Month: February 2023

Thompson’s big night leads Warriors to win over Rockets; Understaffed Golden State defeats Houston 116-101

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Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole (3) celebrates with Klay Thompson, left, after scoring a 3-point basket against the Houston Rockets during the first half at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Fri Feb 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The understaffed Golden State Warriors faced off against the young Houston Rockets Friday night at the Chase Chase. The Warriors were without Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins(for personal reasons), and Draymond Green, out with a knee contusion suffered in the loss to the Lakers Thursday night in Los Angeles. 

Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr had Jonathan Kuminga fill in for Green. Donte DiVincenzo replaced Andrew Wiggins in the lineup. Poole and Klay Thompson were in the backcourt. The Rockets arrived in town owning a seven-game losing streak. Their coach, Stephen Silas, hoped his young troops could pull off the upset. The Rockets gave the Warriors a tussle in the first quarter, but the defending NBA champions, behind Thompson’s stellar performance, pulled out a win beating Houston 116-101.

The Rockets had an early lead, 12-5. The Warriors regained the lead 17-16, and the fans started thinking that the Warriors would easily beat the Rockets. That didn’t happen as the teams battled to a 26-26 tie at the end of the first quarter.

Things changed in the second quarter. Thompson got into a rhythm and knocked down four threes to lead the Warriors to a 66-49 advantage at the end of the first half. Poole had two threes, and DiVincenzo made four threes. The Warriors outscored the Rockets 40-23 in the second period.

The Warriors did not put the game away in the third quarter. The Warriors started giving the Rockets opportunities to score points. The Warriors committed too many turnovers, allowing the Rockets to shave eight points off the Warriors halftime advantage. The Warriors led by nine heading into the fourth quarter.

The Warriors had an answer. His name is Klay Thompson. Thompson, playing in back-to-back games for just the second time this season, continued to knock down three-point shots. With his 12th three of the night, the Warriors led 116-99. The game was over. The Warriors went on to win.

Game Notes: With the win, the Warriors are now 30-30. The Rockets lost their eighth in a row, and their season record in now 13-46.

The Warriors had four players in double-figures. Thompson led the way with 42 points. His 12 three-pointers were two short of his NBA record of 14. Thompson did not have a two-point bucket all night. His other six points were free throws. Poole and DiVincenzo each had 15. Poole made two threes, while DiVincenzo had five. The other player in double-figure was Patrick Baldwin, Jr. PBJ made three threes.

The Rockets had five players in double figures. Jabari Smith, in his rookie season, had 13. Kenyon Marttin, Jr., 22. Jae’Sean Tate, 14, TyTy Washington, Jr., 15, and Josh Christoper, 13.

The Warriors shot 47% from the floor. They made 26 three in 47 tries. The big negative of the night was the 18 turnovers.

The Warriors meet the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 5:30m pm.

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel Dullum: It was a fight to the end in double OT win for Stanford

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Colorado guard Jaylyn Sherrod, top, fights for control of the ball with Stanford forward Kiki Iriafen in the first half at CU Events Center in Boulder Col on Thu Feb 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel:

#1 The No.3 Stanford Cardinal wbb (27-3) defeated the No.21 Colorado Buffaloes (21-7) at CU Events Center in Boulder 73-62 on Thursday night to clinch the Pac 12 title.

#2 The Cardinal have had a lot of success on the floor and when the Buffaloes pushed this one into overtime the Cardinal resisted defeat and got nine point double overtime win. Talk about that hard earned effort in the two overtimes.

#3 Daniel to the leaderboard the Cardinal got offensive scoring help from Haley Jones who led with 23 points she was crucial on offense to help the Cardinal get the overtime victory.

#4 The Buffalo defense double teamed and kept Cameron Brink off her game Brink scored only eight points but she enjoyed the victory.

#5 The Cardinal close out the regular season Saturday night in Utah against the Utah Utes (25-3) the Utes have a similar record and this could be one of Stanford toughest conference games this season.

