Quick Take
Thursday's road playoff loss against the top-seeded Stockton Kings closes out what had been an impressive week for Santa Cruz, which had won three games since Friday to keep its season alive.
A 3-pointer with 11 seconds left by Mason Jones of the Stockton Kings spelled the end of the Santa Cruz Warriors’ season Thursday night, one game short of the G League’s Western Conference Finals.
The game was a back-and-forth battle all night, with about a dozen lead changes in the fourth quarter alone, before the top-seeded Kings pulled out a 112-109 victory at Stockton Arena to advance in the developmental league’s postseason.
The No. 4 seed Warriors had their chances.
With 2:08 left in the game and Santa Cruz up 100-98, Warriors forward Jackson Rowe got an offensive rebound and kicked it out to the corner where sharpshooter Kendric Davis awaited. Davis composed himself and let the ball fly, burying the triple to extend the lead to five. Davis had 23 points on the night.
But the Kings knocked down big shots, including Jones’ crucial late 3-pointer, which gave Stockton a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. The Warriors finish the season with a 21-15 record; the Kings (25-10) will face either the Oklahoma City Blue or Sioux Falls Skyforce in Sunday’s West final.
The Warriors were down by six points early in the third quarter before Javan Johnson, Usman Garuba, Davis and Pat Spencer all hit shots to give the Sea Dubs a lead.
Garuba was big all night, finishing with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
It was a fourth standout game in a row for Garuba, a first-round pick of the Houston Rockets in the 2021 NBA draft. In the two must-win games against the Rip City Remix to close the regular season, Garuba totaled 29 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists.
In the first-round playoff victory over the Salt Lake City Stars, Garuba followed that up with 18 points and a team-postseason-record 19 rebounds.
In Thursday’s fourth quarter against the Kings, Garuba had a huge block and then hit a 3-pointer to give Santa Cruz the lead.
Pat Spencer, who was the best lacrosse player in the nation at Maryland’s Loyola University, gave the Sea Dubs a spark off the bench. First, the 6-foot-3 guard got on the board by throwing down a rim-rattling slam dunk. On the next possession, he got three points the old-fashioned way by making the basket and getting fouled to earn a trip to the free-throw line.
Spencer finished with 20 points for the second consecutive game.
The loss closes an exciting season and an impressive week for Santa Cruz, which had won three games since Friday to keep its season alive.
Just to make the postseason, the Warriors had to win the final two regular-season games in Portland against the Rip City Remix.
Then, on Tuesday, the Warriors beat the Salt Lake City Stars 113-111 at Kaiser Permanente Arena to advance to play Stockton, the best team in the league.
The season was a promising one for Nick Kerr in his debut as head coach. After the Sea Dubs missed the postseason last year, Kerr – son of Steve Kerr, the head coach of Santa Cruz parent club the Golden State Warriors – finished with a 21-15 record that includes the two playoff games.
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