Charles Barkley and the Tuesday crew of “Inside the NBA” covered the Play-In Tournament game involving the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings. After a seesaw first half, the Kings steadily pulled away in the next 24 minutes. In the end, it turned out to be a beatdown as the “Dubs” had no answer for Keegan Murray, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.
At halftime, Barkley said that the Kings should have never been in trouble in the first half if they had not taken “crazy shots.” The Hall of Famer’s worries proved to be unfounded as the hosts’ haymakers were too much for the Bay Area team to handle. Sacramento defended its home court with a 118-94 drubbing of Steph Curry and the Warriors.
After the game ended, Charles Barkley couldn’t resist poking fun at the Warriors:
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“We going fishing!!!”
The Sacramento Kings had a fast start to open the game, but the Golden State Warriors fought back in the second. Sacramento, however, took control of the third period before eventually punishing the visitors in the home stretch. The Kings will now fly to Louisiana to take on the New Orleans Pelicans in another must-win matchup.
Charles Barkley said before the game that Keegan Murray needed to play well for the Kings to survive their first play-in tournament game. The young forward must have heard the Hall of Famer and responded with the best game of his career, leading Sacramento with 32 points. His timely baskets, particularly his 3-pointers, were a thorn in Golden State’s sides all game long.
Murray shone not only on offense but also on the other end of the floor. He helped hound Klay Thompson to an awful 0-for-10 shooting, including 0-for-6 from behind the arc. It was the first time in “Game 6 Klay’s” first scoreless game when playing over 10 minutes.
Charles Barkley predicted the Warriors were “cooked” four months ago
The Golden State Warriors barely had their heads above water for nearly the entire season. Late in December last year, they had a 15-17 record for 12th in the Western Conference. Charles Barkley had this to say about the “Dubs” back then:
“I told y’all this team was cooked. Y’all thought I was crazy. They got away last year because Steph [Curry] went crazy in Game 7. Sacramento shoulda beaten them. Steph’s gonna slow down, too. They’re an old team and everybody slows down.”
Steph Curry carried the Warriors to an epic Game 7 win over the Kings in the first round last season when he dropped 50 points on the road. He couldn’t follow the same script this time around after finishing with 22 points. And for the most part on Tuesday, the younger Kings, who didn’t have Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk, ran rings around them.
Charles Barkley’s prediction has come true, and he’s going fishing to pat himself on the back.
Edited by Michael Macasero