Join Daniel for the Stanford Cardinal podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings on back to back nights battle Clippers tonight in Southland

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Portland Trail Blazers guard Keon Johnson drives to the basket past Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) during the first quarter at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Sacramento Kings (33-25) were sloppy with the ball on offense, and the defense was nonexistent. It makes it even worse that Portland Trailblazers (28-31) didn’t have a single starter in the game. They were all resting due to the plane ride delays and injuries in spite of all of that the Kings mastered a pretty sizable win 133-116 at Golden 1 Center Thursday night.

#2 In the second quarter, the Kings played much more competitively. They sharpened up the defensive side of the ball a little bit.

#3 In the third quarter, the Kings and Blazers both scored 34 points. It was an uneventful quarter in which neither team played any defense. The Kings offense stayed hot after a sizzling second quarter.

#4 In the fourth quarter, the Kings efficiently handled the Blazers. The Kings outscored the Blazers 33-25 in the final quarter to defeat them. It was a solid win for the Kings. 

#5 The Sacramento Kings take on the Los Angeles Clippers tonight at 730 PM PST at Crypto.com Arena in the Southland.

Join Jeremiah for the Sacramento Kings podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors really feeling the absence of Curry and Wiggins

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The Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James wasn’t blowing smoke as he and the Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thu Feb 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 Golden State needed to turn their defense around, protect the ball and make the most of every possession tried as they may the Lakers came away with a 124-111 win against Golden State at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

#2 The team will still be without Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins will also be out for personal reasons with no return date right now.

#3 After the first 12 minutes, the Warriors were trailing 31-23. While Golden State did not get the hot start that they were looking for, they did get a decent start. They needed to be better in transition and protect the ball.

Join David Zizmor for the Golden State Warrior podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

No. 3 Cardinal women clinch Pac-12 title with 73-62 double OT win over Buffs

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Stanford guard Haley Jones, right, drives to the basket as Colorado guard Tayanna Jones, center, and center Aaronette Vonleh defend in the first half at CU Events Center in Boulder Col on Thu Feb 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Thursday, February 23, 2023

It took two overtimes in the high altitude to do it, but No. 3 Stanford held off No. 21 Colorado 73-62 Thursday to claim the Pac-12 women’s basketball regular season championship.

Haley Jones scored 13 of her 23 points in the two overtime periods while pulling down 11 rebounds and dishing out seven assists for the Cardinal (27-3 overall, 15-2 Pac-12). Lauren Betts hit 1 of 2 free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining in the second half and finished with 14 points. Hannah Jump also scored 14 points, and Cameron Brink fouled out in OT after being held to eight points, six boards and four blocks.

Stanford outscored the Buffaloes 13-2 in the second overtime period, It was the first double-overtime game for the Cardinal since 2017.

Jaylyn Sherrod led Colorado (21-7 overall, 12-5 Pac-12) with 19 points; she hit the game-tying basket with 30 seconds left in regulation, Sherrod left the game briefly in the fourth quarter, but returned. Buffaloes center Quay Miller added 17 points. Stanford held a 53-42 rebounding edge,

The Buffaloes trailed by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter while getting by without their third leading scorer, Frida Formann, who was out of the lineup due to illness.

Stanford missed its first 15 shots and trailed by as many as 14 points early. Brooke Demetre hit a 3-pointer for the Cardinal’s first basket at 12 seconds of the first quarter. Colorado held a 13-5 lead after one period, but the Cardinal outscored CU 20-8 in the third quarter.

The Cardinal close out the regular season Saturday at No. 8 Utah.

Fox rains baskets on Trailblazers in Kings 133-116 win at Golden One

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Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) reacts after scoring a basket against Portland Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little (10) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center on Thu Feb 23, 2023 (USA Today photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings (33-25)were back in town on Thursday night after the All-Star break. The Kings last played against the Phoenix Suns on the road on Saturday, the 14th. The Kings did not play well in the valley of the sun as they lost to the Suns 120-109.

