What we learned as Podziemski drops career-high 30 in Warriors’ loss to Kings

BOX SCOREIn the penultimate game of the 2025-26 NBA regular season, the Warriors mostly looked like a team that can’t sniff the playoffs and doesn’t even deserve to make the play-in tournament. Whatever the message was at halftime sparked the Warriors’ 38-19 third quarter, before everything fell apart in the fourth quarter of a 124-118 loss against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night at Golden 1 Center. The Kings dropped 42 points on the Warriors in the fourth, outscoring them by 13 points.A meaningless game somehow had an ejection, flagrant and technical fouls, skirmishes and a whole lot of oddities. But not a Warriors win.Steph Curry never got going in his 27 minutes of play. Battling through a first-quarter injury scare, he scored 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting and also added three rebounds, five assists, two steals but three turnovers. Brandin Podziemski led the Warriors by scoring 30 points for the first time in his three-year NBA career. The Warriors had one 20-point scorer, which was three fewer than the Kings’ four. You're free https://t.co/o5yibLMH43 pic.twitter.com/rOfQvREIF7 — Warriors on NBCS (&commat;NBCSWarriors) April 11, 2026 That was one ugly dress rehearsal for the Warriors.Here are three takeaways from a bad loss that dropped the Warriors to 37-44 on the season.Steph Survives ScareThe last image the Warriors want to see in a mostly meaningless game is Curry limping on the court. But that’s what had every Warriors player, coach and fan holding their breath not even three minutes into the first quarter. Curry appeared to roll his right when Kings guard Devin Carter stole the ball from him and awkwardly fell backwards on the floor. He was gimpy once he got up and the Warriors were forced to call a timeout. Curry was seen doing band work and stretching his right leg on the bench during the timeout but surprisingly stayed in the game. Our Bay Area News Group photographer Jose Fajardo got a pic of the Curry injury. It looks like he rolled his ankle. pic.twitter.com/GHFy7JQPBU — Joseph Dycus (&commat;joseph&lowbar;dycus) April 11, 2026 Simply put, Curry did not look right and didn’t have any burst after the scare the rest of the first half. He went into halftime with just three points on 1-of-6 shooting, and had as many turnovers (two) as assists (two). A quiet third quarter had him up to a lowly eight points entering the fourth quarter. Curry played the first five minutes of the fourth quarter and watched the rest of the game from the bench. He scored three points on three free throws in the final frame, getting Curry to 11 points. What matters next is how his body feels Saturday ahead of Sunday’s regular-season finale in LA. Finding The Right Starting FiveFirst, Curry cashed in from 22 feet out in the right corner for three points to begin the game. The Warriors’ next three points came from a Porzingis 3-pointer even further away. Steve Kerr couldn’t have drawn it up any better. Steph opens the scoring with a corner triple pic.twitter.com/193XA3x9uD — Warriors on NBCS (&commat;NBCSWarriors) April 11, 2026 The scoreboard going into the NBA play-in tournament is secondary to health and rhythm for the Warriors. Friday night was the 81st game of the season, and the Warriors’ 42nd starting lineup. That’s how much injuries have affected them.However, the 42nd starting lineup of Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, Draymond Green and Porzingis is the one they’ve been waiting for, and the one that could be on the court to open next season. Before Kerr turned to the bench, the Warriors led 17-14. There were signs of getting used to each other with four quick turnovers, but four of the five starters had made a three ahead of De’Anthony Melton, Al Horford and Gary Payton II coming into the game. Porzingis, at plus-1, was the only Warriors starter to have a positive plus/minus in the first half. Coming out of a 12-point halftime deficit, the Warriors’ starting unit led a 12-2 run to cut the deficit down to two, prompting a Kings timeout. Just like that, the Warriors held a seven-point lead going into the fourth quarter after outscoring the Kings 38-19 in the third.Prioritizing health, Podziemski was the lone starter to play the majority of the fourth quarter. He, Porzingis and Curry finished in double figures while Green and Santos scored a combined 14 points.Horford‘s returnAside from Curry and Porzingis playing more together, another major storyline and welcome sight for the Warriors was Horford’s return.Horford missed the previous 14 games because of a calf strain. Health has been a big factor for the 39-year-old, and from the start of February to March 13, the last game Horford played, he averaged 10.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 37.5 percent from 3-point range. Like his teammates, Horford showed some rust from the jump, making a three and a nifty reverse layup in the first half ahead of a scoreless second quarter. As the intensity turned up in the third quarter, Horford found himself in the thick of the action, making a clutch three that was accompanied by a blocked shot on the other side. When the Warriors went up 76-75 in the third quarter, they grabbed their first lead since it was 24-21 in the first quarter. This entire sequence is absolute comedy pic.twitter.com/0haJCafxIH — Warriors on NBCS (&commat;NBCSWarriors) April 11, 2026 Returning from a four-week absence, Horford was a minus-10 in 18 minutes off the bench with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting and went 2 of 4 beyond the arc.Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

What we learned as Podziemski drops career-high 30 in Warriors’ loss to Kings

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