Kings vs. Warriors score, takeaways: Stephen Curry leads Golden State to thrilling Game 4 win over Sacramento

Curry finished the win with 32 points as the Warriors evened the series

The Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings have provided fans with some of the most thrilling games of the NBA playoffs to this point and that trend continued on Sunday afternoon as the defending champions were able to hold on for a 126-125 victory to even the series at 2-2. As we've seen throughout this series, there was plenty of drama as the Warriors nearly gave the game away in the final minute after being assessed a technical foul for calling a timeout they didn't have.

In the end, a Harrison Barnes 3-pointer at the buzzer did not fall and Golden State was able to survive. Stephen Curry was fantastic on the offensive end, as he has been throughout his storied playoff career, finishing the win with a team-high 32 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists. Fresh off of his suspension. Draymond Green came off the bench but left his mark on the game immediately and had some impact plays on the defensive end in crunch time.

Sacramento was led by De'Aaron Fox who had a game-high 38 points in what was another spectacular effort but it was not enough in the end to lift the Kings to a victory and now they will have to head home to Golden 1 Center and defend their home court against a Warriors team that seems to have all the momentum in their favor. 

Here are the three biggest takeaways from Game 4:

1. The biggest technical foul in NBA history... almost

With 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Malik Monk missed a layup that was rebounded by Kevon Looney. With Golden State leading by five, the game was effectively over. Until it wasn't. A few minutes earlier, Looney was called for an offensive foul on an illegal screen. Steve Kerr called a timeout to challenge the call. He was unsuccessful. What Kerr failed to inform his team was that the challenge cost Golden State its final timeout of the game. So when Looney rebounded that Monk miss and Curry called timeout, the Warriors didn't have one to spend. That's a technical foul.

Malik Monk sank the free throw, and after an ugly miss that fortunately bounced out of bounds off of Golden State, De'Aaron Fox drilled a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to a single point. Curry missed a runner. The Kings had a chance to win the game on the final possession. Harrison Barnes missed the potential game-winner. Golden State escaped with a victory.

Only afterward could the gravity of that miss truly set in. You could make a legitimate argument that Curry had just committed the single biggest technical foul in NBA history. That four-point swing created a situation that could have put the Warriors down 3-1 headed back to Sacramento and ended Golden State's dynasty considering the financial realities facing this team in the offseason. At the very least, it would have put Curry in the history books alongside Chris Webber, whose decision to call a timeout his team didn't have cost Michigan a chance at the 1993 NCAA title. 

Instead, the Warriors tie the series, and the moment might be forgotten in time. Curry's legacy is bulletproof at this point. Nobody could have credibly held a mistake like this against him. But after all of Draymond Green's shenanigans, it felt almost unthinkable that a mistake by Golden State's controversy-free star could have ended the dynasty on their home floor. 

2. Draymond saves the day

For the first time since 2014, Draymond Green came off of the bench in a game that was not meant to serve as a post-injury ramp-up. The Kings controlled most of the first half thanks in large part to De'Aaron Fox. Sacramento's star point guard scored 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Fox was still quite good in the second half, but he was far less efficient, making only five of his 14 field goal attempts.

So what changed? The (unofficial) Defensive Player of the Decade took on the assignment. Green started the second half on the floor and spent much of it attached to Fox. He didn't fully stop Fox because nobody can do that, but he limited him just enough for the Warriors to win by a single point.

The logic behind benching Green to start the game was to maximize Golden State's offensive spacing. Stopping Stephen Curry is a five-man effort that becomes substantially easier if an offense has two non-shooters for the defense to ignore. Green and Looney are redundant in that way. But the defensive tradeoff was enormous. The Kings scored 69 points in the first half.

Green isn't exactly known for defending guards one-on-one. If anything, he's typically been better at going up and defending true big men. But his superpower is defensive versatility. He's the greatest switching big man in NBA history. Any lingering doubts about his defensive capabilities even in his 30s should be gone now. Green can still defend practically anyone in the NBA. 

3. Can anyone support Fox?

Only three Kings scored in the final nine minutes of this game. Malik Monk only did so at the free-throw line. Davion Mitchell made a single field goal. Everything else the Kings generated? That was De'Aaron Fox. He came as close to winning this game on his own as any player reasonably could have, but, well, better players have tried and failed to take down Golden State without help. If LeBron James couldn't do it with 51 points, Fox wasn't going to be able to with 38.

Domantas Sabonis is averaging only 16.3 points per game in this series. Kevin Huerter has made only three of his 21 3-point attempts. Keegan Murray had 23 points in Game 4... but only 10 in the first three games combined. Harrison Barnes shot 3-of-11 on Sunday.

Right now, Fox is the only Sacramento starter holding up his end of the bargain. Mitchell's defense has been sensational and Monk has stepped up as the second-best King in this series, but you can't beat Golden State if half of your roster doesn't show up. Sooner or later, Fox is going to start missing shots. What happens then? Sabonis, Barnes, Murray and Huerter all owe Fox more support than they've given him in this series. They have three games to deliver.

[Apr 23, 2023 at 6:16 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

No good! Warriors win!

Stephen Curry denies De'Aaron Fox. He passes it out to Harrison Barnes. Barnes misses at the buzzer. Warriors win 126-125. This series is tied at two games apiece.

[Apr 23, 2023 at 6:14 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

The Kings have a chance to win it!

What a swing! The technical foul on the Warriors winds up giving the Kings four points. Stephen Curry misses the floater. Kings rebound and call timeout. The Kings are improbably one shot away from winning this game and taking a 3-1 series lead!

[Apr 23, 2023 at 6:12 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Webber!

The Warriors just called a timeout without having a timeout. That's a technical foul. The Kings will shoot a free throw AND get the ball. That could swing the game.

[Apr 23, 2023 at 6:08 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Call stands

Kevon Looney's illegal screen call stands. Kings ball, 2:14 remaining, Warriors up three. Monk is ok and saying on the floor.

[Apr 23, 2023 at 6:07 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Challenge on the floor

Kevon Looney gets called for an offensive foul on the illegal screen, but Steve Kerr immediately challenges the call. Meanwhile, Malik Monk is on the floor in serious pain.

[Apr 23, 2023 at 6:02 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Fourth-quarter Fox doing it all

De'Aaron Fox is the only King to make a field goal since the 9:03 mark of the fourth quarter. His floater cuts the deficit to one. It's 118-117 Warriors as the Clutch Player of the Year makes a desperate bid to steal this game on the road.

[Apr 23, 2023 at 5:49 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Curry responds

And as soon as the Kings take the lead, the Warriors swing it back with a 5-0 run that includes a big 3-pointer from Stephen Curry. Neither team has led by more than 10 points, yet it feels like both teams are overcoming monster deficits time and time again.

[Apr 23, 2023 at 5:48 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Kings back in front!

In three minutes, the Kings have turned a 10-point deficit into a one-point lead. Both sides are trading haymakers at this point.

[Apr 23, 2023 at 5:47 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

The whistles are finally coming

Midway through the second quarter, this game had seen only a single free throw. We're now up to 30 in total. So much for a whistle-free basketball game.