The Kings sent four players to the All-Star festivities. De’Aaron Fox and Domas Sabonis as reserves, Keegan Murray in the rising stars game, and Kevin Huerter in the three-point contest. On Thursday, the Kings looked to get the unofficial second half underway as the Portland Trail Blazers. Tip-off was set for 7 PM PST in Sacramento. The Kings downed the Trail Blazers (28-31) by the final of 133-116.

In the first quarter, the Kings played terribly. It was one of the worst quarters of the year for the Kings. They were outscored 37-26, but that didn’t tell the whole story. The Kings were sloppy with the ball on offense, and the defense was nonexistent. It makes it even worse that Portland didn’t have a single starter in the game. They were all resting due to the plane ride delays and injuries.

In the second quarter, the Kings played much more competitively. They sharpened up the defensive side of the ball a little bit. However, the defense was still bad. The improvement came on the offensive end as the shots started to fall more for the Kings. In the second quarter, the Kings outscored the Blazers 37-20 to take the lead into the second half. D Fox led the way with 11 points in the first half. Nassir Little led the way for the Blazers with 12 points in the first half.

In the third quarter, the Kings and Blazers both scored 34 points. It was an uneventful quarter in which neither team played any defense. The Kings offense stayed hot after a sizzling second quarter. You have to give the Blazers second unit credit in the game. With the lack of most of the starters, the Blazers held their own. The Kings looked to close out Portland in the final quarter. The score after three was Kings up 100-91.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings efficiently handled the Blazers. The Kings outscored the Blazers 33-25 in the final quarter to defeat them. It was a solid win for the Kings. Some would even say a great win for the Kings. In times of old, the Kings would lose this game.

The 2021 and 2022 Sacramento lose this game. However, after starting the game poorly, the Kings managed to come back and defeat the short-handed Portland team. The Kings did what good teams are supposed to do. Leading the way for the Kings was All-Star Fox, who scored 31 points.

The performance by Fox is not to be overshadowed by the 18-point triple-double by Sabonis. It was an excellent win for the Kings, who did nothing at the deadline and hope for a playoff birth. Let the race to the postseason begin.

Up Next: The Sacramento Kings will fly to LA to take on the Clippers on Friday night at 730 PM PST.

WSU slips past Cardinal men 67-63

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Stanford Cardinal forward Harrison Ingram (55) takes a shot at the top of the key against the Washington State Cougars guard Justin Powell (24) at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Thu Feb 23, 2023 (Stanford University photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Thursday, February 23, 2023

Stanford dropped its third straight Pac-12 men’s basketball game on Thursday, as the Cardinal fell to visiting Washington State 67-63 at Maples Pavilion.

TJ Bamba led the Cougars (14-15 overall, 9-9 Pac-12) with 22 points, hiting 9 of 14 field goal attempts, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Mouhamed Gueye was next with 15 points, connecting on 6 of 8 shots and a 3 while pulling down 15 rebounds, and Andrej Jakimovski with 11 points, hitting 3 of 5 behind the arc. Justin Powell had five assists.

Stanford (11-17 overall, 5-12 Pac-12) had four players in double figures. Brandon Angel led the Cardinal with 17 points (6 of 8 field goals and 4 of 5 3-pointers), followed by Harrison Ingram with 15 points, and Maxime Raynaud and Michael Jones with 10 points each.

Raynaud had seven rebounds and Angel had six more, but the Cardinal was outrebounded 31-27. Ingram and Michael O’Connell each were credited with five assists.

Stanford led 16-12 at the 11-minute mark of the first half before the Cougars made three 3-pointers in the final minute before halftime, eventually leading 30-28 at the break.

