Golden State @ Sacramento preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 15, 2019 ) Sacramento 100, Golden State 79

The Sacramento Kings were on the verge of back-to-back wins but instead dropped a 117-115 decision at home to the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday to fall for the ninth time in 10 games. The Kings will try to pull out of the rut again when they host the Golden State Warriors on Monday.

Sacramento, which breezed to a 100-79 victory at Golden State on Dec. 15, is struggling to close out games of late with eight of the last nine losses coming by single digits. The Kings allowed 41 fourth-quarter points, including a tie-breaking layup in the final seconds, on Saturday and totaled 21 turnovers. The Warriors dropped their last four games and own the worst record in the Western Conference, and the frustration is occasionally getting the best of veteran forward Draymond Green. The only remaining healthy player on the roster that appeared in the NBA Finals last season, Green was ejected in the third quarter of Saturday's 111-104 home loss to the Detroit Pistons for arguing with officials.

TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: NBA TV, NBCS Bay Area, NBCS California, TSN5

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (9-28): Golden State is looking for any positives and found some on Saturday from the reserves. Alec Burks scored a team-high 27 points in 32 minutes while power forward Omari Spellman added a season-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, in 20 minutes. "It's a tight-knit unit that's committed to coming out and bringing that energy," Spellman told the San Francisco Chronicle of the reserves. "When we come in, we just want to come in, set the tone and get after it. That's what we did."

ABOUT THE KINGS (13-23): Sacramento did not get much from the bench on Saturday but got plenty from the starters, with Nemanja Bjelica, Richaun Holmes and Buddy Hield each recording a double-double. Harrison Barnes scored a team-high 30 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the setback and is 15-of-22 from the field in two games this month after failing to shoot 50 percent from the floor in any of the last nine games in December. Hield's double-double against the Pelicans was his second of the season and his 12 rebounds matched a season best.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Warriors PG D'Angelo Russell (shoulder) sat out the last three games but is expected to play Monday.

2. Kings SG Bogdan Bogdanovic (illness, ankle) sat out Saturday and is day-to-day.

3. Sacramento's win at Golden State on Dec. 15 snapped a five-game losing streak in the series.

PREDICTION: Kings 115, Warriors 106