Author: rgsteward

Golden State Warriors Steph Currey in game1 of the NBA playoffs

Warriors hold on for win in game 1 of NBA Playoffs

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AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By Robert Steward

OAKLAND–

And now the REAL season begins in the NBA. As anyone who watches the NBA regular season games knows, there is a distinct difference in the style of play, most notably defense, when the playoffs begin. The intensity on defensive play stands out. Shots are contested more frequently and physical play by a defender is ratcheted up a notch. As a team goes deeper into the playoffs, the defense only gets more intense. Anyone wanting to see the difference need only watch a highlight reel of San Antonio Spurs playoff games from the last 15 years.

The Golden State Warriors, fresh off an NBA-best 67-15 record, including an NBA-best 39-2 home record, and number 1 seed in the Western Conference, played host to the New Orleans Pelicans, the number 8 seed, at Oracle Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Warriors certainly have high hopes of going much further in this year’s playoffs than last year’s first round exit in 7 games to the LA Clippers and they started this year’s playoff run on a winning note, defeating the Pelicans, 106-99.

As the game unfolded the Pelicans hit their first two shots of the game but proceeded to miss their next four shots as the Warriors scored 10 in a row to go up, 10-4, following a 3-pointer by Stephen Curry. Golden State continued to move the ball well and following a dunk by Andre Iguodala on a nice assist from Andrew Bogut led 18-8 with 3:57 left in the quarter. After making their first 2 shots the Pelicans proceeded to miss 17 of their next 19 as the Warriors opened up a 15-point lead, closing out the quarter leading 28-13. Golden State shot 50% from the floor to New Orleans’ 24%. The Warriors were more aggressive on the boards, outrebounding the Pelicans, 16-9. Stephen Curry had 11 points in the quarter, while Harrison Barnes hit a couple 3’s and added 8 points himself. Klay Thompson was surprisingly quiet, going scoreless and only taking 2 shots.

New Orleans once again started hot as the second quarter began, hitting their first 4 shots during an 8-0 run before Thompson woke up, scoring Golden State’s next 6 points. New Orleans kept up their hot shooting and cut the Warrior lead to 44-39 following a Quincy Pondexter trey with 4:16 left. Surprisingly, the Pelicans did not turn up the defensive intensity in the quarter as Golden State was getting plenty of uncontested layups. The Warriors went on a 15-2 run to close out the half with a 59-41 lead, highlighted by Stefan Curry’s play at the 1:35 mark. Following a turnover by the Pelicans, Curry pushed it upcourt, drove in with his left hand for a layup against two defenders, got fouled and laid the ball high off the glass for the bucket. His subsequent free throw completed the three-point play.

Golden State dominated the first half in the paint with 36 points, including 14 of 24 on dunks and layups. The Warriors were shooting 56% from the floor at the break, while New Orleans had improved to 41%. The Pelicans, however, cooled off after hitting their first 10 of 12 from the floor in the quarter, missing 5 of their last 6 shots. Despite only hitting 1 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half, Curry lead the Warriors with 19. Thompson scored all 11 of his points in the second quarter, while Barnes and Bogut also were in double figures with 10 points apiece. Antonio Davis led New Orleans with 11 points, the lone scorer in double figures for the Pelicans.

At the start of the second half New Orleans began to turn it up a notch on the defensive end but struggled to make shots. Tyreke Evans, who had left the game in the 2nd quarter following a knee contusion, did not return for the rest of the game. Also, Davis picked up his 4th foul for the Pelicans at the 7:01 mark and went to the bench. Golden State took advantage and continued to be unselfish with the ball, making extra passes to the open shooter. Iguodala was left wide open on the baseline and connected on an uncontested 3-pointer following passes from Curry to Thompson to Iguodala to open up a 69-46 lead with 6:01 left in the quarter. The Warriors eventually extended the lead to 25 and led by that margin, 82-57, with 2:15 left. At this point in the game the Warriors were clearly wanting it more, forcing turnovers and getting strong second efforts following missed shots. It was also at this point when the Pelicans finally woke up and realized they were in the playoffs. They closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run, finished by Pondexter’s long 3-pointer just inside halfcourt with .01 second left. Golden State led, 84-66, as the third quarter ended.

