Steph Curry, Warriors prove the reigning NBA champs are still lethal

The Golden State Warriors are like those evil characters in horror films. It’s really difficult to finish them off.

The young, fresh Sacramento Kings found out the hard way. They saw up close just how difficult it is to put away Steph Curry and the Warriors.

Curry set an NBA record for most points in a Game 7 with 50 in Golden State’s 120-100 victory over Sacramento in the finale of their first-round Western Conference series.

It was pure greatness on display, the league’s all-time best long-distance shooter knocking down shots from 3-point range, inside the paint with floaters and at the rim with a soft touch off the glass on layups.

A 50 spot in a Game 7: 10 points in the first quarter. 10 in the second, 14 in the third and 16 in the fourth. It was just too much for the Kings to withstand, an onslaught of points leaving the Kings helpless and hopeless. For Curry, it was also a playoff-career high.

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Now, it sets up another classic California matchup: the sixth-seeded Warriors and Curry against the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James in the second round. The winner goes to the conference finals against either fourth-seeded Phoenix or top-seeded Denver.

The Warriors knew better than to waste an opportunity. Their championship pedigree doesn’t allow that.

At the NBA’s 2022 All-Star Weekend, a reporter asked Golden State’s Draymond Green if the West was wide open. Not incredulous at all, Green said it wasn’t wide open. He said the Warriors were the favorites despite trailing first-place Phoenix by 6½ games at the time.

The Warriors won the title last season, their fourth…