Ben Simmons Makes Debut as Kings Fall Against Warriors

The Sacramento Kings continued their winless preseason with a 111-106 road loss against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, Oct. 10, in San Francisco.

Ben Simmons made his Kings debut with seven points in nine minutes on the floor. He made half of his shots, missed only one free throw, and didn’t take a three-point shot during his limited time. 

Kings rookie Darius Acuff Jr. continues to impress during his first preseason in the NBA. He led the Kings with a game-high 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-6 from the three-point line and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed four rebounds and was two assists away from a double-double. 

Kings star Zach LaVine played more this time around and finished the game with 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting in 23 minutes. 

The Kings and Warriors made the same number of baskets (38) but Golden State made two more three-pointers and three more free throws. 

Steph Curry scored eight points with a 2-for-4 clip from the three-point line in limited time on the court. Draymond Green scored only three points with seven rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes on the floor. 

The Warriors were led by Yaxel Lendeborg, who scored 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting with 10 rebounds for the only double-double of the game. Brandon Williams scored 19 points on an efficient 7-of-8 from the floor and Georges Niang added 13 points with 3-of-4 from the three-point line. 

Brandin Podziemski took the most shots from behind the arc for the Warriors, making 3-of-7 for 14 points while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out four assists. 

The Kings initially fell behind 19-12 before going on a 12-1 run that put them ahead and a free throw by Simmons ended the first quarter with Sacramento leading 25-24. 

The Kings remained ahead 54-50 with three minutes left in the second quarter after a three-point basket by LaVine. The Warriors went on an 11-2 run to go into halftime leading 61-56. 

A pair of free throws by Precious Achiuwa gave the Kings back the lead, 70-69 with eight minutes left in the third quarter. The Warriors outscored the Kings 20-11 the rest of the period to lead 89-81 going into the fourth quarter. 

The Warriors led the Kings by 10 points after a slam dunk by Charles Bassey with 4:42 left in the fourth quarter. The Kings went on a 10-0 run to pull within two points of the Warriors. Two baskets and a free throw from Jonathan Mogbo put Sacramento as close as it could be to Golden State, down 103-101 with 3:27 left in the game. Mogbo made three more free throws to keep the Kings within two points of the Warriors, 108-106, in the final minute. Golden State made three more free throws and Sacramento couldn’t find the basket the rest of the game. 

The Kings will host the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.