Andrew Wiggins scored a game-high 25 points and the Golden State Warriors retained the No. 3 playoff position in the Western Conference with a 109-90 victory Sunday night that formally eliminated the host Sacramento Kings from postseason contention.
Electing to rest veterans Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Otto Porter Jr. on the second night of a back-to-back, Golden State (50-29) also got 22 points from Jordan Poole, 19 from Nemanja Bjelica and 17 from Jonathan Kuminga in winning a second straight.
Playing after their two chief challengers for the West's third seed -- and Dallas Mavericks (49-30) and Denver Nuggets (47-32) -- had already won, the Warriors used the victory to retain a one-game advantage with three games remaining.
Former Warriors Harrison Barnes and Damian Jones had 18 and 17 points, respectively, to pace Sacramento (29-50), which needed to win its last four games to have a shot at ending what is now a 16-year playoff drought.
One night after needing a furious fourth-quarter rally at home to stave off the Utah Jazz, the Warriors bolted to a 28-12 lead in the final minute of the first quarter and never looked back.
Down by as many as 26, the Kings got within 93-86 on a Jones jumper with still 5:41 to go.
But Gary Payton II countered with a layup and Wiggins buried his fourth 3-pointer of the game, re-establishing a double-digit lead that allowed for a comfortable finish as Golden State completed a 4-0 season-series sweep.
Wiggins was 4 of 7 in 3-point attempts, while Poole went 4 for 9 and Bjelica 3 for 6, helping Golden State run up a 48-21 advantage in points from beyond the arc.
Bjelica grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to complete a double-double while also totaling a team-high six assists off the bench for the Warriors, who had lost four games in a row before Saturday's dramatic win.
Damion Lee added 11 points for the Warriors, who finish the season against three teams with losing records -- the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans.
Donte DiVincenzo chipped in with 14 points off the bench for the Kings, who were coming off a 4-1 trip that ended with a pair of wins at Houston.
Barnes completed a double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds, while Davion Mitchell logged a game-high nine assists to go with nine points.
--Field Level Media
Golden State | Sacramento | |
Andrew Wiggins 25 | Scoring | Harrison Barnes 18 |
Nemanja Bjelica 6 | Assists | Davion Mitchell 9 |
Nemanja Bjelica 12 | Rebounds | Harrison Barnes 10 |
Andrew Wiggins 5 | Free Throws Made | Damian Jones 7 |
Gary Payton II 3 | Steals | Donte DiVincenzo 2 |
Nemanja Bjelica 2 | Blocks | Josh Jackson 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Golden State | 109 | 51.9 | 16-34 | 11-15 | 29 | 47 | 8 | 8 | 17 |
Sacramento | 90 | 38.3 | 7-33 | 21-24 | 19 | 35 | 1 | 5 | 13 |