Month: December 2014

The Warriors Roll Over the Sacramento Kings

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AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors played a terrific game Monday night against the visiting Sacramento
Kings beating them 128-108. The Warriors played very well in all phases of the game. They ran the court well, found the open man and shot a fantastic 53% from the floor. Their defense was great as they kept Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins contained all night. Sacramento played well but the Dubs were just the better team as their depth showed as the bench contributed 62 points in the victory.

The game also marked the return of star forward David Lee to action. Lee had played just under 7 minutes all season and had missed 21 games. He received a standing ovation from the fans when he entered the game with 3:01 left to play in the first period.The Warriors, as mentioned earlier, had a great effort from the bench. Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Mo Speights, Justin Holiday all made significant contributions to the win. Starting center Festus Ezeli and reserve guard Justin Holiday each had a career high in points scored. Ezeli had 15 and Holiday had 18.

The game started well for the Dubs as they took an early 9-2 lead/ The Kings came back to tie at 9 but the Dubs went on a 19-2 run to put them ahead and they Kings had to play catch up all night. The first period ended with the W’s ahead 36-20. It was more of the same in the second period. Sacramento could not claw their way back. The Warriors led by Klay Thompson and Steph Curry
ended the half ahead by 14 points 64-50.

The Warriors continued their excellent play and led the Kings by 23 early in the third period.
The bench was fantastic as they played so well that Steph Curry sat and watched his team dominate. They led 93-77 after 3 periods of play and won by a final score of 128-108.

Klay Thompson led all scorers with 25 points. Steph Curry had a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists. David Lee played 16 minutes with six points and 7 rebounds. Curry, by the way, played just 26 minutes. The Dubs had six players in double figures. They had 36 assists and turned the ball over just 12 times. They are now 23-3 for the season and have won 18 of the last 19 games played. Their home record is now 10-1 for the year.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Darren Collison added 17 while Rudy Gay pitched in with 13 and Omri Casspi notched 18 in a losing effort.

The Warriors next game is Tuesday night in Los Angeles against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jerry Feitelberg
jyf1938

No. 6 Wisconsin gets the early jump, defeats Cal at Haas Pavilion

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By Morris Phillips

Among other things, losing to sixth-ranked Wisconsin meant Coach Cuonzo Martin had to answer a bunch of ridiculous questions like what’s bugging one of his starters off the court, and was he happy with the margin of defeat in the loss.  But as usual, Martin didn’t snicker at any of the inquiries, he answered them all, many punctuated with the keenest insight he could muster:

Simply, Martin said, “they’re a good team.”

And the visiting Badgers were, from start to finish in a 68-56 win over Cal Monday night that will rightly quiet any talk of the Bears being among the nation’s Top 25 anytime soon.

Wisconsin scored 17 of the game’s first 21 points and cruised from there, rarely posturing or preening before or after pauses in the action.  Besides a technical foul on impressive power forward Nigel Hayes, the Badgers clogged the lanes on defense, played it patient and efficient on offense, and gradually wore down Cal.

“Just being down I felt we rushed a little bit instead of just keeping on pace, flowing with the game and taking what the defense gives us,” Martin said. “They’re a big team.  They make you go over the top or you’ve got to be able to score one-on-one in the post.”

As one of those rare college basketball teams that has been to the Final Four and returns mostly intact with even greater prospects and aspirations, Big Ten favorite Wisconsin didn’t surprise anyone, unless it was with how easy they made it look at a couple of  junctures on Monday.  Lottery-level talent, 7’0″ center Frank Kaminsky drew scouts from more than 20 NBA teams, but didn’t shine with5 of 13 shooting.  But he did a great job of setting up his teammates from just about anywhere on the floor, just a step below the spectacular play he turned in during the NCAA tournament run in March.

Kaminsky’s unselfish play left the Bears vulnerable in their three-guard look that matched up with Wisconsin’s front line that had the All-American teamed with 6’9″ Sam Dekker and the more physical 6’8″ Hayes.  Big point guard Sam Singer, Jordan Mathews  and 5’10” Brandon Chauca often got left to defend Dekker and he was a handful with 14 points and six rebounds.

Still the Bears performed credibly on the defensive end, taking away many of Wisconsin’s back door opportunities as well as getting to shooters around the arc. But in one-on-one situations and in the post, the Badgers found a way to hurt Cal with Dekker and Hayes (17 points, 13 rebounds) on a night where their shooting was uncharacteristically off at 44 percent..

