The intensity was evident in the final seconds of the Warriors’ 126-125 win over the Sacramento Kings in Game 4 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs Series on Sunday at Chase Center.
Time seemed to move in slow motion once the ball left the hands of Kings forward Harrison Barnes as he attempted a game-winning shot with 1.7 seconds left and Golden State held a one-point lead. clank.
The Warriors were able to breathe a sigh of relief, as the best-of-seven series is now tied back in Sacramento for Game 5.
Speaking to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Keith Burke after the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr described his emotions as he watched Barnes’ potential game-winning shot.
I’m thinking ‘Oh man, I just saw this in Game 1 with [Andrew Wiggins] “I’m in a similar situation,” Kerr said. Find an open game and this is how it works sometimes. The ball goes in, the ball doesn’t go in, and tonight we have a break. Game 1 they got their break and maybe we’re right where we need to be in this series.”
Warriors guard Klay Thompson, a friend of Barnes’, was relieved to see his former teammate miss the big shot.
“Oh man, I was nervous,” Thompson told reporters after the game. “I’m so glad Harrison lost it.” “He’s still my guy, but I was hoping he missed it badly and sometimes you need a break like that at this point in the year. It was just a gut win and a big, big defensive stand.”
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The Warriors were on the right side of a game-winning shot a week after Wiggins kicked a last-second shot in the dying moments of Golden State’s 3-point loss against Sacramento in Game 1 for the Golden 1 Center.
With the series tied at two games apiece, the Warriors will look to ride the momentum from back-to-back wins into Game 5 in Sacramento on Wednesday.
