Core trio helps Warriors beat Kings in Game 5, take 3-2 series lead

SACRAMENTO — When the going gets tough, the Warriors get going.

Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green always find a way to take it up come the playoffs. That’s what they did Wednesday night in Golden State’s 123-116 win over the Sacramento Kings that gave them the 3-2 edge in the first-round series.

The Warriors owned one of the worst road records in the league this season. So it was not surprising to see the Kings battle back from a 12-point deficit to get within one in the fourth.

But with Golden State’s three seasoned veterans on the floor leading the charge, the defending champs stood strong.

Curry called Green “Draymond Nowitzki” after he knocked down a fadeaway jumper to build the Warriors’ lead to three with 3:54 left. Green then snatched back-to-back steals, with one leading to Thompson burying an off-balanced deep two.

The Kings put up a valiant fight, with Malik Monk scoring 14 of his 21 points in the fourth. But the Warriors’ core wasn’t going to let this one slip away.

With the Warriors up five in the closing minute, Curry ran circles around the court, daring Domantas Sabonis and Harrison Barnes to try to keep up. They couldn’t, which resulted in Barnes getting whistled for fouling Curry on his made layup.

Curry buried the free throw to extend Golden State’s advantage to eight and silence the cow-bell clanking Sacramento crowd for good.

The sense of accomplishment was palatable after the rare road win.

“It’s one of the best feelings in basketball in the sense of figuring out a way to win in a hostile environment and understanding especially as a lower seed but in any season winning on the road is a big deal, it’s hard to do,” said Curry, who led the Warriors with 31 points and eight assists. “Obviously we got work to do… but we needed this one.”

Golden State, which won only 11 regular-season away games, will now head back to San Francisco for Game 6 on Friday with the chance to end the series and advance to the Western Conference semifinals against either Memphis or the Lakers.

Sitting side-by-side in a postgame press conference, Thompson and Green both agreed it never gets old to win on enemy soil and see fans heading toward the exit before the final buzzer.

The Warriors have now won a road game in 28 consecutive playoff series — a stat that surprised Thompson, who had 25 points despite playing with foul trouble for most of the second half.

“That’s amazing,” he said. “Hopefully we continue this trend going forward.”

The centerpiece to the Warriors’ success that has spanned nearly a decade is Curry, Thompson and Green.

“It’s amazing watching them,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Just knowing how long they’ve been together and how much success they’ve had. But how badly they still want it. That’s what makes them special, that’s what makes them who they are.

“They just want to compete, they want to win and that will never change. And that’s why they’re still able to do it and put themselves in positions to win playoff games on the road and come through.”

Green’s current situation is a prime example of how they embody the win-at-all costs mentality this time of year. After serving a suspension for Game 3, Green acknowledged the need to have four shooters on the floor whenever possible, so he volunteered to come off the bench for the first time in the playoffs since Kerr took over in 2014.

Even though he sat the first 6:34, Green still put on a masterclass of a performance on Wednesday, with Kevon Looney saying Green looked like the player he was during the 2014-15 season.

Green finished with a season-high 21 points on 8 of 10 shooting. He also tallied four rebounds, seven assists, four steals — three in the final seven minutes — and blocked a shot as he helped the Warriors to the finish line.

“Draymond was amazing, especially down the stretch,” Kerr said.

The supporting cast around the trio has changed over the years. Looney, a member of three championship teams, probably doesn’t get enough flowers for the way he’s established himself as a foundational piece over the last few seasons. He continued to show his importance in this series, grabbing 22 rebounds and handing out seven assists on Wednesday.

Curry, Thompson and Green all said they cherish games like Wednesday.

“Seasons can be so long, and it’s a lot of ups and downs, and there’s a lot of idle time… but it makes it all worth it when you walk off that floor victorious, especially with guys you’ve been with for a decade-plus,” Thompson said. That’s so rare in professional sports… It’s just something that we will cherish forever.”

Added Green, “The day you get tired of winning, what’s the other side of that? Losing? I don’t think anybody wants to feel that. So it’s a great feeling and [to] still be riding the same train on with the guys you rode in with doing it, there’s no better feeling. It’s a rare, rare thing, and we want to keep this going as long as we can.”