Sacramento handed the home crowd one last regular season win by defeated depleted Golden State.
The Sacramento Kings lit the nighttime sky purple one last time on Friday.
Once down by 11, then nearly losing a 15-point lead on its end, Sacramento held on to defeat the Golden State Warriors 124-118 inside the Golden 1 Center.
Despite what's been a torrid year, Kings players got to light up the beam one more time before the season ends.
The Kings even overcame a rough third quarter against a Warriors team that limited Steph Curry and Draymond Green toward the end. Head coach Steve Kerr handed them 27 and 24 minutes total, respectively.
But Golden State still outscored Sacramento 38-19 during that third period. Until the Kings exploded scoring wise on their end, by tacking on 42 fourth quarter points.
Sacramento shot 46% from the floor including 39% from behind the arc. Devin Carter banked the most from long range with six total out of 11 attempts. Malik Monk and Daeqwon Plowden both hit multiple 3's too, with three apiece. Even rookies Maxime Raynaud and Malik Monk hit a pair of 3-pointers for the Kings.
The victors also out-rebounded the Warriors 49-36 on the evening. Three different Kings players led the way in collecting nine rebounds: Raynaud, Plowden and Carter. Dylan Cardwell added seven boards to go along with his seven points.
Carter exploded on the scoring end, hitting 29 to lead the Kings. Plowden and Clifford hit 20 points apiece. Raynaud dropped 23 points, which is now the 12th time this season he's scored past the 20-point mark.
Monk dropped 11 points off the bench. Killian Hayes chipped in six points. Precious Achiuwa got held to only five points while pulling down six rebounds.
Four different Kings players snatched two steals: Achiuwa, Plowden, Carter and Cardwell. The latter also delivered two blocks alongside Monk.
But with the win, the Kings impact their projected NBA Draft placement ahead of the May 10 lottery pairings.
The Brooklyn Nets are now increasing their chances of landing at No. 1 by virtue of their Friday night loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Now the Nets are anticipated to land inside the top three and potentially pick up the No. 1 overall selection.
Sacramento, meanwhile, can avoid a 60-loss season by stunning the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
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