After a season of struggling away from home, the Golden State Warriors earned their second road win in three games to eliminate the Sacramento Kings in Game 7 Sunday. When all was said and done, Kings center Domantas Sabonis wasn’t about shaking hands with the opposition, according to Draymond Green.

“Lost a lot of respect for Sabonis,” Green revealed on the April 30 edition of the “Draymond Green Show.” “You don’t shake guys hands after you lose, I don’t respect that. I once left the court, when we lost in Game 7 to the Cleveland Cavaliers. I went to my locker room and I sat down and I said, ‘This don’t feel right.’ And I walked about out onto the court and I showed everybody love. You lost, deal with it. Pay your respect. That was whack to me, that’s whack. But, I wouldn’t even necessarily say lost respect, like I don’t respect that and that’s whack.”

Let’s Not Forget Draymond Green’s Stomp in Warriors-Kings Game 2

Sabonis’ decision to not shake Green’s hand after the series shouldn’t come as a surprise.

The Warriors star was ejected from Game 2 and suspended from Game 3 of this series, for stomping on Sabonis’ chest.

After his ejection, Green attempted to justify his actions by saying that the Kings center grabbed his ankle and wouldn’t let go.

“I got my foot grabbed. Second time in two nights and referees just watching,” Green said via “The Athletic’s” Anthony Slater. “I got to land my foot somewhere. I’m not the most flexible person. You can only step so far with him pulling my leg away.”

Sabonis was having none of it. He issued a response later on, claiming that there’s no place in the game for that sort of thing.

“I fell and I was trying to protect myself and then obviously the incident happened. I feel like there’s no room for that in our game today,” he claimed via NBC Sports Kings.

Draymond Green Pays Respect to De’Aaron Fox After Warriors Bounce Kings

While Green might not have been thrilled with Sabonis’ actions, it doesn’t mean that he didn’t show love to some of his teammates. The former Defensive Player of the Year was sure to shout out star guard De’Aaron Fox, during his postgame availability.

He explained that he and Fox are “cut from the same cloth.”

“I just paid my respect. I’ve been in a lot of playoff series against a lot of different guys,” Green said via NBC Sports Bay Area. “And if I’m honest, you leave most with less respect for a lot of guys. Whether it’s how they act in the moment — how they step up to the pressure. I’ve lost a lot of respect for guys over the years in the playoffs. And then there’s some you gain respect for. There’s some you see and you know they’re cut from that same cloth you feel like you’re cut from and Fox is one of those guys.”

Fox impressed in his playoff-series debut. In seven games against the Warriors, the 25-year-old averaged 27.4 points, 7.7 assists, and 5.4 rebounds, while shooting 42.4% from the field and 33.3% from deep.

He was undoubtedly the best player for the Kings throughout, and earned that respect from Green.

On Friday night, the Golden State Warriors fumbled. With a chance to close out the series at Chase Center, they got absolutely blown out of the water by the Sacramento Kings in Game 6. It was a complete disaster of a game for the Warriors.

De’Aaron Fox and the Kings lit up the Warriors, beating them 118-99. Fox led the way for the Kings, dropping 26 points and 11 assists. After the game, he talked about how great the Kings played, name-dropping Stephen Curry in the process.

“It was huge, especially when you’re playing on the road,” Fox said of the Kings winning in the margin. “Those are the things that you really want to be able to win. Obviously, we can’t expect Steph to miss three free throws, and Jordan [Poole] to miss two free throws. I mean, those are two of the best free-throw shooters in the league. But I think that the only critique that I really have about our game is my turnovers tonight and them shooting 35 free throws. Other than that, I feel like we basically played a perfect game.”

Curry put up solid numbers, but his efficiency from the field wasn’t great. He finished the night with 29 points, four rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block. However, he shot just 9-of-21 overall. (But he did shoot 5-of-12 from deep.)

Fox also spoke about how the Kings were able to limit the Warriors’ three-point shooting–outside of Curry, of course.

“Holding them to 31% from three,” Fox said. “Obviously, Steph still shoots over 40%, but I don’t know how often you can really keep him under that. But other than that, I feel like limiting other guys, we did a good job at that tonight.”

Warriors’ Stephen Curry Praises Malik Monk

Meanwhile, after the game, Curry had some high praise for Kings guard Malik Monk. Fox was the top option for Sacramento, but Monk led the team in scoring with 28 points off the pine.

