Final: Warriors 123, Kings 116

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry converted a three-point play in the final minute to help his team hold on for a 123-116 victory over the Kings in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series Wednesday night in Sacramento.

Curry scored 31 points to stun a sellout crowd of 18,253 at Golden 1 Center. The Warriors now hold a 3-2 lead after losing the first two games in the best-of-seven series.

Klay Thompson added 25 points for Golden State. Draymond Green came off the bench to post 21 points, four rebounds and seven assists.

De’Aaron Fox had 24 points, seven rebounds and nine assists for the Kings despite playing with a broken finger. Domantas Sabonis had 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Malik Monk came off the bench to score 14 of his 21 points during a furious fourth-quarter comeback that came up short.

Third quarter: Warriors 99, Kings 90

The Kings went up 61-60 on a 3-pointer by Kevin Huerter early in the second half, but they were outscored 16-7 over the next 2:26. The Warriors reclaimed the lead on a pullup jumper by Klay Thompson and went up 76-68 on a driving layup by Jordan Poole.

The Kings came back to cut the deficit to two on a basket by Malik Monk with 3:53 to play in the third quarter, but the Warriors quickly pushed their lead back up to six following baskets by Kevon Looney and Stephen Curry.

The Kings attacked the basket repeatedly with some success, but every time they cut into Golden State’s lead, the Warriors responded. Sacramento trailed by four following a driving layup by Monk with 1:22 to go, but Golden State closed out the quarter with a 7-2 run following 3-pointers from Thompson and Draymond Green.

Halftime: Warriors 60, Kings 56

The Golden State Warriors overcame a 10-point first-quarter deficit to take a 60-56 halftime over the Kings in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

De’Aaron Fox had a huge first half with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists despite playing with an avulsion fracture to the left index finger on his shooting hand. Klay Thompson scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting for Golden State.

The Warriors cut the deficit to one at the start of the second quarter, but Fox hit three shots in a span of 1:39 as part of a 9-4 run that put the Kings up 45-39. Sacramento led 50-44 with five minutes remaining in the first half, but Klay Thompson made three 3-pointers during a 12-0 run that gave Golden State a 56-50 lead with 2:45 to go.

The Warriors shot 52.2% from the field in the opening half. The Kings shot 44.9%.

First quarter: Kings 36, Warriors 33

All eyes were on De’Aaron Fox as Game 5 got underway at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

Kings fans liked what they saw.

Fox vowed to play against the Golden State Warriors despite suffering from an avulsion fracture to the index finger on his left hand. Fox received a huge ovation when he was presented with the NBA Clutch Player of the Year award before the game and again during pregame introductions.

The cheers continued as Fox came out firing in the first quarter, posting nine points, two rebounds and three assists to help the Kings build a 36-33 lead. Sacramento went 8 of 12 from beyond the arc in the opening period after shooting 30.3% in the first four games of the series. The Kings led by as many as 10 before the Warriors closed the gap.

The Warriors brought Draymond Green off the bench for the second time since he was suspended one game without pay for stomping on Kings center Domantas Sabonis in Game 2. Green was booed loudly when he entered the game for the first time at the 6:34 mark and again every time he touched the ball.

‘Knock them out’

This started off as a friendly first-round playoff series between Northern California neighbors with shared connections and no real history of animosity because they’ve never been good at the same time.

That has changed. Now, the gloves have come off in a fast, physical and contentious series, and Kings coach Mike Brown wants his new team to hit his old team with a knockout punch.

Brown made that point after practice Tuesday as the Kings prepared to face the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Brown didn’t like how his players drove into heavy traffic and wasted precious time pleading for fouls in a Game 4 loss that evened the series at 2-2.

Brown, an avid UFC fan, used a fight analogy to explain the Kings can’t hope to beat the defending NBA champs based on a judge’s decision.

“You’re not going to be able to score a decision against the champions,” said Brown, who came to Sacramento this season after six seasons as Golden State’s lead assistant. “When you drive into somebody’s body and you look for that contact, you’re trying to get a decision. You’re putting the win or loss in the referee’s hands. We ain’t winning that, so we’ve got to knock them out.”

Pace and space

Brown went on to say the Kings have to make the right reads. If they can get to the rim, go with force and aggression. If the Warriors clog the paint with Kevon Looney and Draymond Green, Brown wants his playmakers to find open 3-point shooters on the perimeter.

“We’ve got to play the right way,” Brown said. “If you’re going to go to drive it, you better frickin’ dunk it and now if you miss a dunk and don’t get fouled, that’s one thing. Otherwise, space, and if they want to collapse like that, let that thing fly from the 3-point line.”

The Kings were sixth in the NBA in 3-point attempts (37.3) and ninth in 3-point shooting (.369) during the regular season. They are shooting just 30.3% from beyond the arc in the playoffs, but Brown hasn’t lost confidence in his shooters.

“I don’t care what our percentage is,” Brown said. “If we’re going to go out that way, we’re going out that way. We’re going to keep playing fast and we’re going to keep taking open 3s, but our spacing has to be better.”

De’Aaron Fox: ‘I’m playing’

Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox suffered an avulsion fracture of the index finger on his left shooting hand in Game 4. He was considered doubtful for Game 5 on Monday, but Fox said there was no doubt about it following practice Tuesday.

“No if, ands or buts — I’m playing,” Fox said.

Fox is averaging 31.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.5 steals over the first four games of the series. In his first career playoff series, Fox has gone toe-to-toe with Warriors star Stephen Curry, who is averaging 31.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 0.8 steals.

Fox upgraded

The Kings released an injury update shortly after 5 p.m., announcing that Fox has been upgraded from questionable to available for Game 5 against the Warriors.

By the numbers

106-12: All-time series record for teams that win Game 5 at home to go up 3-2.

25-13: All-time series record for teams that win Game 5 on the road to go up 3-2

Warriors Kings

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Golden 1 Center

TV: TNT

Radio: Sactown Sports 1140

Odds: Warriors -1.5

Over/under: 235

Injury report

Warriors: OUT — Andre Iguodala (wrist); Ryan Rollins (foot).

Kings: QUESTIONABLE — De’Aaron Fox (finger). OUT — Matthew Dellavedova (finger).

Schedule

Game 1: Kings 126, Warriors 123

Game 2: Kings 114, Warriors 106

Game 3: Warriors 114, Kings 97

Game 4: Warriors 126, Kings 125

April 26 vs. Golden State Warriors

April 28 at Golden State Warriors

* April 30 vs. Golden State Warriors

* If necessary

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