The Pelicans picked up where they left off in the 3rd, starting the 4th quarter on a 7-0 run, extending their overall run of 14 consecutive points to trim the Warriors lead to 84-73, forcing Golden State to call a timeout with 10:20 left. Curry stopped the bleeding with an uncontested trey and it was followed by Thompson’s trey to push the lead back to 17, at 90-73, with 8:11 left. It was clear, however, that the Warriors were not nearly aggressive in the 4th as they had been for the previous three quarters. They were also content to launch 3-pointers and miss them, at one point missing 4 in a row as the Pelicans continued to chip away at the Golden State lead. Eric Gordon hit a three for New Orleans to cut the lead to 93-83 with 3:26 left. At this point, the Warriors had only made 2 of 13 from the floor in the 4th. Davis played very strong in the 4th for the Pelicans, at one point scoring 16 of the team’s 19 points in one stretch, continuously hitting baseline jumpers and free throws when fouled. He also threw down a thunderous dunk on an alley-oop from Norris Cole with 2:59 left. Golden State, meanwhile, made things way too interesting during crunch time, missing 6 of 10 free throws late in the game, including 3 of 4 by Thompson, an 88% free throw shooter on the season, and one by Curry, himself hitting 91% from the line during the regular season. The Pelicans whittled the lead down to 4, at 103-99, with 9 seconds left following 2 free throws from Davis, before the Warriors woke up and hit 3 of their last 4 from the line to seal it.

Golden State was led by Curry, who finished with 34 points, but only 4 of 13 from long-distance and 4 of 7 from the line. Thompson scored 21 but also missed 3 from the line and was only 6 of 17 from the floor. Draymond Green had a solid game for the Warriors, scoring 15, while pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists. Andrew Bogut also played strong, having a double-double of his own with 12 points and 14 boards. Barnes chipped in with 12 points of his own as all Warrior starters were in double figures. Golden State finished at 46% shooting from the floor, including 11 of 29 from 3-point range, but shot poorly from the line, hitting only 21 of 34. New Orleans was led by Davis, who scored 20 of his game-high 35 points in the 4th. Pondexter finished with 20 and Gordon added 16. The Pelicans shot 42% from the floor, hitting 9 of 20 beyond the arc. They were also 20 of 25 from the line.

Both teams go at it again in game 2 at Oracle Arena on Monday at 7:30pm.

 

 

Kings win home finale over Lakers

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By Robert Steward

SACRAMENTO–

The Sacramento Kings returned home from their three-game road trip to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the Kings’ home finale at Sleep Train Arena. It was the first of basically a home-and-home series with the Lakers, as both teams will play each other in the season finale on Wednesday in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Sacramento had dropped 8 out of their last 9 games and were without the likes of Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins and despite a total of 23 lead changes for the first 3 quarters, the Kings pulled away from the Lakers, outscoring them 27-18 in the final quarter en route to a 102-92 victory.

Both teams went back and forth for most of the first half. The Lakers’ biggest lead was 6, at 24-18, while the Kings’ biggest lead was only 3, at 31-28. As a result both teams were tied at 24 after the first quarter and also at the half, 51-51. The Kings came out of the halftime break to start the third quarter on a 8-2 run to take their biggest lead up to that point at 59-53. Back came the Lakers on a 13-4 run of their own to re-take the lead at 66-63. Sacramento eventually got the lead back and closed out the third leading 75-74.

Neither team was able to shake loose of the other until the Kings, with an 89-88 lead with 4:28 left, finally went on an extended 13-2 run to put the game out of reach. Omri Casspi was the star for Sacramento scoring a game-high 26 points, to go with 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Derrick Williams came off the bench to score 20, while Carl Landry started and added 14 points on 5 of 7 from the floor and making all 4 of his free throws in only 19 minutes. Ray McCallum added 12 with Jason Thompson and Andre Miller each chipping in with 10 to lead a balanced scoring attack. For the game Sacramento shot 49% from the floor, despite going 4 of 16 from 3-point range. A big free throw disparity favored the Kings as they converted 28 of 36 from the charity stripe while the Lakers only went to the line 13 times, hitting 8.

Los Angeles was short-handed due to injury as well, dressing only 9 players. As a result, starters Jordan Clarkson and Jabari Brown logged 47 and 46 minutes, respectively. Clarkson led the Lakers with 23 while sporting 6 assists and 5 steals. Brown and Jordan Hill added 18 apiece for the only Laker players in double figures. Sacramento improved to 28-53, while the Lakers dropped to 21-60.

