Kings Hold Pace in Lottery Race with Loss to Warriors

The Sacramento Kings made it a close contest with the Golden State Warriors, but just like we've seen over and over throughout his career, Stephon Curry hit a dagger three to keep the Kings from upsetting their Northern California foes.

In a game with a multitude of injuries for both teams, it turned into a battle of depth and team-scoring for both sides. The highest scoring player for either team was De'Anthony Melton with 21. No one on the Kings scored more than Killian Hayes' 18, and both teams had six players score in double digits.

It was a game that wreaked of 'end of season' and was they type of game where almost anything can happen. If anyone would have guessed that Melton would lead the Warriors in scoring while Hayes led the Kings, they would have been questioned for time travel.

The good news for the Kings is that they were able to hold even with the Utah Jazz, who lost their tenth straight game tonight. Both Sacramento and Utah now sit at 21-59 with just two games left and are tied for the fourth worst record in the NBA. The Kings have another game against the Warriors before ending their season against the Portland Trail Blazers, while the Jazz will face the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Jazz seem willing to do whatever it takes to lose, and the Kings seem to be leaning into that aspect more with DeMar DeRozan missing tonight's contest. It wouldn't be surprising if the future hall of famer is done for the season now that he's climbed into 16th on the all-time NBA scoring list.

The Kings also still have an outside chance of catching up with the Brooklyn Nets, who won tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks. They moved to 20-59 on the year with three games left, and will face the Indiana Pacers, Bucks again, and Toronto Raptors.

Lottery Watch Not as Fun as Playoff Watch

Apr 7, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Devin Carter (22) shoots over Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and guard Brandin Podziemski (2) in the first quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Ideally, the main story following the 80th game of the season wouldn't be a deep look at the draft lottery standings, but instead would focus on a playoff push and positioning. Unfortunately for the Kings, this is the position they've put themselves in with a disappointing season.

Even in tonight's game against the Warriors, there were solid performances from Maxime Raynaud with 17 points and 8 rebounds and Nique Clifford with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. But when Doug McDermott is scoring 16 points off the bench in on 13 field goal attempts, it's hard to look at that as a game with a focus on the future.

Dougie McBuckets for the LEAD 🧈 pic.twitter.com/XrKDGg7rmC
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) April 8, 2026

Tonight was fun, and a close game, but it was one that all eyes were on the loss. Thankfully for the Kings, and Sacramento fans, there are only two games left where we have to hope that they lose. And all we can hope is that they aren't in the same predicament come the end of next season.