Carter's Career Night Leads Kings in Exciting Win Over Warriors

On the surface, tonight's game against the lottery-bound Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors, who are locked into the tenth spot in the Western Conference, had the makings of a late-season NBA game with little to no consequences. But in reality, it was an extremely exciting and engaging game of basketball that saw the Kings' young players lead Sacramento to victory in their final home game of the season.

Some fans and media will be quick to point out that the Kings squandered an opportunity in the standings tonight, as the Utah Jazz played earlier in the night and blew out the Memphis Grizzlies 147-101 to fall briefly into the fifth spot in the standings.

The Warriors didn't play their starters down the stretch, but they were trying to win to the end. The Kings could have folded and let up, but instead, they earned a hard-fought win.

Carter's Career Night

Apr 7, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Devin Carter (22) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) in the second quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Thankfully, tonight, it was the young guys who led the way. Devin Carter, especially, stood out with a career-high 29 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block on 11-of-18 from the field and 6-of-11 from three.

When Carter plays with the type of confidence we saw tonight, he reminds everyone why he was a lottery pick just two drafts ago. His career hasn't taken off yet, but he gives glimpses of what he can do with nights like tonight. What really stood out was his hustle and physicality, and in a game that got chippy (as it so often does with the Kings and Warriors), Carter was at the center of it.

Back-to-back screens from Draymond Green exemplify the energy from Carter tonight. One was a non-called moving screen, and the other was a clean screen that Carter ran through like a brick wall. The Warriors were physical with the whole Kings team tonight, but Carter, especially after those plays. But Carter didn't shy away from it and was a huge reason why the Kings got the win tonight.

Young Guys Lead the Way

It wasn't just Carter who had a great game tonight, either. Maxime Raynaud had 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. Nique Clifford added 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. And Dylan Cardwell had 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks off the bench. Simply put, everyone you hoped would have a good game for the Kings, had a good game.

These are the types of games that the Kings can build on next season. Losing may be the right thing to do right now, but these players, and this franchise, are showing that there are signs of life with this roster. Sacramento still needs to find a star to lead the way, but there's a solid base of a rotation on this team. Now all we can do is wait to see what Scott Perry does to reshape the roster and build around it. And the good news is that we don't have to wait long as the Kings close out their season on Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers.