup championship on Saturday, Dec. 9. Both games would be played in Las Vegas.
In the Eastern Conference, the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks will host the wild-card New York Knicks in one quarterfinal, while the Indiana Pacers will host the Boston Celtics in the other.