NBA Game Summary - Golden State at Sacramento
Sacramento, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Stephen Curry filled the stat sheet with 24 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and five assists as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Sacramento Kings 95-77 in Steve Kerr's head coaching debut.
Mark Jackson was unable to keep his job despite leading the Warriors to 51 wins a year ago and nine playoff wins during his three-year stint -- more victories (six) than Golden State had in its previous two decades.
The rookie head coach Kerr, who won five NBA championship rings as a player, will attempt to guide the Warriors beyond the second round of the playoffs this season for the first time in 40 years.
"A lot of fun," Kerr said of his first game. "We finally started fighting on the glass and once we did that we were able to get loose in our transition."
Klay Thompson had 19 points and six assists for Golden State, which fell to the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games during the first round of last season's NBA playoffs.
Marreese Speights provided 16 points off the bench and Draymond Green added 12 points and 10 boards in the triumph.
DeMarcus Cousins posted 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings, who turned the ball over 27 times.
"It was at 5:40 in the third quarter when we were up by one, and we turned into the Keystone Cops," Kings head coach Michael Malone said.
A Rudy Gay dunk in transition off a Darren Collison steal staked the Kings to a 54-51 lead in the third before Golden State pulled away following a 19-2 run.
Six different Warriors scored during the burst with Harrison Barnes and Curry each putting in five. Speights capped the surge with a driving layup along the right side of the lane for a healthy 70-56 Warriors cushion late in the third.
Golden State took a 73-63 advantage into the fourth and never trailed by less than double figures in the final frame.
Neither team led by more than seven in the first half.
Leandro Barbosa finished off an 8-0 spurt with a layup to give the Warriors a 23-16 margin late in the first before Carl Landry's dunk in the final second pulled Sacramento within 25-23 after a quarter of play.
The Kings led 49-47 at the break.