Fox, Monk lead Kings to first home playoff win in 17 years, defeating the Warriors 126-123

SACRAMENTO — Sacramento’s duo of DeAaron Fox and Malik Monk scored a combined 70 points,  outdueling their more heralded Golden State opponents, powering the Kings to a 126-123 victory over the defending NBA champions in Game 1 of their NBA first-round showdown Saturday night.

Game 2 is Monday night in Sacramento. The Warriors haven’t fallen behind 2-0 in a playoff series since the second round of the 2007 playoffs against Utah.  

Fox scored 15 of his team-high 38 points in the fourth quarter while Monk was a thorn in Warriors side all night scoring 32 points. 

Meanwhile, Steph Curry — whose 3-pointer at the buzzer was off target — finished the night with 30 points while Klay Thompson went 8 for 19 to score 21.

The game lived up to its billing as a frenetic offensive showdown. The Kings took 98 shot attempts while the Warriors countered with 90. 

The first playoff meeting ever between the Northern California neighbors lived up to the hype and delighted the raucous crowd that had been waiting for a playoff game since 2006.

 The inexperienced Kings closed the game strong against a Warriors team that had won four titles in the previous eight seasons.  

After Curry hit a corner 3-pointer to give Golden State a 114-112 lead with about four minutes left, the Kings responded with seven in a row starting with a 3-pointer from Fox, who led the league in clutch points in the regular season.

The Warriors didn’t go away and cut the deficit to one on a layup by Curry in the final minute. But Andrew Wiggins missed a corner 3 for the lead in the closing seconds of his first game in more than two months.

Malik Monk made two free throws to make it 126-123 with 2.9 seconds left. Curry missed a runner from 3 at the buzzer, giving the Kings their first playoff win since April 30, 2006, against San Antonio.

Wiggins, playing in his first game in nearly two months, scored 17 points, had three rebounds and four blocks in 28 minutes of action.

The Warriors had extended their lead to 10 points, 67-57, with 10:15 to go in the third quarter and seemed to have all the momentum before Fox went on a 11 straight points spree to keep the Kings in the game at 76-70. 

But Fox was not to be denied.  He would score 14 points in the quarter, Monk adding 9 and with Trey Lyles hitting the offensive boards, the Kings retook the lead 91-90 at the end of the third quarter.

Wiggins, playing off the bench in the first half for the first in his NBA career, showed little or no rust in his first game back after missing nearly two months while he was addressing a family issue.

Thanks to his play, the Warriors held a 61-55 halftime advantage in a frenetically paced first half. Wiggins scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field with 2 of his 3 rebounds coming on offensive boards and an assist.

With Jordan Poole adding 13 points and Curry and Thompson scoring 10 each in the half, Golden State broke from a 29-29 even first quarter to the 6-point margin at the half.

With Wiggins and late second re-addition Gary Payton Jr., Golden State’s lackluster road defense looked more like the one that carried the team to an NBA title than then one that stumbled to an 11-30 record in the off-season.

The switching defense flow allowed the Warriors to hold Sacramento stars Sabonis and Fox in check in the first half.  Sabonis was 4-for-12 in the half for 10 points and added nine rebounds. Fox was 0-for-3 from the 3-point line for 9 points.