The reigning champions Golden State Warriors find themselves under the cosh as they trail Sacramento Kings by 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs. After winning the first match by 126-123, the Kings registered a 114-106 win against the Dubs on Monday night.

GSW took the first frame by 23-17 but the Kings bounced back to take the second quarter by 41-29 and it was the turning point of the game.

De’Aron Fox played a key part in his team’s win as he scored 24 points and played his best to get the result. Meanwhile, Draymond Green was ejected for his hard stomp and it gave time for the Kings’ players to regroup.

“I think that brought us together,” Fox said. “We huddled up and were like, ‘We have to win this game.’ Everybody thought he’d be ejected. When that happens, usually that team comes together and goes on a run. But we were able to negate that.”

On the other hand, Stephen Curry top-scored for Golden State Warriors with 28 points but his efforts went in vain. Curry said that they will have to pull up their socks in the remaining matches of the series.

“Got to embrace it,” Curry said. “You do this for as long as we have … we have to stay together and locked in.”

Meanwhile, Draymond Green defended himself against the ejection. Green stomped on Sabonis’ chest with 7:03 to play in the fourth quarter, leading to an ejection for a flagrant foul.

“My leg got grabbed,” Green said. “Second time in two nights. Referees just watch it. I’ve got to land my foot somewhere. I’m not the most flexible person, so it’s not stretching that far. … I can only step so far.”

GSW’s head coach Steve Kerr admitted Sacramento Kings played better than them and deserved to win.

“They played better than we did down the stretch,” coach Steve Kerr said. “They played more physical than us tonight.”

The third game of the series will be played on Thursday night.