“He’s been an X-factor in their wins, and when we’ve contained him, I think most of those games, we’ve come out with the win,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “Even in Game 5, he got hot a little bit down the stretch, but in the first half, we kind of kept him in check. So, it’s just a matter of locking in on his energy. He comes in, he plays aggressive, [and] he loves to score. He was hitting his threes tonight. We kind of gave him to me open looks. So, you obviously have to key in on him. And the way that they mixed up their lineup, he’s featured a lot more. So, [we] got to make the adjustments.”

Warriors’ Kevon Looney Discusses Kings Tactics

Sacramento decided to roll out a small-ball lineup with Trey Lyles at center for large portions of the game. Kevon Looney spoke about how it affected the Warriors.

“I think it affected it some, just because it was kind of a new lineup that we haven’t seen this series,” Looney said via NBC Sports Bay Area. “We kind of had to make some adjustments [with] how we were going to guard it and guard the pick-n-roll. Different things like that. We had been playing a certain way the whole series. So, it took some adjustment. Some time to get used to. It’s something that we got to watch film and see how we want to execute better against the small lineup, but I think we can make the adjustments.”

The Golden State Warriors took care of business in Game 4, evening the best-of-seven series at 2-2 and protecting their home floor for the second game in a row. Utilizing their playoff experience, they were able to fend off the Sacramento Kings in the final minutes of Golden State’s 126-125 win.

After the game, Kings head coach (and former Warriors assistant) Mike Brown spoke about his team’s playoff inexperience, noting two plays where they left Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson open behind the arc.

“You can’t rest out there,” Brown said. “You can’t think that you can play something a certain way and the champions aren’t going to make you pay the price. One time, we gapped versus Steph, and hit a 3, which was huge. Another time, we gapped versus Klay, and he hit a 3, which was huge. And you might think, ‘Ah, it’s just one possession.’ Well, those six points right there, us not doing what we’re supposed to do, that shows our playoff inexperience, because you have to take pride in playing a certain way for 48 minutes, and it ain’t going to be easy.”

The duo of Curry and Thompson carried the offensive load for the Warriors in Game 4, leading the Warriors in the scoring column. And they lit it up from 3-point land.

Curry finished the night with 32 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal. He shot 11-of-22 from the field and 5-of-11 from behind the 3-point arc. Thompson put up 26 points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal. He shot 9-of-15 from the floor and 4-of-9 from deep.

Warriors’ Stephen Curry Praises Andrew Wiggins

While Curry and Thompson led the way on offense, Andrew Wiggins played a huge role on the defensive end. After the game, Curry showed love to Wiggins, dropping two nicknames, both praising his clutch defensive play.

“Playoff Wiggs. Two-Way Wiggs. All the different nicknames that he’s established since he’s been here,” Curry said. “Huge part of our success with the way that he can influence games, not just scoring the basketball. So, it’s easy to forget this is only his fourth game back since February. He’s starting to find his legs and find his confidence. His endurance to play 38 minutes and chase D-Fox around all game. You love to see it.”

Wiggins last played on February 13, missing the final 25 games of the regular season with an undisclosed personal issue.

Warriors’ Draymond Green on Game 4 Final Play

Game 4 came down to the wire. With the ball in his hands with 10 seconds left in the game and Sacramento trailing 126-125, the Kings’ De’Aaron Fox drove into traffic in the lane, so he dished it to Harrison Barnes with 2.1 seconds left. Barnes fired a 3-point attempt that bounced off the rim as time expired. On his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show,” Draymond Green broke down the final possession from Golden State’s perspective.

“We know what Fox does in that situation,” Green said. “Most importantly, you can’t let him beat you there, which was my mindset. He got the ball, he was looking to make his move, [I] tried to get the ball out of his hands because you don’t just win Clutch Player of the Year being average. You’ve been in enough of those situations to show what you do in those situations. He got an award that was well-deserved, so I know in that situation what he’s trying to get to. And I came to help and Steph reacted immediately, went and get a contest on Harrison’s shot, and Harrison missed.”

Golden State Warriors stars Steph Curry and Draymond Green play head games as well as any duo in NBA history. Nobody knows that better than Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown.

Brown spent the previous six seasons on the Warriors bench as an assistant coach to Steve Kerr’s before accepting the Kings head coaching position for the 2022-23 campaign. On Friday, April 14, Brown met with media members and was asked about comments made by Curry and Green ahead of the start of the two teams’ first-round playoff series on Saturday.

Reporter James Ham of Kings Beat shared Brown’s response to his former players via Twitter.

“It’s a setup. They wanna kick my ass, trust me,” Brown said, laughing heartily. “I’ve been around them enough. It’s a setup. Don’t fall for it, and I’m not falling for it either. Screw you guys until this is over.”