 

Harden drops 51 on Kings, who lose to Rockets

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By Robert Steward

HOUSTON–

On a night that saw the Sacramento Kings’ All-Star Center DeMarcus Cousins have a monster game, it unfortunately went to waste. Cousins had a triple-double, scoring 24 points, while grabbing 21 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists, along with a career-high 6 blocked shots. But it was overshadowed by the Houston Rockets’ All-Star James Harden, who scored a career-high 51 points to lead the Rockets past the Kings, 115-111, the third loss in a row for Sacramento.

Sacramento was playing without Forward Rudy Gay, who was not in the lineup due to a concussion that he suffered two nights ago in a loss to Memphis. It’s unknown as to when Gay will return. He must pass the league-mandated concussion protocol first before being allowed to play again. The Kings started out slow, missing 6 of their first 7 shots and turning it over 5 times in the early going to help Houston jump out to a 13-3 lead with 6:57 left in the first quarter before the Kings called a timeout. While Sacramento eventually was able to trim the lead down to 1, at 22-21, a 13-4 run by the Rockets found them leading, 35-25, as the quarter came to an end. Harden was locked in, hitting 5 of 7 from the floor, including all 3 of his attempts from downtown, to finish the quarter with 16 points. Ray McCallum was also off to a nice start for the Kings, hitting all 4 of his shots to lead Sacramento with 9 points in the quarter. The Rockets shot 52% from the floor, including 6 of 12 beyond the arc, while the Kings shot 46% from the floor.

The Rockets turned up the heat as the 2nd quarter began, going on an 11-2 run behind the three-point shooting of Trevor Ariza, who made of 3 of 4 from long-range during the run, forcing the Kings to call a timeout with 9:18 left, facing a 46-27 deficit. But just when it looked like Sacramento was going to get blown out, they fought back, cutting the Houston lead to 48-41 with a chance to cut it to 5 but Omri Casspi missed an uncontested layup, which was then followed by a Harden 3-pointer at the other end to push the Rockets’ lead back to 10. Once again, the Kings rallied, going on a 12-3 run of their own to once again trim the lead down to 1, at 54-53, with 1:32 left. Houston lead 58-55 at the half. Despite 10 turnovers for Sacramento, they outrebounded the Rockets, 33-24, en route to 40 points in the paint.  Cousins was the one doing the most damage for the Kings, with 11 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 blocks in the first half. McCallum, after a hot start in the first, did not take a single shot in the 2nd quarter. Harden was well on his way, leading the Rockets with 24 points, including 5 for 5 on 3’s, while Ariza had 14.

The Kings started off the third quarter making 3 of their first 4 shots and took their first lead since 10:45 in the first quarter, going up 61-60 at the 9:51 mark. Both teams see-sawed back and forth and the game was still tied at 72 with 6:20 left in the quarter when Harden, who had 27 up to that point, scored 14 of the Rockets’ next 21 points as the lead grew to as many as 15. Houston closed the third period with a 97-86 lead, torching the Kings for 39 in the quarter, lead by Harden’s 17 points.

Sacramento could have rolled over after the third quarter but, to their credit, they kept coming after Houston, eventually trimming the deficit to 2, at 104-102, with 5:37 left. But following a timeout by the Rockets, Harden got it going again. Up to that point in the 4th, Harden was scoreless. However, he scored the next 10 points for Houston to make the score 114-107, Rockets, with 1:45 to go. The Kings made one last attempt to comeback. Down by 4 with 10 seconds left, Casspi missed a 3-pointer and Harden grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He then missed both of his free throw attempts, the only 2 he missed all night, but the Kings failed to capitalize and didn’t score as time expired.

In addition to Harden’s 51, which included 8 of 9 from downtown, Ariza ended up with 22 and Terrence Jones contributed 16 for Houston, who finished the night 18 of 40 from 3-point range. Houston shot 46% for the game. Sacramento had 7 players in double figures, led by Cousins’ 24. Casspi had 18 while Jason Thompson came off the bench to score 16, to go with 10 rebounds in 21 minutes. McCallum, who only took 2 more shots for the rest of the game after hitting his first 4 in the first quarter, and Ben McLemore both had 14. Carl Landry and Derrick Williams both chipped in with 10 apiece. The Kings finished at 50% for the game from the floor but shot poorly from the free throw line, hitting only 8 of 16. They did, however, outrebound Houston, 57-42.

