SACRAMENTO -- When Gary Payton II entered Game 5 of the Warriors' first-round NBA playoff series against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, Golden State needed a jolt.
The Warriors and Kings were trading buckets. Coming off a first quarter in which the Kings led by three points after shooting 51.9 percent (14 of 27) from the field and 66.7 percent (8 of 12) on 3-pointers, coach Steve Kerr turned to his defensive stopper who can guard all five positions.
Checking in at the 8:20 mark of the second quarter, the Kings held a four-point advantage for the period, 10-6. Once Payton was on the court, the game slowly but surely started turning in the Warriors' favor. There was no better example of his influence than how the Warriors tied the game at 50 points apiece with four minutes to go in the first half.
The highlight belongs to Klay Thompson. Not without the help of Payton, who again showcased why he was the ultimate Warriors weapon in their 123-116 win to grab hold of a three-games-to-two series lead on the Kings.
Tracking a missed 3-pointer by Jordan Poole, Payton unleashed his 6-foot-8 wingspan with his left arm, tossed the ball to his right hand while falling backward and kept a play alive before the ball found one-half of the Splash Brothers.
Swish. Three points from a 30-footer, with momentum swinging in the right direction for the Warriors.
"Just hunting it," Payton said in the Warriors' locker room of his wild offensive rebound. "Kind of have to be in the right space and then see the trajectory of the ball, where it's gonna be and just have a feel for it.
"And I knew I got shooters out there, so just had to find somebody."
Golden State Warriors
Payton played 6:45 of the second quarter. He took one shot, a 3-pointer from the right corner, and missed. Still, the Warriors were a plus-10 with him on the floor during that period.
They outscored the Kings by seven points and held a four-point halftime lead. Payton contested multiple De'Aaron Fox misses in the second quarter and one Harrison Barnes missed 3-pointer. His steal on 7-foot center Domantas Sabonis led to an Andrew Wiggins three to pull the Warriors within three points.
Golden State scored 33 bench points. Draymond Green led the way with 21. Donte DiVincenzo and Moses Moody each had 2. Then there were the 8 points Payton scored.
None came further than three feet from the basket.
He scored on two cutting layups, a tip-in from perfectly reading a missed 3-pointer from Thompson -- again using his long left arm to his advantage -- and also a dunk slashing to the hole. Six of his points came in the fourth quarter, his final six minutes of the game.
His sneak-attack slams from the dunker spot have become a huge part of the Warriors' offense. Like a kid tip-toeing down the stairs to take a peek on Christmas Eve, Payton waits and waits and waits ... then, he attacks. The second Kevon Looney sprinted to the paint in the fourth quarter and Kings forward Keegan Murray had to step up, there Payton was behind Murray, ready to float high for an easy two points.
There's nobody -- repeat, nobody -- in the league that plays that position offensively like Payton at his size. Even he can't find a comparison.
"Not that I can think of," Payton said. "But it's just the way I play: Stay behind the defense and just try to work that dunker and corner spot. If they go, I'm following. They're going to leave me, so it's either a three or a dunk. I work on it every day, watch film and I'm comfortable with it.
"Night and day."
Of all the ways Payton defied size, his rebounding stood out most of all. Wednesday night marked only his 26th game played this season and 11th back with the Warriors. He's still getting his footing and was so ill recently that he couldn't suit up for the Warriors' Game 3 win. But Green, another undersized main event fighter, challenged Payton.
Draymond understands how dire Payton is to the Warriors' success. He might not work for every team. For the Warriors, he's a power boost of a puzzle piece. Green's challenge to Payton was crashing the glass.
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The Kings took six more shots than the Warriors in the first quarter by keeping plays alive. The Warriors wound up with six more total shots on the night and Payton is a large reason why. Looney, the Warriors' small-ball center at 6-foot-9, came down by 22 rebounds. Payton was second on the Warriors with six.
As a team, the Warriors grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, all by Looney and Payton. Looney led the way with seven and Payton finished with four -- three coming in the fourth quarter. Payton is the NBA's tallest 6-foot-2 player with a heart that hovers above and stares down at his competition.
"He plays like he's 6-11," Looney said. "He guards everybody, he rebounds, he boxes out, and as a dunker, he's one of our best lob threats. I'm an offensive rebounder, so I love to see Gary do his work. We always talk about it in pregame. It's fun to have him back and seeing him make contributions.
"That's why we wanted him back. He was a big key to us last year, and he was a big key to our win today."