Washington State build an eight-point lead four minutes into the second half, but Michael Jones responded with a four-point play to cut the Cardinal deficit to one possession. Back-to-back scores by Ingram tied the game at 55-55, and a dunk by Angel tied the game at 63-63 with 2:51 remaining.

Bamba’s jump shot in the lane broke the tie with 44 seconds left. DJ Rodman sank a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining, putting the Cougars up 67-63. Stanford missed four shots in the final five seconds,

Stanford honors its senior class on Sunday at 3 p.m. when the Cardinal host Washington.

San Jose gets blown out at home by Nashville 6-2

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Photo courtesey of San Jose Sharks. Matt Benning gets ready before a game.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

On a chilly night in San Jose the Sharks took on the Predators and struggled on home ice losing by a final of 6-2.

The goaltending matchup was between James Riemer for San Jose and Juuse Saros for Nashville.

The first period began with Nashville controlling most of the play while San Jose couldn’t get much going offensively.

Highlighting this lack of offense was their shots which was still at zero for the Sharks at the 12:00 mark of the first period.

On a power play Nashville capitalized as Nino Niederreiter tipped home his 17th goal of the season to make it 1-0.

At the end of the first the shots favored Nashville at 8-4.

Nashville got the second period started on the right foot as less than two minutes in Mikael Granlund scored to make it 2-0. The goal, which was Granlund’s eight of the season was on a floaty wrist shot that Riemer most likely wanted back

A little later in the period Nico Sturm was called for a five minute penalty though after review the officials took away the penalty entirely.

After that review just a few moments later Erik Karlsson was called for a hooking penalty putting Nashville on the power play.

While on the power play though there was a race for a loose puck in Nashville’s end which lead to Nico Sturm picking up the puck and shelving it over Saros. It was Sturm’s 12th goal of the season and made it a 2-1 game.

When the power play ended the Sharks got another chance as Erik Karlsson came out of the box and was fead a breakaway pass. The breakaway ended though with Karlsson hitting the crossbar and the score remaining the same.

Nashville not long after the goal got a odd-man rush and converted on it as Granlund scored his second goal of the game making it 3-1.

The Sharks were given a chance to get back in the game as Kevin Gravel took a penalty for interference.

Matt Benning while trying to break the puck out on the power play ended up turning it over leading to a goal for Yakov Trenin increasing Nashville’s lead to 4-1.

At the end of the second the shots still favored Nashville at 22-15.

Unlike the first two period San Jose got off to a good start scoring less than a minute in as Martin Kaut scored his first goal as a Shark.

With the score now 4-2 the team teal seemed to have new life as they controlled most of the play to start the third.

That momentum was killed though when on a odd man rush Niederreiter scored off of an accidental tip in by Noah Gregor making it 5-2.

Piling on to the lead on a power play Tommy Novak scored off a beautiful feed from Matt Duchene increasing Nashville’s lead to four.

Novak’s goal ended up being the last of the game as the Sharks finished off a dissapointing showing at home.

The three stars of the game were 1st: Mikael Granlund 2nd: Matt Duchene 3rd: Philip Tomasino

“I thought we were lifeless, I thought we were really not sharp in a lot of ways,” head coach David Quinn said after the game.

The Sharks will look to bounce back Saturday when they play at home against the Chicago Blackhawks at 7 p.m.

Lakers Bulldoze Warriors 124-111

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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, center, shoots as Golden State Warriors forward Kevon Looney, right, defends during the first half at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thu Feb 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

Lakers Bulldoze Warriors 124-111

By Barbara Mason

Thursday night the Golden State Warriors (29-30) took on the Los Angeles Lakers (28-32) at Crypto. com Arena. With only 24 games left in the regular season, this was a must win for the Warriors as is every game going forward. Golden State needed to turn their defense around, protect the ball and make the most of every possession tried as they may the Lakers came away with a 124-111 win against Golden State at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The team will still be without Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins will also be out for personal reasons with no return date right now.

