Sacramento Kings vs Golden State Warriors Prediction & Match Preview - April 28th, 2023 | NBA Playoffs, Game 6

The Golden State Warriors seemingly couldn’t string together wins on the road in the regular season. They had an 11-30 win-loss slate away from Chase Center, easily the worst among teams in the playoffs.

Only the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, who shared a similar 8-33 mark, were worse than the defending champs.

The Warriors on Wednesday played their best game of the season on the road. They responded to everything the Sacramento Kings threw at them in Game 6 and came out with a 123-116 win.

Golden State can now close the series on Friday on their home floor, where they were nearly unbeatable in the regular season.

Unsurprisingly, it was the Warriors’ veterans who played poised basketball to steal home-court advantage away from the Kings. Draymond Green, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson enabled Golden State to win another road game for the 28th consecutive series, an NBA record.

Golden State’s iconic trio combined for 77 points, 16 assists and eight rebounds. Thompson, who went 5-11 from the field, hit timely triples in the fourth quarter to keep the Sacramento Kings at bay.

De’Aaron Fox, who is playing through a broken index finger, led the Kings with 24 points. The NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year winner, however, went cold in the final period. He missed all six of his shots, the most he has ever attempted without scoring a basket.

The Golden State Warriors are poised to clinch another semi-final ticket on Friday night at the Sacramento Kings’ expense.

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Where to watch

Game 6 of the first-round series between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors will start at 8:00 PM ET. ESPN will air the game on national TV while NBC Sports California and NBC Sports Bay Area will handle local coverage.

The game can also be streamed via the NBA League Pass.

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Game preview

Sacramento coach Mike Brown told the media heading into Game 5 that he wanted to see if the Kings had enough to beat the Warriors. Unfortunately, his team couldn’t overcome Golden State’s composure and shotmaking to defend their home floor.

Brown will have to see if the Kings have what it takes to pull off an upset on the Warriors’ home floor. Failure to do so means that they will go out of the first round of the playoffs despite being the higher-seeded team.

De’Aaron Fox asserted heading into Game 5 that he will adjust to the pain and the splint on his injured finger. He played 42 minutes but wasn’t his usual efficient and deadly self. The All-Star point guard had 24 points on 25 shots. He was only 3-10 from behind the arc.

If the Sacramento Kings get the same version of “Swipa” on Friday night, the Golden State Warriors could end the series in six games.

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Game prediction

Spread: Warriors (-7.5)

Total (O/U): 235

Moneyline: Kings (+255) vs. Warriors (-305)

The Golden State Warriors were excellent at home in the regular season. They’re expected to be even better in the playoffs.

The Sacramento Kings, De’Aaron Fox in particular, put up a gritty performance in Game 5. Fox’s injury and the Kings’ inexperience in postseason basketball seemed too tough for them to overcome.

Golden State Warriors 125, Sacramento Kings 114