Stephen Curry scored 32 points, and the defending champion Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings 126-125 to even the first-round series 2-2.
Curry’s driving layup answered Malik Monk’s driving layup and put the Warriors back ahead for good with 8:49 left in the fourth quarter.
De'Aaron Fox’s 29-foot pull-up 3-pointer made it 126-125 with 28.7 seconds left. The Kings had the ball down 1 after a timeout, but Harrison Barnes missed a 28-foot 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left that would have put them ahead.
During clutch time, the teams each scored 10. Fox (Clutch Player of the Year, 2022-23) scored 7 of the Kings’ 10 on 2 for 6 shooting and 2 for 2 at the line. In the fourth quarter, Monk had 2 steals, both with the game within five points, and the Kings scored 2 points off them.
Klay Thompson scored 26 points on 9 for 15 shooting, and Jordan Poole added 22 points (12 in the paint). The Warriors had 3 20-point scorers.
For the Kings, Fox had 38 points and 9 rebounds, and Keegan Murray added 23 points (15 on 5 3-pointers) on 9 for 13 shooting.
The Warriors outscored the Kings 38-27 in 13 minutes with Curry, Thompson, Green, Wiggins and Looney on the floor together.