SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings (30-27) will come out of the NBA All-Star break facing Western Conference opponents in a stretch of games that could make or break their playoff chances.
In a matchup that could very well serve as a postseason preview, the Kings will travel to Oakland on Thursday, Feb. 21, to face the Golden State Warriors (41-16). This will be the fourth and final regular-season meeting between the Northern California teams who could face off in the first round of the NBA playoffs, should Sacramento make it there after a 12-season-long playoff drought.
The reigning NBA champion Warriors are currently the top seed in the Western Conference while the Sacramento Kings sit just outside of the playoff standings. The Kings were the eighth seed before suffering a last-second loss to the Denver Nuggets (39-18) just before the All-Star break. The loss put Sacramento a game behind the L.A. Clippers (32-27) for the eighth and final spot in the playoff standings with 25 games remaining in the regular season.
After a surprising start to their 2018-2019 campaign, the Kings have spent much of the season hovering around the eight-spot in the Western Conference standings. If the Kings can secure the eighth seed while the Warriors continue to run the table in the West, we'll get a best-of-seven playoff series featuring teams separated by just 87 miles.
While the Kings have come close in each of the last three regular-season meetings against Golden State, the Warriors have won their last four matchups against Sacramento. In their last meeting in January, the NorCal neighbors set an NBA record for three-point shots made in a game with the teams combining for 41. The Kings' 20 three-point shots made in the game set a franchise record. Three-time NBA champion Stephen Curry scored a game-high 42 points to lead the Warriors in a 127-123 win over the Kings at Golden 1 Center. Kings guard Buddy Hield scored 32 points after hitting a career-high eight three-point shots for Sacramento in the loss.
The three regular-season meetings between the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors have been decided by a combined 10 points.
The Golden State Warriors have only suffered three losses since the turn of the calendar, but the Sacramento Kings are looking to hand them their fourth loss of 2019 in their fourth and final regular-season meeting on Thursday, Feb. 21.
The Kings' tough stretch of road games continues on Saturday, Feb. 23, in Oklahoma City (37-20) and on Monday, Feb. 25, in Minnesota (27-30). The Kings won't be back in Sacramento until Wednesday, Feb. 27, when "The Greek Freak" Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks (43-14) visit Golden 1 Center. Tip-off for Thursday's Sacramento Kings vs. Golden State Warriors is set for 7:30 p.m. and you can watch the game live on NBC Sports California.
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