After the first 12 minutes, the Warriors were trailing 31-23. While Golden State did not get the hot start that they were looking for, they did get a decent start. They needed to be better in transition and protect the ball.

WIth 4:36 left in the second quarter the Lakers took a 51-38 lead, their largest of the game. The Warriors were having trouble getting clean looks. The Laker defense was on point forcing Golden State to take some ill-advised shots. The Warriors played their best basketball in the final two minutes of the half.

They trailed 59-56 after having trailed by fourteen points in the quarter. Jordan Poole who had a slow start hit a couple of three’s in the later minutes of the second quarter and finished the half with 15 points, the high score for the Warriors.

The Lakers quickly extended the three point lead they had at the half. They were destroying the Warriors in transition and with 6:47 left in the third quarter had their largest lead of the game 79-63. Despite a very quiet night for LeBron James the Lakers led after three quarters 95-80.

The Lakers continued to build on their lead in the fourth quarter and with ten minutes left in the game had a 20 point lead 102-82. The Warriors could not buy a basket in this final quarter and the Lakers continued to pound Golden State. The Warriors had trailed by 28 and had cut the deficit in half but it was too little too late.

Klay Thompson had the high score for the Warriors with 22 points and off the bench Ty Jerome finished with 20 points. Once again the Warriors defense fell short. Los Angeles outplayed them offensively and defensively.

The high score for the Lakers was Malik Beasley with 25 points. The Los Angeles bench had a great night with 68 points collectively.

After dropping their first game after the All-Star game, the Warriors now have a chance to grab some wins playing their next five game at Chase Center. Friday night the Warriors will take on the Houston Rockets in the first game of this homestand. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Preds Johansen out 12 weeks; Caps Ovechkin returns tonight; plus more

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The Nashville Predators will miss 12 weeks following leg surgery from an injury from Tue 14, 2023 game against the Vancouver Canucks Quinn Hughes whose skate cut Johansen on the right leg. (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 Nashville Predators Ryan Johansen’s right leg got caught by the skate of Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes which made contact on Johansen’s lower leg Tuesday night at 16:43 of the second period. Johansen had to be assisted off the ice. Johansen had to have surgery on the leg and will miss at least 12 weeks he could make it back for the first round of the playoffs.

#2 Alexander Ovechkin had missed the last five games with the Washington Capitals after his father Mikhail passed away at age 71 in Russia. Mikhail was a soccer player in his youth. Ovechkin is returning tonight in Anaheim against the Anaheim Ducks. Ovechkin said he looks forward to getting back to work. The Caps lost to the Ducks 4-2 on Thursday night for the Caps sixth straight loss.

#3 The Chicago Blackhawks in a trade with the Ottawa Senators acquired defenseman Nikita Zaitsev . Ottawa received two draft picks from Chicago plus future defensemen considerations. Zaitsev has 108 points, 18 goals and 19 assists in 426 regular season games with the Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. Zaitsev has five assists in 28 games with Ottawa this season.

#4 Len, the New York Rangers are looking to bolster their roster some more, as you know they picked up Vladimir Tarasenko from the St Louis Blues on Feb 10th and now their in talks with the Chicago Blackhawks about acquiring Patrick Kane. Rangers general manager Chris Drury said “Never say never’ regarding acquiring Kane.

#5 New Jersey defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in overtime here’s one team who is interested in Patrick Kane.

#5 The San Jose Sharks Timo Meier remains one of the top sought after players before the trade deadline. The New Jersey Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes are inquiring about Meier’s services with the Devils being the team who want a long term deal with Meier but the Canes have said that would not be a prerequisite with them. Meier is currently hurt with an upper body injury and has been out since the second period of Sat Feb 18th’s game against the Buffalo Sabers.

6. Edmonton Oilers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-2 as the Oilers Conner McDavid scored two goals tonight with 109 points leading the NHL.

Join Len for the NHL podcasts Thursday nights at http://www.sportsradioservice.com