Author: Eric He

Cousins goes for 39 as Kings escape with win in Denver

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By: Eric He

NBAE photo: Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins finished with 39 points in Denver Tuesday night

A monster night for DeMarcus Cousins was enough to propel the Kings over the Nuggets on the road on Tuesday night, 114-110.

Cousins finished with 39 points and 10 rebounds, including a putback to extend the Kings’ lead to four 14 seconds to play. Nikola Jokic narrowed the margin to one with a 3-pointer, and the Nuggets had a chance down by two in the final seconds, but Cousins stripped the ball away from Darrell Arthur to seal the victory.

The big man made another big play in the clutch, recording a steal and drawing a foul on the other end to give the Kings a 109-107 lead with under a minute left.

The Kings led 61-50 at halftime and stretch the lead to as high as 17 in the third quarter, but the Nuggets rallied in the fourth, where they outscored the Kings by 10 to make it a close game.

Eight players finished in double figures for the Nuggets, who were led by Will Barton’s 18 points off the bench.

The Kings are back at it Wednesday when they kick off a three-game homestand against the Spurs at Sleep Train Pavilion.

West controls All-Star Game as Curry goes for 26

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By: Eric He

photo credit: thebiglead.com The West’s Stephen Curry of Golden State at the NBA All-Star game in Toronto on Sunday

In the highest-scoring All-Star Game in NBA history, the West trumped the East 196-173 in Toronto on Sunday night.

Russell Westbrook took home the MVP honors with 31 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Stephen Curry knocked down six 3-pointers for 26 points, helping set the pace for the West.

But it was Kobe Bryant’s night. Bryant, appearing in his 18th All-Star Game, had just 10 points but was given several ovations as he said his goodbye to the stage he dominated so often.

The other Warriors in the game, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, came off the bench. Thompson had nine points while Green had four.

Paul George led the East with 41 points, while LeBron James, with 13 points, passed Bryant for the most points in All-Star Game history.

The West led 92-90 at halftime, but pulled away in the third quarter. Curry nailed a long range shot at the buzzer in the fourth to conclude matters.

It was a fun All-Star festivities in Toronto, with an electric dunk contest on Saturday that preceded a lights out shooting display from Thompson.

Warriors end first half of season with just another win

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By: Eric He

The Golden State Warriors won handily over the Suns 112-104 on Wednesday night — with the final score not at all indicative of how thoroughly the Suns were outplayed — as the defending champions enter the All-Star break with a 48-4 record.

It is the best record any team in NBA history has achieved through 52 games, and Wednesday’s win served as handy proof of the Warriors’ dominance.

The Warriors outscored the Suns 28-15 in the second quarter to pull away after leading by just one at the end of the first quarter. A 16-4 run midway through the second pushed Golden State’s lead to 55-39, a spurt that was capped off by back-to-back Stephen Curry triples. The Warriors led 57-43 at halftime.

Curry nearly had a triple double, finishing with 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Klay Thompson chipped in 24 points as well.

The Warriors were able to maintain a comfortable advantage throughout the second half and Curry — once again — was able to sit for the entirety of the fourth quarter.

Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green will now head to Toronto for the All-Star festivities this weekend. The Warriors open up the second half of the season a week from tomorrow in Portland against the Trail Blazers.

Kings fall to Cavaliers amidst turmoil

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By: Eric He

photo credit: Cleveland.com John Kuntz–The Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James tried to weave the web past the Sacramento Kings DeMarcus Cousins and Willie Cauley Stein

Rumors continued to swirl on Monday surrounding the future of George Karl, and Kings’ performance against the Cavaliers in a 120-100 did little to help his job security.

The Kings fell behind by double-digits early in the second quarter and were dominated by the Cavaliers on the road. Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 32 points to go along with 12 assists, while LeBron James recorded his first triple double of the season: 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

A three-pointer by J.R. Smith to end the first half sent the Kings into the locker room down by 16 points at 61-45. A 7-0 run early in the third put the Cavaliers up by 20, a lead that the Kings failed to wither down.

Rudy Gay and Omri Casspi both had 16 points to lead the Kings.

Reports indicate that Karl will be fired after the Kings play the 76ers on the road Wednesday, their final game before the All-Star break.

Sacramento is 21-31 and has lost eight of its nine games. Time will tell if playing the lowly 76ers will be the start of a turnaround — or, at the very least, save Karl’s job.

 

Barracuda drop another in Ontario

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By: Eric He

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda–

The Ontario Reign have been the San Jose Barracuda’s kryptonite this season, as the Barracuda dropped their second consecutive to the Reign, 3-2 on Saturday night.

The Barracuda finish the season winless in six tries in Ontario, with just one win overall against the Reign.

In this game, San Jose jumped ahead early, but Ontario answered with three consecutive goals. The Barracuda took a 2-0 lead into second period after Ryan Carpenter and Ben Smith recorded first period markers with two goals in less than a minute.

But it didn’t take long for the Reign to seize the momentum. Michael Mersch put Ontario on the board just 42 seconds into the second period. Late in the period, Ontario also tallied quick back-to-back goals. Jonny Brodzinski finished off an odd-man rush to even the score at 2-2 with under four minutes to play in the period, and then just 16 seconds later, Justin Auger punched in what turned out to be the game-winner.

A scoreless third period sealed another defeat for San Jose, its eighth in nine games. The Barracuda wrapped up a five-game road trip with just one win and will head home to play the Reign again on Wednesday to kick off a three-game home stand.

Barracuda shut out by Ontario in road loss

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By: Eric He

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda

The San Jose Barracuda suffered their seventh loss in eight games after a 1-0 shutout at the hands of the Ontario Reign on the road Friday night.

