Author: Matthew Harrington

Speights’ Fourth Quarter Onslaught Takes Sting Out Of Hornets

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Golden State Warriors stayed scolding hot, coming from behind 106-101 on the road against the Charlotte Hornets for their eight-straight victory. Marreese Speights topped the Warriors (13-2) with 27 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, to salvage the Dubs chances on a night when the starting five under performed.

Speights hit 12 of 20 field goals, was a perfect three for three from the free throw line and added five rebounds in 23 minutes of work against the overmatched Hornets (4-13). The Warriors needed every ounce of effort considering Stephen Curry hit only 1 of 10 three pointers in his 26-point homecoming performance. Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson also struggled, going 7 for 22 from the floor.

As a team, the Warriors hit 42 of 99 attempts, but went 15 for 16 from the charity stripe. Brian Roberts was the only Hornet to crack the teens in scoring, collecting only 20 points. Center Al Jefferson pitched in 18 points, while Cody Zeller added 15. Zeller completed the double-double on his 14 rebounds. Warriors starters Draymond Green (10) and Harrison Barnes (9) led the visitors in boards.

Golden State found themselves ahead 28-24 after one quarter, but were outscored 31-21 in the second to find themselves down 55-49 at the half. The differential didn’t change after 36 minutes of play were in the books with both teams producing 25-point third quarters. Speights’ huge fourth quarter capped a 32-21 Warriors fourth quarter run for the victory.

The Warriors take Saturday off for travel, heading to Detroit for a Sunday showdown with the Pistons. A win in Motown would make Golden State a perfect 5-0 on its current road trip. They’ll return home for a pair midweek before hitting the road again for a Saturday matchup with the Chicago Bulls.

Warriors Runaway With 111-96 Decision in Orlando

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Golden State Warriors continued the franchise’s best start to a season, running their record to 11-2 following a 111-96 beat-down of the home team Orlando Magic. One night after cracking 40 points, Stephen Curry burned the Magic for 28 points on 9 of 13 shooting and four free throws.

The Warriors also received double-digit scoring from starters Harrison Barnes (16), Draymond Green (10) and Klay Thompson (12). Andre Iguodala (13), Marreese Speights(11) and Shaun Livingston (15) also joined the double-digit club coming off the bench. Center Andrew Bogut topped Golden State with 12 rebounds.

Magic Center Nikola Vuceic had a game-best 13 boards. Forward Tobias Harris scored 16 points for the Magic to lead the team Wednesday.

The Warriors outscored the Magic in every quarter except the fourth, but by then they’d built up a 92-65 lead. Despite outscoring the Warriors 31-19 in the fourth quarter, the Magic fell victim to the blowout loss 111-96.

The Warriors continue their road trip Friday in a homecoming for Stephen Curry. The Warriors travel to Charlotte to face the Hornets. It may be one of the last Warriors games Dish subscribers see. The television provider plans to remove Comcast Sports programming from its schedule in the coming year.

Splash Brothers Make Waves In Win Over Miami

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Golden State Warriors continued their franchise-best start to a season, topping the host Miami Heat 114-117 to run their record to 11-2. Stephen Curry bounced back from a sub-par 15-point performance Sunday against the Thunder to score 40 points on 12 of 19 shooting to give the Warriors their sixth-straight win. The Warriors shot 57.3 from the field and turned the ball over just 11 times in the win.

Tuesday marked the seventh time in Curry’s career he cracked the 40-point plateau over his 37 minutes of play. The Warriors point guard hit an eye-popping 8 of 11 three-pointers. Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson pitched in with 24 points. Andrew Bogut led all players with ten rebounds after exiting Sunday’s contest in the first quarter with an apparent injury.

For the Heat (8-7), the final remaining member of the Big Three led the way. Center Chris Bosh scored 26 points on 10 of 19 from the field. He also topped the home team in rebounds with nine.

The Warriors trailed by as much as 16 in the second quarter but closed out the half on a 22-6 run to pull within one at 62-61. The two teams swapped the lead five times over the first 9:30 of the third quarter, but Golden State outpaced the Heat 11-7 down the stretch to take the lead one final time at 91-86. They then played their stingiest defense of the night, allowing only 11 points in the final frame to 23 of their own for the 114-97 final.

