By Mark Haynes | OBSERVER Correspondent
Friday could be the final chapter of the Sacramento Kings’ storied season. After dropping three straight games to the Golden State Warriors, Mike Brown’s team has their backs against the wall as they are trailing 3-2 in a best-of-seven series. A victory for the Warriors moves them to the second round, and a loss for the Kings sends them home for the summer.
Winning two consecutive games isn’t going to be easy, but Brown believes his squad can pull it off with a few modifications.
“When we make mistakes or pass up shots down the stretch especially, you pay for it at the other end against these guys,” Brown told The OBSERVER. “It’s been two or three games in a row where they’ve come out in the third quarter and had a big third quarter against us. We’ve just got to regroup, watch the film, and get ready to go down to San Francisco and get a win. Our guys will be ready for game six.”
The Kings had a big first quarter Wednesday night, but the Warriors kept the game close. After one period of play, the Kings led 36-33. Davion Mitchell was 2-of-3 from deep but finished the game 2-of-8. Although his shooting was a significant factor in the game’s outcome, the second-year guard wasn’t the only player to struggle with his shot. The Kings were 8-of-12 from deep in the first 12 minutes of play and concluded the game 10-of-34. It’s a stat line the Kings can’t duplicate if they want a chance to win their next match against the defending champs.
“It’s kind of like desperation,” Mitchell said. “It’s win or go home… We were up 2-0, and they did a really good job of coming out strong and hitting us in the mouth in game three and kind of took that over. We have to have the same mindset coming in. That’s a really good team, especially at home. We have to punch them in the mouth first.”
The sixth game of this series will be on Friday inside of the Chase Center. Will the Kings light the beam again and force a seventh game, or is it the final chapter of an incredible season?