Kings rest De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Kevin Huerter vs. Warriors

SACRAMENTO,Calif. (AP) — The Sacramento Kings are resting their top threescorers for their game against the Golden State Warriors that hasmajor playoff implications.

Coach MikeBrown said De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and Kevin Huerter allwill sit out Friday night with Sacramento having clinched itsplayoff berth and will likely be locked in as the No. 3 seed in theWestern Conference.

“Sittingthose guys is my decision,” Brown said. “Those guys went throughshoot-around today. I decided to sit them after shoot-around.”

The only wayfor the Kings to move up to No. 2 in the West would be by winningtheir final two games and if Memphis lost its last two games. TheGrizzlies tipped off earlier Friday night against a Milwaukee teamresting several key players.

The game hasmuch more meaning for the defending-champion Warriors, who could berelegated to the play-in tournament if they lose one or both oftheir final two games.

Golden Stateentered the day in sixth place in the West and can be assured a topsix spot by winning at Sacramento and at Portland on Sunday.

“You havegames periodically when you run into a team that’s missing a bunchof guys and it’s really easy to let your guard down,” Warriorscoach Steve Kerr said. “There’s zero excuse for letting our guarddown. It’s pretty simple. We have to win tonight in the playoffs.We got to win to get into the playoffs. ... So if we’re out thereletting our guard down, there’s something wrong.”

Depending onhow things shake out over the final weekend, these teams could meetagain in the first round of the playoffs for the first time sincethe Kings moved to Sacramento in the 1985-86 season.

The two teamsseparated by a drive of about 90 miles have never made the playoffsin the same season, adding intrigue if they were to meet in thepostseason.

“At the endof the day, if you expect to win a championship you just have tobeat whoever is in front of you,” Brown said.