The Warriors won’t get much respite on the road, a place where they have been very successful this season. They’ll take their 6-1 record away from Oracle Arena to Orlando Wednesday night in game two of a Sunshine State back-to-back.

Warriors Beat Thunder, Lose Bogut and Barbosa

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By Matthew Harrington

News came in many forms Sunday night for the Golden State Warriors. In the affirmative, the Dubs escaped Chesapeake Energy Arena with a 91-86 over the host Oklahoma City Thunder. Dampening the excitement of victory for Bay Area fans is the fact that both Andrew Bogut and Leandro Barbosa exited the contest early with injuries.

The Warriors (10-2)hit a season-low 35.6 percent of field goals, going 32 of 90 from the floor. The Warriors starters account for only 15 of the 32 makes, including poor shooting nights from Stephen Curry (5 of 15) and Klay Thompson (6 for 20). Thompson scored 20 points to Curry’s 15. Marreese Speights did the heavy lifting for the Warriors, scoring 28 points for the winners.

The Thunder (3-13), still without Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook, were led on the scorer’s sheet by Reggie Jackson’s 22 points. Jackson pulled down 11 rebounds for the double-double, while former Warrior Anthony Morrow had a game-high 12 boards.

The Warriors lead by as much as 10 points the first half, but found themselves only up 70-66 heading into the fourth quarter. Without Bogut and despite not hitting a three-pointer in the entire second half, the Warriors outscored the Thunder down the stretch 21-20 for the win.

The Warriors travel itinerary doesn’t get any lighter in the next few days. The Dubs play four straight on the road before month’s end, starting with a Tuesday-Wednesday Florida back-to-back. The Warriors head to Miami to face the heat before moving on to in-state opponent Orlando.

Warriors Bigs Center of Attention in Blowout Win over Lakers

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Golden State Warriors flexed their offensive muscle for a second consecutive night, routing the host Los Angeles Lakers 136-115 Sunday night after romping over the Charlotte Hornets Saturday night. Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut each earned double-doubles for the Warriors, while Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 44 points for the struggling Lakers (1-8).

Curry topped the Warriors (7-2) with 30 points and 15 assists, hitting 10 of 19 field goals and five threes, but it was the Golden State bigs that stole the spotlight. Marreese Speights collected 24 points, including 8 from the field while pulling down nine rebounds off the bench. Starting center Andrew Bogut cracked double digits in points in the first quarter, finishing the night with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Even Ognjen Kuzmic and Justin Holiday, called up from the Warriors D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, saw playing time with coach Steve Kerr electing to rest his starters with the game out of hand early.

The Warriors hit 46 of 86 field goals, good for a 53.5 shooting percentage. While the turnover numbers were still somewhat high, the 16 committed Sunday are an improvement on the NBA-worst 20.1 the Dubs are averaging a game.

With Bogut on fire in the first quarter, the Warriors took a 34-23 lead. 21 of the 23 points came courtesy of Bryant, with the Mamba bent on passing Michael Jordan’s career points total this season. A 40-32 Warriors scoring margin in the second quarter put Golden State up 74-57. They put up 41 points in the third, while yielding only 24 to Los Angeles. With the reserves in, the Lakers outscored their visitors 36-21 in garbage time for the final score of 136-115.

After winning both ends of a back-to-back, the Warriors get a lengthy respite. They next take the Oracle Arena hardwood Friday night against the Utah Jazz to kick seven straight games against teams at or below the .500 winning percentage.

The Return of Rosco Allen Keys Cardinal to 84-73 Win Over South Dakota

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford Cardinal continued it’s early undefeated season, topping the University of South Dakota 84-73 in the second game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Maples Pavilion Sunday. The Cardinal (2-0) also beat the Wofford Terriers 74-59 Friday night to open the season.

The Cardinal open this season missing two-thirds of its lethal front court, with standouts Josh Huestis and Dwight Powell leaving the Farm for the professional ranks after last season’s surprising run to the Sweet 16. They’ll be counting on returning fifth-year senior Stefan Nastic and the front court tandem of Anthony Brown and Chasson Randle to shoulder the load offensively.

