Warriors come out flat, fail to close out Kings in Game 6 - ESPN

SAN FRANCISCO — Heading into Friday night's Game 6, Sacramento Kings veteran Malik Monk told his teammates in the locker room to lock in, that it was a must for the starters to begin the game right, live up to the bright lights and don't have any regrets. And before the Kings raced onto the Chase Center floor, Harrison Barnes yelled, «Leave it all on the floor and let's bring this back to Sac.»

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr even warned his team: Be ready for a different level from the Kings. They would be looser, Kerr said. They would be playing with more aggression. They would be playing with far more emotions.

But even with Kerr's warnings, the Warriors were somehow caught off guard.

«I don't think (we were ready),» Klay Thompson said, after Golden State was completely outplayed in a 118-99 loss that saw the Warriors fail to close out their Western Conference first-round series.

«We just had a lot of kind of mental errors, and they took advantage of it and grabbed momentum early,» Stephen Curry said. «I don't know if that was an energy thing or a focus thing, or whatever it was, but you have to be able to learn those lessons quickly.»

The Warriors set the tone for their lackluster game early. They opened sloppily — several empty possessions forced by blocks and strips from Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis. They committed nine turnovers in the first half alone, leading to 15 Sacramento points. Sacramento outscored Golden State 30-16 in the paint and shot 40.7% from the field, compared to the Warriors' first-half season-low 27.8%.

The Kings also dominated the boards, grabbing 32 rebounds, 11 of which were offensive boards.

And yet at halftime, Golden State trailed by just seven. That's thanks in large part to Curry