Offensively, the Bears struggled in their sets, and dribble penetration was a hit-or-miss proposition with the Badgers’ physicality and clogging.  Tyrone Wallace got the most done with 17 points and seven rebounds, but even he needed 16 shots to get there.  Cal’s other starters struggled, most notably David Kravish, thus the crazy question about what’s bothering the senior off the court.

Cal’s bench didn’t provide much relief, but against a quality opponent, that figured to be the case as only Roger Moute A Bidias made a dent with five points and four rebounds.  Stat crunchers highlighted the Bears’ meager seven assists, a nod to Wisconsin’s bigger presence.  For Martin, his team’s post defense was a problem on a night where there were few soutions for the home team.

The Bears (10-2) face Cal State Bakersfield after Christmas and then open Pac-12 competition against the Washington schools on January 2.

Warriors Stay Dominate, Kings Continue To Slide.

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By Shawn Whelchel

The Golden State Warriors dominated the Sacramento Kings in Monday night’s Bay Area battle, cruising their way to a 128-108 victory.

On the second night of a back-to-back, the Kings were outplayed in nearly every facet of the game by the Warriors, who currently own the NBA’s best record at 23-3 on the season.

The lone bright spot for Sacramento was C DeMarcus Cousins, who excelled in Andrew Bogut’s absence, leading the team with 22 points on the night. Darren Collison followed the big man with 17 of his own.

The Warriors were led by Klay Thompson, whose 25 points led all scorers for the contest. Steph Curry was limited to just 12 points, but tallied 11 assists on the night. In place of Bogut, Festus Ezeli notched a career high 15 points while adding six rebounds.

After losing the lead early in the first quarter following a 25-9 run for Golden State, the Kings were unable to fight their way back into contention, as the Warriors maintained a comfortable lead throughout the game.

The Warriors received a big boost from their bench, who outscored Sacramento’s bench 62-39 on the night.

The loss now drops Sacramento to a 12-16 record, good for fourth in the Pacific Division. The Kings continue their season skid, losing 11 of their last 14 games.

Ducks rise to win in overtime

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(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

By Pearl Allison Lo

ANAHEIM– 58 seconds into sudden death, Ryan Kesler scored above Antti Niemi in a 3-2 win Monday, to extend the Ducks’ division lead over the San Jose Sharks.

Kesler was aided by Patrick Maroon and Ryan Getzlaf before the teams headed into Christmas break, as Anaheim halted the Sharks’ five-game winning streak.

Regarding the game winner, Niemi commented, “it came quick. It was a quick shot behind the [defense]. I didn’t see it coming early enough.”

The 32 saves for each goalie both spoke to competitiveness and skill.

In the first period in which San Jose has outscored the Ducks 5-1, the Sharks had 15 shots without result this time. Joe Pavelski said,“It felt like we probably should have deserved better up ‘til [the third period]. That was the energy. It didn’t really feel like we needed to change the way we were playing…”

San Jose killed off two penalties in the second, but ended the period in the hole as Rickard Rakell scored his first regular season goal, aided by Emerson Etem and Matt Beleskey at 7:20. Rakell later remarked, “Christmas is saved.”

The Sharks’ Tomas Hertl left the ice after being hit by a shot before the goal, but returned later. In the other end, after San Jose’s Andrew Desjardins committed goalie interference on the left at 8:18, teammate John Scott knocked down Tim Jackman at the right side of the net. Jackman was laid out for awhile, but luckily got up after. An announcement was made during second intermission, however, stating Jackman would not return to the game due to evaluation.

Though there was at least one power play and some sort of altercation between the two nemeses in each period, things didn’t get really interesting on the scoreboard until the third.

The Sharks took advantage of an early power play in the period. Brent Burns shot from the blue line and Pavelski tipped in his shot to put San Jose on the board. Joe Thornton also helped on the play. At 7:56, Melker Karlsson gave the Sharks their first lead with his first NHL goal as the puck slid between goalie Frederick Andersen’s legs.  Barclay Goodrow and Brenden Dillon also assisted. At 15:44, Cam Fowler re-tied the game by sliding the puck around Niemi’s foot. Fowler was aided by Getzlaf and Devante Smith-Pelly. Almost like last game, the Sharks pushed the game into overtime in the last minute, but his time defensively instead of offensively.