A first period goal by the Reign’s Michael Mersch was enough for Reign goaltender Peter Budaj to secure his AHL-leading eighth shutout of the season.

The Barracuda put 17 shots on net in the third period in an effort to even the score, but Budaj was equal to the task, as he made 22 saves on the night to seal the victory.

San Jose failed to score on its three power plays and had a season-low one shot on the goal in the second period.

Head coach Roy Sommer stays at 636 wins and remains tied with Fred “Bun” Cook for most career AHL wins as the Barracuda fall to 1-4-2-0 this season against Ontario. They were shutout for the sixth time this season.

The Barracuda will try again on Saturday in a re-match against the Reign.

Warriors rout Knicks behind Klay Thompson’s 34

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By: Eric He

The Golden State Warriors jumped ahead in the second quarter and never looked back in a 116-95 win over the Knicks on the road Sunday night.

Klay Thompson led the way with 34 points on 14-of-18 shooting, making up for a subpar evening for Stephen Curry who finished with just 13 points. Draymond Green posted another triple double, putting up 20 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists.

The Warriors trailed 20-18 after one quarter, getting off to a slow start, but outscored the Knicks 37-29 in the second to take control with a 55-49 halftime advantage.

They pulled away in the third, holding the Knicks to just 16 points. The Warriors opened the second half on a 7-0 run, and a jumper by Thompson put Golden State ahead 62-49. Entering the fourth with an 82-65 advantage, the Warriors did not falter in the fourth quarter like in Philadelphia; rather, they kept their foot on the gas pedal put the game away for good.

The Knicks cut the deficit to 13 midway through the fourth, but a three by Curry squashed any hopes of a comeback.

The Warriors advance to 44-4 and 22-4 on the road.

“They’re a championship-level team and that’s what they did tonight,” Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis told ESPN. Next up, the Warriors will head to the nation’s capital to play the Wizards on Wednesday night to wrap up a three-game road trip. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

Warriors survive in win over 76ers

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By: Eric He

The Golden State Warriors needed a last-second three-pointer by Harrison Barnes to escape with a win over the lowly Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.

The Warriors led by 19 points entering the fourth quarter, but the bench squandered the lead and when the starters returned, they were sloppy and lackadaisical. Down 103-90 with under four minutes to play, the 76ers went on a 15-2 run to tie the game when Isaiah Canaan stole the ball at midcourt and Ish Smith evened the score with a lay-up.

The defending champions were bailed out, however, on the final possession when Draymond Green found Harrison Barnes for a corner triple, which he buried with two-tenths of a second left, essentially winning the game.

For the longest time, it seemed like another easy win for the Warriors against a 7-40 Philadelphia squad. They put up 73 points in the first half and held a 19-point advantage at halftime. But it all went awry in the second half, where the Warriors were outscored by 16 points and got away with it.

“If the gods delivered what should have happened, we probably should have lost because that’s what happens when you mess around with the game and the ball,” Steve Kerr said to the media. 

Klay Thompson led the way with 32 points while Stephen Curry added 23.

The Warriors play the Knicks tomorrow in Madison Square Garden.

Barracuda drop sixth straight in road defeat to Rampage

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By: Eric He

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda–SJ Barracuda loses sixth straight game in San Antonio Fri Jan 29, 2016

The San Jose Barracuda could not snap out of their losing streak on Friday night, falling to the San Antonio Rampage 2-1 on the road to extend their losing streak to a season-high six games.

All of the game’s goals were scored in the first period, with the Barracuda striking first at the midway point on Ryan Carpenter’s eighth goal of the season. Carpenter tipped in a wrist shot by Patrick McNally, who recorded his first career point with an assist.

But the Rampage answered with a pair of late goals Dennis Everberg, who beat Troy Groesnick twice in a three-minute span and San Antonio took a 2-1 advantage into the second period.

After a scoreless second period, the Barracuda could not find a way to even the score in the third despite having four power plays. Rampage goaltender Roman Will stopped 29 of 30 shots to send the Barracuda to the showers with yet another loss.

The defeat yet again prevents head coach Roy Sommer from tying Fred “Bun” Cook atop the all-time wins list in the AHL. Sommer has 635 career wins, one short of Cook.

He will get another chance Saturday night when the Barracuda face the Rampage again in San Antonio.

Barracuda shut out by Stars to kick off road trip

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By: Eric He

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda–The Texas Stars pitch a shutout 3-0 against the SJ Barracuda on Wednesday night in Texas

The San Jose Barracuda saw their road trip begin on a sour note with a 3-0 loss to the Texas Stars on the road on Wednesday night.

It was the Barracuda’s season-high fifth consecutive loss and once again prevented head coach Roy Sommer from recording his 636th career win tying Fred “Bun” Cook in the record books for most wins by an AHL coach.

Texas got into the driver’s seat early with two first period goals. Curtis McKenzie put the Stars on the board with a little more than six minutes gone by in regulation, and Brett Ritchie connected on a late power play with a one-timer to give Texas a 2-0 lead heading into the second period.

McKenzie provided an insurance goal in the third period after neither team was able to connect in the second period. He pocketed the second power play goal of the night for the Stars, scoring on a rebound to put the Stars ahead 3-0.

Aaron Dell recoded 33 saves in a losing effort for San Jose. The two teams were relatively even on the shot clock — Texas had 36 to San Jose’s 35 — but the Stars’ Maxime Lagace was perfect in net, recording the shutout.

The Barracuda will look to snap their losing streak on Friday when they head to San Antonio to play the Rampage at 5:30 PM PST.