Playoff newcomer Kings take 2-0 lead in series against defending champion Warriors

De'Aaron Fox scored 24 points and made a backbreaking 3-pointer that led the playoff newcomer Sacramento Kings to a second straight victory over the defending champion Golden State Warriors, 114-106 on Monday night.

The Kings closed the game strong after Golden State's Draymond Green was ejected for a flagrant foul and became the first team to take a 2-0 series lead over the Warriors in the Stephen Curry era.

The Warriors will try to get back into the series when it shifts less than 90 miles southwest to San Francisco for Game 3 on Thursday night.

During the review, the fans in Sacramento yelled derogatory chants toward Green, who egged them on by waving his hands, holding a hand to his ear calling for louder cheers and standing on a chair.

The Warriors fought back to tie the game before the Kings went on a 17-8 run to run away with it to the delight of the towel-waving crowd.

Fox's 3-pointer made it 107-101 with 2:17 to play and the Kings were in control from there. Davion Mitchell put it away with another 3 that made it 112-103 with 1:18 left.

Sabonis added 24 points for Sacramento and Malik Monk scored 18 off the bench.

Curry led the Warriors with 28 points but made just 3 of 13 from 3-point range as Golden State struggled to get going offensively. The Warriors committed 22 turnovers.

The fans started to get into it in the second quarter thanks to another spark off the bench from Monk, who scored 32 points in the opener. Monk hit three 3-pointers in the first 2:04 of the period to help fuel a 23-8 run that turned a six-point deficit into a nine-point lead.

Golden State fought back and tied it on a 3 by Curry before allowing the final six points of the quarter to trail 58-52 at the half.

The Kings built the lead to 14 points in the third quarter before the Warriors scored eight in a row. Sacramento led 83-75 headed to the fourth.

The teams got off to a sloppy start with each committing nine turnovers in the first quarter. The 18 combined turnovers in the first quarter were the most in any game in more than six seasons and the most in a playoff game since at least the 2001-02 season.

The Kings also missed their first 11 3-pointers before Fox made one late in the first.

76ers take Game 2 win vs. Nets

Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points, Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris had 20 apiece, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the visiting Brooklyn Nets 96-84 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

Embiid, the two-time NBA scoring champion, was quiet offensively, going 6 of 11 from the floor, but he did just about everything else. The MVP finalist had 19 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks.

Harris had 12 rebounds. James Harden scored only eight points on 3-of-13 shooting for the Sixers after a sensational Game 1 effort.

Cam Johnson led the Nets with 28 points. Johnson sent Embiid stumbling on a one-handed dunk down the right side that posterized the 7-footer. Johnson stared down Embiid as the Nets forward backpedaled on defence in the first half.

That was Brooklyn's last GIF-worthy highlight.

Maybe the 76ers just needed to listen to their coach more as they chase their first NBA championship since 1983.

After Brooklyn scored the first bucket of the second half, Doc Rivers called a quick timeout.

"C'mon, guys! C'mon!" Rivers implored in the huddle. "Listen, it's up to y'all what you all want to do."

How about finally decide the game.

Maxey, who kept the Sixers alive with 15 points in the first half, was stuffed by the rim on a fast break but Harris followed for the bucket and the 76ers finally tied the game at 55-all. Maxey didn't miss on the next possession — a corner 3 that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Embiid pumped his fist in the air and exhorted the crowd to get louder with a 64-56 lead.

The Sixers needed the spark after they spiraled from Game 1 dominance to Game 2 disaster in the first half.

No Sixer represented that fall more than Harden. His seven 3s steadied the Sixers in the opener but the aging vet — who battled left Achilles tendon soreness down the stretch of the regular season — was overwhelmed in Game 2. He missed 6 of 7 shots in the first half and all four 3-point attempts. Throw in two fouls and five turnovers and it was a marvel the Sixers only trailed 49-44 at the break.

That had to distress the Nets. Johnson scored 22 points in the half but — much like in Game 1 — the Nets got crushed on the boards and in the paint. Embiid scored eight points but grabbed 15 boards, 13 defensive.

Embiid seemed to make up for some offensive frustration with a two-handed jam late in the game that brought the crowd to its feet.