Burns was called for high-sticking with 1:07 left. Niemi made a left hand save against Kesler during the power play, falling backwards after. Coach Todd McLellan commented, “Everybody found a way to scramble to get a point on the road.”

Game notes: Anaheim was without Francois Beauchemin and Corey Perry, who were nursing injuries. This was the first game of the season series both teams came in riding a hot hand and was the tightest game result so far. San Jose returns from Christmas break to play Saturday at 7p versus their other Southern California opponent.

Josh Smith is available – Kings interested

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Josh Smith

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Power forward Josh Smith has been waived by the Detroit Pistons and the Sacramento Kings might be interested in making him an offer. Over the summer rumors persisted that the Kings and Pistons were trying to work out a trade that would have sent the 6-foot-9 Smith to Sacramento.

“Our team has not performed the way we had expected throughout the first third of the season and adjustments need to be made in terms of our focus and direction,” said Stan Van Gundy, Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations for the Detroit Pistons.  “We are shifting priorities to aggressively develop our younger players while also expanding the roles of other players in the current rotation to improve performance and build for our future.  As we expand certain roles, others will be reduced.  In fairness to Josh, being a highly versatile 10-year veteran in this league, we feel it’s best to give him his freedom to move forward.  We have full respect for Josh as a player and a person.”

It is no secret that the Kings have been looking to upgrade their roster at the power forward position. The Kings have been the subject of trade rumors that would have Brooklyn power forward/center Mason Plumlee heading to Sacramento with point guard Deron Williams. That deal is currently in limbo because the Nets are reluctant to let go of Plumlee.

Smith is 10-year veteran who has averaged 13.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game for Detroit. He has a 39.1 field goal percentage to go with a subpar 46.8 free throw percentage. Smith comes with questions about his willingness to be a team player. Rumors persist that Smith was a disruptive force for the Pistons.

The Kings currently have Jason Thompson starting at power forward with Derrick Williams coming off the bench with the second unit. Thompson is a consistent but not flashy performer while Williams has flashes of brilliance to go with inconsistent performances at the “four spot”. The Kings have been interested moving Thompson and his contract for some time. Thompson was signed to his current contract by former Sacramento general manager Geoff Petrie.

According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Mavericks may also be interested in Smith’s services. Smith becomes available on Wednesday if and when he clears waivers.

Kings Snap Losing Streak Downing the Lakers 108-101

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IMG_0897.JPG

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings snapped a five game losing streak and gave Tyrone Corbin his first win as Kings Head Coach by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 108-101 at home on Sunday.

The Kings used a 15-0 run in the third quarter and a strong defensive effort in the second half to come away with the victory.

“(It was) our defense. We did a great job paying attention to details of our game plan in the second half. As a result, they had 20 points and 21 points in that second half,” said Kings Head Coach Tyrone Corbin.

The Lakers shot just 27.3-percent (6 for 22) in final period. Kobe Bryant was just 1 for 7 from the field the fourth.

The Lakers opened up a five point lead in final quarter after the period started with some sloppy play from both sides. The Kings took the lead with 5:34 to go on a Cousins’ tip shot and Sacramento never trailed again. Ben McLemore hit a 23-foot 3-Pointer and followed that up a driving layup that was set up off a blocked shot by Rudy Gay.

A Cousins’ dunk shot with 1:19 to go put the final nail in the Lakers’ coffin.

“The guys are coming together. I can’t say enough about how I respect their effort. After all we’ve been through in the last week and a half here, just coming out and competing tonight,” added Corbin.

The Kings were led by DeMarcus Cousins’ 29 points and 14 rebounds. Rudy Gay scored 24 points and had six assists while Ben McLemore added 23. Darren Collison had a 19 point night.

The Kings shot 48.1-percent (38 for 79) from the field and were 7 for 23 (30.4-percent) from 3-Point range.

The Lakers scoring was led by Nick Young’s 26 points off the bench. Young was 4 for 9 from beyond the 3-Point arc. Kobe Bryant had a 25 point game but shot just 8 for 30 from the field.

As a team the Lakers had just a 37.9-field goal percentage (33 for 87).

The Lakers out rebounded the Kings 47-44.

Sacramento scored 23 points off fast breaks to just 9 for the Lakers.

The Kings took the lead in the game and never relinquished that lead in the first quarter. Sacramento led by as many as 10 points. The Kings shot 54.5-percent (12 for 22) from the field with two 3-point baskets in the period. Darren Collison led the Kings with eight points while Cousins scored six for Sacramento. Kobe Bryant was 2 for 7 in the opening quarter. The Kings led the Lakers 26-23 after one.

