The Warriors suffer their fifth-straight loss after succumbing to the Sacramento Kings, 111-98 (UPDATE: Marquese Chriss waived)

After winning four consecutive games in what amounted to a series of small Christmas miracles, the Golden State Warriors have now lost five straight after their 111-98 defeat to the Sacramento Kings.

Glenn Robinson III led the Warriors with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist. He was joined in the double-figures club by Omari Spellman (13 points), Eric Paschall (12 points), and Alec Burks (10 points).

But with the Warriors lacking the services of two key contributors in Draymond Green and D’Angelo Russell, the Kings pounced on the shorthanded Warriors. They countered with five players scoring in double figures, with Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox both leading the way with 21 points each. They were supported by Harrison Barnes’ 18 points, and big bench contributions from Trevor Ariza (18 points) and Cory Joseph (12 points).

Postgame observations

• Simply put, the Warriors offense struggled mightily. Without Draymond Green to act as the primary ball distributor and decision maker, the Warriors had no one on the floor who could reliably run their offense. Without Russell, the Warriors lost their last remaining high-level shot creator, a valuable asset to have whenever their motion and passing sets get bogged down — and boy, did their offense get bogged down the the max. They finished the night with a 34-of-86 clip from the field (39.5 percent), an incredulously abysmal 5-of-26 clip from beyond the arc (19.2 percent), and 17 turnovers, all culminating in an offensive rating of 90.7 for the night.
• The Warriors defense showed that it could hold its own during the first half, holding the Kings to 5-of-15 shooting (33.3 percent) from 3-point range despite giving up a 20-of-42 clip overall from the field (47.6 percent). They also forced 8 turnovers at the half, and out-rebounded the Kings 27-19. But the Kings compensated by scoring inside, and they held a 30-20 points-in-the-paint advantage at the half. In the second half, the Kings offense exploded, and the Warriors defense could not hold up, allowing the Kings to score 38 points in the third quarter after holding them to 26 points each in the first and second quarters. By the end of the night, they allowed the Kings to put up shooting splits of .481/.500/.783. The Kings’ 50 percent success rate on threes came on a 15-of-30 clip. The Warriors finished the night with a defensive rating of 103.7.
• Steve Kerr was ejected during the second quarter, after furiously objecting to a missed foul call by the officials. He had strong words for them, telling them to “wake your a** up.”

Judging by how his players were performing up to that point, Kerr probably had himself thrown out of the game not only to tell the officials to wake up, but to tell his players to wake up as well.

In any case, the Warriors did show some semblance of effort and fight in them during the fourth quarter, where they outscored the Kings 34-21. The quarter included highlights such as Alen Smailagic’s pump fake and driving layup:

This act of thievery by Ky Bowman:

And this incredible, high-level exchange between two teams who are members of the National Basketball Association, the preeminent professional basketball league in the entire world:

Benny Hill would be very, very proud!

Next up: The Warriors take on reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday at Chase Center.

BREAKING NEWS: Marquese Chriss has been waived by the Warriors

Marquese Chriss’ non-guaranteed contract will not be converted after all. The Warriors informed Chriss that he will be waived immediately after the Warriors’ loss to the Kings.

Damion Lee only had two days left out of his 45 allowed by his two-way contract, so the Warriors had to find a way to shed salary in order to sign him to a full-time NBA contract. It looks like they found a way — at Chriss’ expense.

The former first-round pick in the 2016 NBA Draft has had a mini-rejuvenation campaign so far for the Warriors, averaging 7.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists on 49.2 percent shooting from the field. He was described earlier this season by Draymond Green as “someone who belonged,” and by many accounts was well loved by the locker room.

Chriss has also become a fan favorite of Dub Nation. His effort on both ends of the floor and high energy off the bench provided the Warriors with several highlight moments, and he has been a crucial component of several of their victories and near-victories this season. Chriss will most certainly get looked at by a few NBA teams looking to bolster their big-man bench depth. Chriss most certainly deserves to be on an NBA roster this season, as evidenced by his short but eventful time with the Warriors.