Friday, Nastic took major strides in revving the offense, scoring a career-high 26 points. Sunday against the Coyotes proved much the same, as the Six-foot-Eleven center scored 14 points despite battling foul trouble late. Nastic’s goal for the season as Stanford’s lone returning big man is to avoid finding himself on the bench late in games to protect from fouling out.

“He’s one of the best big men in the country,” said Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins. “I think that’s evidenced by how he’s been playing, not just now but the end of last year. Of course we want him as much as we can possibly have him.”

Randle pitched in with game-high 23 points on 5 of 11 shooting against South Dakote (0-2), but the real star offensively was someone both familiar and unfamiliar to Cardinal fans; Rosco Allen.

“He gave us a lift,” said Randle. “He came out ready to go from the gates. That’s something we need him to do going forward. He’s a great player, a lot of potential. He’s our x-factor. He can do that night in and night out if he wants to.”

The junior Allen scored a career-high 17 points in just his second game since suffering a shin injury last October that caused him to miss all but one game last season. The Hungarian-born forward averaged 3.2 points a game, playing 391 minutes his freshman season of 2012-13.

“I’m so happy,” said Allen when asked how it felt to be back on the court. “I loved being a part of the team last year, see those guys go so far. It’s a different feeling to be out on the court instead of on the sidelines.”

After South Dakota hit one of two free throws for the first point of the game, the Cardinal never trailed. The Cardinal led its visitors 40-26 by the half, but failed to put the game entirely out of reach over the final 20 minutes.

“I give South Dakota a ton of credit,” said Dawkins. “They came in to compete. They made it a 40 minute game.”

“They played great as a team for 40 minutes,” echoed Randle. “You have to give them credit. They really locked in at times offensively and defensively. Offensively, they got into a rhythm, made shots and got offensive rebounds.”

The Coyotes cut the Cardinal lead as close as six points with 12:34 to play, thanks largely in part to Stanford’s inability to stop South Dakota defensively in the second half. The Coyotes hit 46.9 percent of their second half field goal attempts, but sent Stanford to the free throw line 26 times. Stanford hit 22 second-half attempts from the charity stripe to keep distance from its opponents. In total, the Cardinal went 38 for 46 from behind the charity stripe.

“We shoot free throws relatively well in practice,” said Dawkins. “We talked about it before. Some of our guys who haven’t had as much experience in game situations are getting that experience now in front of our eyes. They’re growing up, they’re playing those roles now. I have all the confidence in the world that they’re going to be very good free throw shooters. I think it’s evident by how we shot it tonight.”

Next up for the Cardinal is a high profile match-up against UNLV in another Coaches vs. Cancer classic match-up. This time, play moves to the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, a site familiar to the Cardinal after a pair of stops there last season.

“The Pizza,” replied Randle with a smile when asked what he’s most looking forward to on the road trip. “Really, I’m just looking forward to an opportunity to play against UNLV. We’ve watched film on them, we know they’re a pretty good team.”

Suns hand Warriors First Loss of the Season

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Nobody’s perfect. That includes the Golden State Warriors. After starting the 2014-15 season off with a five game win-streak, the best start to a season since the mid-nineties, the Warriors (5-1) finally succumbed to an opponent Sunday night. In falling to the Phoenix Suns on the road 107-95, the Warriors were the last of the unbeaten teams to fall this season.

Golden State, missing David Lee for a second-consecutive contest due to a hamstring injury, also played without Klay Thompson. The shooting guard was pulled from the line-up suffering from a hand injury.

The Warriors were up 79-71 heading into the fourth quarter, but were outscored 36-16 in the final frame. For the second consecutive night, Golden State turned the ball over 26 times.

Stephen Curry was the highest scorer for a second straight night. The Warriors point guard notched a double-double, scoring 28 points to go along with 10 assists. He also turned the ball over a career-worst 10 times. Draymond Green, in the starting line-up as Lee’s substitute, put up 22 points.

Isaiah Thomas led the Suns (4-3) with 22 points off the bench, while starter Goran Dragic and reserve Gerald Green posted 19 points apiece.