Green, Curry Laud Brown Prior to Playoff Series With Kings

GettyGolden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr (left) is restrained by former Dubs assistant coach Mike Brown (right) during a 2017 game.

Brown was referencing comments made by Green and Curry during separate media appearances over the last several days. Green spoke on the April 11 edition of the #thisleague Uncut podcast with Chris Haynes and Marc Stein, addressing previous public slights he has made toward the Kings organization.

“The Kings have sucked. Since I’ve been in the NBA, they have sucked. Have not made the playoffs since I’ve been in the NBA,” Green said. “I also said … now that the Kings have Mike Brown, I expect them to change.”

“I give credit where credit is due. What Mike Brown has gone to Sacramento and done is absolutely amazing,” Green continued. “I expect him to continue taking that franchise upward in the right direction. I give them their props. They’re doing a great job.”

Curry sat in front of the microphone during a press conference on April 12 to discuss the looming series with the Kings, during which he mentioned Brown by name.

“We obviously have to win one up there to win the series, so we’d like it to be Game 1,” Curry said, per 95.7 The Game’s Twitter account. “We know it’s going to be tough. They’ve been a great team all year. They’ve had a great season. Mike [Brown] knows us well, and we know him well.”

Warriors Favored to Win Series Despite Kings’ Turnaround Under Brown

GettySteph Curry (left) and Draymond Green (right) of the Golden State Warriors.

The job in Sacramento is Brown’s third opportunity as an NBA head coach. He held the same position during two previous stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-10) and the Los Angeles Lakers (71 games between 2011-13).

Brown is among three finalists for the league’s Coach of the Year Award, per NBA.com, after leading the Kings to a 48-34 record and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. It is Sacramento’s first postseason appearance since the 2005-06 season, breaking the longest playoff drought in league history.

Brown spoke to his continued relationship with the Warriors organization, and with Kerr specifically, during a press conference following the two teams’ final regular season meeting on April 7.

“Yeah we’re close. We talk, not all the time, but we talk throughout the season, exchange texts, talk on the phone,” Brown said. “So we’ve been kind of in each other’s ear throughout the course of the year.”

Golden State went 3-1 against Sacramento this season. The Kings were 1-point favorites to win Game 1 against the Warriors as of Friday. However, the Dubs (-275) remain strong favorites to win the series, per the BetMGM Sportsbook.

DeMarcus Cousins is open to heading back to the team that shipped him away.

According to The Athletic’s Jason Jones, Cousins would be open to a return to Sacramento — the franchise that drafted him with the fifth overall pick in 2010. However, the team has not expressed the same desire.

Cousins spent first six-plus seasons in Sacramento, garnering three All-Star selections. The team traded him to the the New Orleans Pelicans in 2017 for Tyreke Evans, 2016 first-round draft pick Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway and first- and second-round draft picks.

Vlade Divac has said what kind of center the team is searching for, which Cousins no longer fits the billing for.

“If you’re talking about the Sacramento Kings, we know exactly how we’re going to play,” Divac told Jones, “uptempo, athleticism and shooting. The big guy has to check all those boxes for us to be somebody we consider to draft (or sign).”

Sacramento Kings in the Market for a Center

The Kings are looking for a center after Willie Cauley-Stein told the team he wanted out this offseason. However, the he is a restricted free agent after the team extended a qualifying offer this week.

“We’ve kind of hoped that things would change over the years and Willie would get a chance to expand his game, get a chance to get some consistency there in terms of the roster turnover and the coaching turnover and the things that have not been steady there,” Cauley-Stein’s agent Roger Montgomery told the Sacramento Bee. “That being said, I’m hopeful they will not even give Willie his qualifying offer so Willie can be an unrestricted free agent.”

Free agents the Kings have been linked to are Dewayne Dedmon, Enes Kanter and Al Horford. 

What’s Next for DeMarcus Cousins?

Following the trade out of Sacramento, Cousins suffered a devastating Achilles injury in February of 2018 the that altered not only his free agency plans, but career trajectory.

He signed a one-year, $5.3 million deal with the Warriors last offseason coming off the injury, deciding to pursue a championship as he rehabbed back to 100 percent.

The Golden State experience was met with mostly mixed reviews for the four-time All-Star. Cousins averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals during the regular season with the Warriors, but had a roller coaster postseason where he was hobbled by yet another injury — a partially torn quad.

The Knicks are among the contenders to add Cousins, while several teams have reportedly showed varying levels of interest for the former Kentucky standout. While there’s significant risk with his injury history, if he ever gets back to his previous level, Cousins could end up being a free agency steal.

Cousins, 28, has averaged 21.2 points and 10.9 rebounds for his career.