Kings vs. Warriors gameday: Defending the 3-point line, injury news, three things to watch

The Kings will try to do a better job of defending the 3-point line when they play the Golden State Warriors again Friday night at Chase Center in San Francisco.

They probably couldn’t do any worse than they did in a 122-112 loss to the Warriors in Wednesday’s preseason opener at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

The Warriors went 28 of 52 from long distance, shooting 53.8% from beyond the arc while making more 3-pointers than they have ever made in a game before. The mark would have broken their regular-season record of 27 3-point goals against the Portland Trail Blazers on April 9, 2023.

“Thank goodness this is preseason because I think we would have been in the record books for 3s made, so I’m glad this was a preseason game,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “Obviously, that’s where it started for us. We did not do a great job communicating. We did not do a great job with our ball pressure. We did not do a great job with our physicality, so they got open looks from the 3-point line because we were bad with all of those things.”

The Kings are missing Kevin Huerter (shoulder), Trey Lyles (groin), Jordan McLaughlin (ankle), Orlando Robinson (knee) and Devin Carter (shoulder) due to injuries. McLaughlin is expected to be reevaluated any day now. Lyles will be reevaluated next week. Robinson will be reevaluated in early November. Carter is expected to be reevaluated in mid-January.

Here are three things to look for in Friday’s game.

Kings starting lineup

The Kings will likely stick with the same starting lineup of De’Aaron Fox, Keon Ellis, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis. Malik Monk leads a bench unit that includes Alex Len, Isaac Jones, Boogie Ellis, Mason Jones, Colby Jones and Jalen McDaniels.

Monk left Wednesday’s game in the second quarter due to personal reasons and Sacramento’s starters sat out the second half. Monk was expected to rejoin the team Thursday in San Francisco and should be available Friday. Brown said his starters will play into the third quarter.

Seamless fit

DeRozan seemed to fit seamlessly into Sacramento’s offense on Wednesday, scoring 15 points in 15 minutes in his preseason debut. He went 6 of 6 from the field, 1 of 1 from 3-point range and 2 of 2 at the free-throw line — all in his first nine minutes of work — to help the Kings take a 68-66 lead into the halftime break before the starters sat out the second half.

The Kings shot 58.7% from the field in the first half. They were just 4 of 13 (.308) from 3-point range, but they hit 10 of 11 (.909) free throws while outscoring the Warriors 26-10 on points in the paint, 6-0 in second-chance points and 7-3 in fastbreak points.

Buddy Buckets

The Warriors acquired former Kings guard Buddy Hield over the summer in the trade that sent Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks.

When asked before the game about facing the Kings for the first time as a member of the Warriors, Hield told The Sacramento Bee he would “treat it as any game,” but then he torched his former team for 22 points in 19 minutes.

Hield could hardly miss, going 8 of 9 from the field and 6 of 7 from 3-point range. The Kings will have to do a better job of containing him in Friday’s game.

Kings at Warriors

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Chase Center

TV: NBA TV

Radio: Sactown Sports 1140

Odds: Warriors -1.5

Over/under: 221.5

Injury report

Kings: OUT — Devin Carter (shoulder), Kevin Huerter (shoulder), Trey Lyles (groin), Jordan McLaughlin (ankle), Orlando Robinson (knee).

Warriors: OUT — Andrew Wiggins (illness).

Upcoming preseason schedule

Oct. 11 at Golden State Warriors

Oct. 13 vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Oct. 15 at Utah Jazz

Oct. 17 at Los Angeles Clippers