SACRAMENTO – Stephen Curry scored a season low, and so did the cold-shooting Golden State Warriors.
But for all of their head-shaking, the Warriors remained undefeated after holding off the Sacramento Kings in a 103-94 win Saturday.
Curry, the reigning MVP, scored 24 points and committed six turnovers as the 7-0 Warriors got dangerously close to seeing the Kings pull off the upset.
Klay Thompson added 18 points, hitting four 3-pointers on a night when his team finished 8 for 39 from beyond the arc. Andre Iguodala scored 14 points off the bench, and Festus Ezeli had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The Kings were missing injured star big man DeMarcus Cousins but saw point guard Rajon Rondo notch a triple-double with 14 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds.
As the Warriors kept clanking 3-point attempts, the Kings had their chances to win and held on to a 79-78 lead with under six minutes remaining.
But then Curry got going. He hit his first 3-pointer of the game with 5:43 left to put the Warriors back ahead after starting 0 for 8 from long distance.
Thompson followed with a layup, and the Warriors couldn’t breathe a collective sigh of relief until his 3-pointer with 1:38 left pushed the lead back to 10 points.
The Warriors committed 18 turnovers in a sloppy game that saw the Kings have 22 turnovers.
Curry finished 8 for 18 from the field, including 2 for 10 from 3-point range. His younger brother, Seth, did not play for the Kings because of a sprained right ankle, and the brothers missed out on an opportunity to play against each other in an organized game for the first time.
The Kings outshot the Warriors 43.7-41.3 percent.
Marco Belinelli hit a 3-pointer to put the Kings ahead 55-53, but losing the lead seemed to energize the Warriors.
Golden State restored order with a 14-0 run capped off by Curry’s 3-point play and subsequent layup in transition.
If the Warriors’ lackluster play was because of playing in their second game in two nights, they’ll have to improve in that area. The Warriors’ schedule features a league-high 20 back-to-backs.
Curry had only three points by halftime, starting the game 1 for 6 from the field.
So went the Warriors, who led 46-38 at halftime after their lowest-scoring first half of the season. Iguodala came off the bench to rack up nine points, two steals and three assists including a behind-the-back pass in transition for a Leandro Barbosa layup that gave the Warriors a 30-19 lead.
They also started sluggishly with their lowest-scoring first quarter of the season, but they still led 20-14. The Kings couldn’t take advantage, committing eight turnovers in the quarter.
Center Andrew Bogut missed his sixth straight game because of a concussion, but he could return to action Monday against the Detroit Pistons, according to interim head coach Luke Walton.
Walton said Bogut, who has not yet completed the NBA’s return-to-participation concussion protocol, must first successfully go through a scheduled contact workout.
Whether Bogut would start upon his return remains to be seen as Ezeli has played well in the starting role. Walton noted that Bogut could be eased back into action after having missed three preseason games with a broken nose.
“We have a good flow going, but that will be something that is decided on once we know he’s 100 percent going to play,” Walton said.