The second quarter belonged to the Lakers. Los Angeles took their first lead of the game on a Carlos Boozer layup at the 8:33 mark. The Lakers outscored the Kings 37-26 in the second period. They hit on 5 of 7 3-Point shots to open up their lead. Nick Young scored eight points to lead the Lakers. DeMarcus Cousins scored nine points for the Kings. At halftime, the Lakers led the Kings 60-52.

Game notes:  The rumored trade between the Kings and the Nets appears to have “legs”. Deron Williams would come to Sacramento along with another player in exchange for Darren Collison, Jason Thompson and Derrick Williams. The Kings want the second player from Brooklyn to be center/forward Mason Plumlee. The Nets are balking at giving up the young Plumlee who they see as a star of the future … 5 of the Kings next 7 games are on the road … Sacramento travels to the Bay Area to take on the Warriors on Monday night … the Kings have a back-to-back games at home – on Friday they host the Suns and on Saturday the Knicks will be in Sacramento … the Kings will end the year and start the new year on the road in Brooklyn, Boston, Minnesota and Detroit.

Make it three in a row at home

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By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND-With the playoffs long gone, the Oakland Raiders have been playing with over the last four weeks with pride.

In three of those games, the Raiders defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers and now the Buffalo Bills.

Derek Carr threw two touchdowns, and veteran kicker Sebastian Janikowski kicked four field goals and the Raiders made it three straight home wins with a 26-24 victory over the Bills before a crowd of 53,436 at the Coliseum.

With the victory, the Raiders eliminated the Bills from the playoff race in the AFC and won their third game in their last four games.

This is the 15th consecutive year that the Bills will miss the playoffs with their playoff game coming in the “Music City Miracle” game against the Tennessee Titans in January of 2000.

The Raiders have the second longest non-playoff appearance streak, as they last made the playoffs after the 2002 season, when they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego.

Carr went 17-for-34 for 214 yards and those two touchdowns against one of the top defenses in the NFL.

James Jones was on the receiving end of Carr’s first touchdown pass just four seconds into the second quarter, and his second and final touchdown of the game came with 2:51 remaining in the game, as he found fullback Jamize Olawale from one yard out that essentially clinched the game for the Raiders.

The Bills would not give up, as Kyle Orton found Robert Woods for a 30-yard touchdown pass that cut the Raiders lead down to just two with 1:09 remaining in the game; however Jordan Gay’s onside kick was recovered by Charles Woodson to end the game.

Orton and the Bills opened the scoring in the first quarter, as he found rookie sensation Sammie Watkins for a 42-yard touchdown pass.

The Bills failed to capitalize on the Raiders second successive three-and-out, as Orton’s pass was intercepted by Woodson, it was the 60th career interception by the future Hall-of-Famer.

On the afternoon, Orton went 32-for-49 for 329 yards passing with three touchdown passes and two interceptions.

Latavius Murray carried the ball a team high 23 times and gained 86 yards on the ground, while Darren McFadden carried the ball nine times for 54 yards, including a 25-yarder that setup Carr’s second and final touchdown pass to Olawale.

The Raiders rush defense held the Bills to just 13 yards rushing on 13 carries.

NCAA bowl games commentary: Utah State stops UTEP with third bowl game victory; TCU has edge over Ole Miss

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by Michelle Richardson

New Mexico Bowl Utah State 21 vs.UTEP 6: This was not one of those bowl games where you ask yourself “who are they?” when asking about the Utah State Aggies who beat UTEP 21-6 on Saturday. Aggies quarterback Kent Myers threw for five completions in 12 attempts for 68 yards and was picked off once. Myers ran for a 48 yard keeper in the first quarter for a touchdown and Nick Virgil carried for three yards in third quarter to help the Aggies on offense.

Utah State had a better ground game than their air attack. UTEP went in to visit Utah St with a record of 7-1 now 7-2 and this is the third straight year that UTEP has gone to a bowl game but for Utah State this is the third straight year they’ve gone to a bowl game and won it. The last time UTEP won a bowl game was in 1967 in the Sun Bowl. Utah St definitely had a good program and they definitely had some good players. The Miners were just outplayed in this game on Saturday and were outmanned by Utah St who won 21-6 with only scoring a field goal in the first and the fourth quarter.