The Warriors return home for a three-game homestand, with a contest against the scuffling defending champion San Antonio Spurs opening up the set on Tuesday. After that the Brooklyn Nets stop by Oracle on Thursday, then the Charlotte Hornets close out the trio of games Saturday.

Warriors Last of the Unbeatens Left Standing

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The list of the unbeaten in the NBA has been trimmed down to one. In a battle of teams with unblemished records, the Golden State Warriors topped the hosting Houston Rockets 98-87. Stephen Curry collected a double-double, scoring a game-high 34 points for the Warriors while reeling in 10 rebounds.

Curry hit 13 of 19 field goals and dished out five assists to hand the Rockets (6-1) their first loss of the 2014-15 season. Andre Iguodala pitched in 15 points off the bench while starter Draymond Green collected 14.

The Dubs (5-0) turned in their best defensive performance to date this year, holding the rockets to a .349 shooting percentage. Houston hit only 30 of 86 shots attempted. James Harden (22 points) and Isaiah Canaan (21 points) topped the Rockets in scoring.

The Rockets managed to outscore the Warriors 56-48 in the first half before the Warriors turned on the defense. The Dubs allowed a scant 21 points down the final 24 minutes while scoring 50 of their own for the victory.

Golden State puts its perfect record on the line in the second game of a back-to-back against in Phoenix Sunday. The Suns have played .500 basketball this season, winning three and losing three.

McCallum’s Tip In Time Leads Kings Past Lakers

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Sacramento Kings erased a 14-point fourth quarter deficit, then rode a Ray McCallum buzzer-beating tip-in to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 93-92 Friday night from Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. DeMarcus Cousins dropped a game-high 21 points for the Kings along with 10 rebounds for a double-double, while Palo Alto’s own Jeremy Lin paced LA with 19 points off the bench.

Apart from Cousins, the Kings received only 16 points combined from the remaining starting five of Ben McLemore, Darren Collison, Jason Thompson and Rudy Gay. Reserves Nik Stauskas (10), Ramon Sessions (13) and Derrick Williams(14) all put up double-digit scoring to push the Kings past their SoCal foes.

The Kings held a 49-48 edge heading in to the half, but LA dominated the third quarter. The Lakers outscored Sacramento 28-15 after 36 minutes of play for a 76-64 margin, but the Kings collected 29 fourth-quarter points, including McCallum’s game-winner, while forcing the LA to settle with 16 points.

With the win, the Kings wrap up preseason play with a 3-4 overall record. They open the season Wednesday night at home against in-state rivals the Golden State Warriors.

Rockets Hand Warriors Second Loss of the Preseason

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

After winning the first four games, the Golden State Warriors dropped their second straight preseason contest Sunday. Golden State fell to the Houston Rockets 90-83 from State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas just two days after losing its first game of the tune-up season Friday against the Miami Heat.

Justin Holiday notched a game-high 18 points for the Dubs off the bench. Nemanja Nedovic, Sunday’s starting guard for the Warriors, added 16 on 6 of 10 shooting while fellow starter Harrison Barnes pitched in 13.

The best backcourt in the NBA, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry, got the night off from coach Steve Kerr. The absence of two of their best shooters saw the Warriors (4-2) connect on only 33 of 79 field goals.

For the Rockets (4-1), starters Dwight Howard (11), Trevor Ariza (13), James Harden (15) and Patrick Beverley (11) all broke double-digits in scoring. The Rockets committed 14 turnovers to the Warriors 21.

Golden State now sits just two match-ups away from the start of the regular season. Both contests come on home turf, with the Warriors taking on the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday before a Friday night tilt against the Denver Nuggets.

Notes: Warriors Co-Executive Chairman and CEO Joe Lacob donated $1 million to Washington University to fund a Business of Sports program in the university’s school of business. Lacob will also deliver the first presentation in the Joseph S. Lacob Business of Sports speaker series….Sunday was the first time the Warriors didn’t break 100 points in a game this preseason…Andre Iguodala was the only expected Warrior starter who played more than 10 minutes Sunday…David Lee (10 minutes) and Andrew Bogut (9) didn’t crack the plateau, while the Splash Brothers sat out.