Kings’ Malik Monk Sounds Off on ‘Tired’ Warriors After Forcing Game 7

Getty Malik Monk of the Sacramento Kings celebrates in Game 6 against the Golden State Warriors.

They’re the best two words in sports, “Game 7.” That is, unless you’re a Golden State Warriors fan and wanted to see them eliminate the Sacramento Kings in six games. Unfortunately for the Dubs, they weren’t able to get the job done in Game 6 at home, getting blown out, 118-99, by the Kings.

Sacramento got an explosive offensive outburst from Malik Monk off the bench. Monk poured in 28 points in just 32 minutes, knocking down 8-of-14 attempts from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.

After forcing a Game 7, the Kings guard told reporters that Game 6 was “exactly” what he’d expected it to be.

“This is exactly what I expected,” Monk said via the Sacramento Kings official YouTube channel.

Sacramento’s sixth man explained that the Kings put an emphasis on starting quick and running on the Warriors.

“That was a big emphasis too as well. Starting strong, starting early and running on them. Because we knew we only had one day. The last couple games we had a two-day break, so we know we could run them a little bit, and we took advantage of that tonight.”

He went on to add that the quick turnaround had more of an effect on the Dubs than the Kings.

“I felt it a little bit more on them, they was a little tired. We’re a little bit younger than they are so we knew we could take advantage of that. We’re going try and do the same thing Sunday.”

Stephen Curry says Warriors Need to Contain ‘X-Factor’ Malik Monk

Monk’s strong showing in Game 6 didn’t go unnoticed. Golden State’s star point guard Stephen Curry was sure to highlight how important it is for his team to contain Sacramento’s “X-factor.”

“He’s been an X-factor in their wins, and when we’ve contained him, I think most of those games, we’ve come out with the win,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “Even in Game 5, he got hot a little bit down the stretch, but in the first half, we kind of kept him in check. So, it’s just a matter of locking in on his energy. He comes in, he plays aggressive, [and] he loves to score. He was hitting his threes tonight. We kind of gave him to me open looks. So, you obviously have to key in on him. And the way that they mixed up their lineup, he’s featured a lot more. So, [we] got to make the adjustments.”

De’Aaron Fox Name-Drops Stephen Curry After Kings Beat Warriors

Golden State wasn’t even in the game for the majority of the second half. They never even got within one possession of the Kings, who took the lead in the second quarter and never looked back.

It’s not easy to compete when you miss 10 free throws as a team.

Kings star De’Aaron Fox cited that, as well as the comfortable lead, as important factors in his team’s Game 6 victory.

“It was huge, especially when you’re playing on the road,” Fox said of the Kings winning in the margin. “Those are the things that you really want to be able to win. Obviously, we can’t expect Steph to miss three free throws, and Jordan [Poole] to miss two free throws. I mean, those are two of the best free-throw shooters in the league. But I think that the only critique that I really have about our game is my turnovers tonight and them shooting 35 free throws. Other than that, I feel like we basically played a perfect game.”