TCU (11-1) faces the Ole Miss Rebels (9-3) on New Years Eve Chick-Fil-A-Bowl: First of all TCU head coach Gary Patterson is a very much deserved winner of the Walter Camp coach of the year award. Nobody expected TCU to play the way they did this season and I’m here to tell you that TCU was robbed. The Horned Frogs were robbed and they were dropped from this first round of the playoffs. You don’t drop from being number three all the way down to number six.

You shouldn’t be taking it out against TUC because their conference doesn’t have a conference championship game. That has nothing to do with their play on the field. The Frogs got robbed and Ohio State and I understand there’s a lot of Buckeye fans out there and love the Buckeyes but I’m sorry they don’t belong in the Final Four. Also TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin was a Heisman Trophy winner or strong candidate as well.

This is Boykin’s junior year and this is his audition for an NFL combine and he’s basically auditioning for next year and will be the top Heisman candidate. I expect TCU to play Mississippi State very tough. Ole Miss doesn’t have all of us necessarily fooled but everybody watching them at the beginning of the year because they were setting the ACC on fire and they were just running the table.

The Bowl games are the most exciting part of the season: In football you have week 17 coming up in the NFL and the college bowl games. I’ll be honest with you there are still too many bowl games, I’m sorry but I’m tired of seeing these watered down bowl games. I liked the old school when you had about five bowl games and they all meant something. I get it that you want everybody from every conference but it’s just too saturated.

I’m sorry no more bowl games, do not add anymore bowl games because you got a stadium in your backyard. This is a very exciting time to be a football fan and the NCAA is going into the bowl games. Sit back and relax, quit listening to the pundits, quit listening to espn analyst Mel Kiper quit listening to everybody and sit back and enjoy the game. Enjoy the effort put out by these young men.

Michelle Richardson does commentary on the NCAA each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Sharks roll to fifth straight win; A’s not done dealing yet

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

SAN JOSE–The San Jose Sharks who struggled in November are putting together now with their fifth straight win at SAP Center on Saturday night against the St.Louis Blues one of the most successful teams in the NHL. The Sharks have a challenge they will play their next three games on the road all in the Southland against either the Kings or the Ducks. The Sharks who played the Kings in the playoffs last season it would seem that the Sharks have to go through the Blues to get to the next round in post season there a real testing ground going on here.

These two teams are good rivalry and they showed it playing tight hockey on Saturday night to an overtime win 3-2. The Sharks will play almost every Saturday in January at home and by then there will be no football as the regular season there is almost finished. Then more fans will be focused on the Sharks at that time and this is a time for hockey. This is the end of December and this is what people rally to see and what it’s all about.

Oakland A’s continue to make more moves: The A’s who traded catcher Derrick Norris last week to the San Diego Padres but right now it’s difficult to tell who’s going to be the catcher on opening day. At first base the A’s traded Brandon Moss, second base former Athletic Alberto Callaspo will no longer be there now with the Braves, Brett Lawrie will be at third, the only thing I can tell you Lawrie will be the sure thing at third base as A’s general manager continues to deal players.

The A’s traded Josh Donaldson last month to Toronto, A’s veteran Coco Crisp remains with the team and the other veteran is Josh Reddick but after that it’s hard to tell who Beane might keep or trade away. The pitching staff is a bunch of young kids A.J. Griffin, Jarrod Parker, Sonny Gray is the number one pitcher and they traded away Jeff Samardzija, and Jason Hammel. This is almost a completely different team.

Basically in the Bay Area during this Christmas time there’s two sales going Macy’s and the Oakland A’s and I’ve never seen Beane go this active in wheeling and dealing he’s unloaded most of his All-Stars. You always makes some trades but this is almost like a new team and come to think of it it is a new team. Beane is a smart guy who always puts the team in a competitive mode, however this year is going to be very tough.

The Texas Rangers are going to be very healthy, the Angels are loaded, the Mariners have improved a lot now, they have Nelson Cruz behind Robinson Cano in that line up. The M’s have got great pitching with Felix Hernandez and company. The A’s might run out of stream this year but you could never second guess what Beane has up his executive sleeve he has a couple of trades left in him.

With Crisp and Reddick around in the lineup there are some veterans left on this team, you got to have a sense of presence who stays with the team. At least you can sell some jerseys of players that fans know about anyway. There has to be some continuation of the past, Crisp is at the end of his career but is still a good player, when Crisp is healthy he gets hurt a lot. Reddick is a gold glove and he’s a good player too.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com