The Kings return home on Friday to host New Orleans at 7pm.

Kings back after road trip, lose to Atlanta

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By Robert Steward

SACRAMENTO–

Fresh off a 2-6 road trip in which the Sacramento Kings allowed an average of 115 points a game and 52% shooting from the floor over the last 7 games, they hosted the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks tonight at Sleep Train Arena. It was quite the entertaining game but, as has been the case too many times this season, the Kings came up short in the end, losing to the Hawks, 110-103. The Hawks were playing without NBA 3-point leader Kyle Korver, who has hit 50.4% from beyond the arc this season. Korver suffered a broken nose Sunday night during the Hawks’ win over the Los Angeles Lakers and will miss at least 3 games. One week ago Korver had torched the Kings for 6 three-pointers, leading Atlanta to a franchise-record 20 trey’s in routing the Kings, 130-105, in Atlanta. Sacramento was also playing short-handed, as Rudy Gay sat out with a left patellar tendon strain.

In what became a familiar theme throughout the game, the Kings opened by missing 3 layups in the first minute of play. Ben McLemore picked up two quick fouls and left the game at 9:41. The Kings made only their second bucket of the quarter at the 8:56 mark, a three by Ray McCallum to make it 6-5, Atlanta, before the teams began to pick things up a bit. DeMarcus Cousins began attacking the basket with regularity, making some layups in the low post and getting to the free throw line. After a Nik Stauskas trey, the Kings led, 29-23, with 34 seconds left. However, Atlanta, who kept getting second chances at the basket following their own missed shots, answered back with a quick layup by Dennis Schroder and following a Kings miss, the Hawks’ Shelvin Mack hit a 3 at the horn to cut the Kings lead to 29-28 after the first quarter.

The second quarter saw both teams going back and forth for the first 5 minutes of the quarter. However, with the score tied at 41 with 6:35 left in the half following a jumper by Cousins, the Kings went cold and proceeded to miss their next 7 shots, allowing the Hawks to build a 50-41 lead until Cousins finally broke the scoring drought with a power baseline dunk with 2:15 left. Cousins had been shaken up a bit following a hard offensive charge call on Atlanta’s DeMarre Carroll with 5:45 left, staying on the floor for a few minutes but came back on the court following a timeout after the foul. The Kings trailed at the half, 54-47. Atlanta shot 46% from the floor in the first half, hitting 5 of 12 from 3-point land. Sacramento tailed off in the 2nd quarter and was only shooting 41% from the floor at the break, although they were 5 of 11 from beyond the arc. Cousins had 14 points and 9 rebounds at halftime, while Atlanta had balanced scoring from Jeff Teague, who had 11 points, and Paul Millsap with 10. Mack and Carroll both had 8 for the Hawks.

Both teams opened the 3rd quarter playing subpar, the Kings missing 4 of their first 5 shots, while the Hawks missed 5 of their first 6, including 3 in a row from behind the 3-point line. The Kings also got sloppy and turned the ball over repeatedly. Despite the turnovers, the Kings only trailed, 57-52, with 8:37 left in the 3rd. It was at this point that Atlanta went on an 11-4 run over the next two and a half minutes to take their biggest lead up to that point at 68-56, forcing the Kings to call a timeout with 6:07 left in the quarter. The Hawks got to the foul line time and time again in the 3rd, hitting 9 of 12 from the charity stripe. But Sacramento did not roll over that easily. Sparked by Jason Thompson and Andre Miller coming off the bench, the Kings fought back and whittled what was once a 13-point Atlanta lead at 73-60 down to 80-76 before Atlanta scored with 20 seconds left to finish the quarter leading 82-76. Thompson scored 8 points in the quarter but the Kings turned it over 9 times in the 3rd.

As the 4th quarter unfolded, the Kings stayed close, trimming the lead on 4 different occasions to two points, despite DeMarcus Cousins picking up his 5th foul with 7:23 left and having to exit the game. Sacramento only trailed 90-88 at the 6:33 mark and had hit 6 of their first 8 shots in the quarter. Thompson and Miller continued to spark the Kings, who cut the lead to 1, at 96-95, following a Miller jumper, which forced the Hawks to call timeout with 3:00 left to go. It was still a one-point Hawks lead, 100-99, when Miller had a chance to give the Kings their first lead since 8:42 left in the 2nd quarter but missed his first shot of the game with 1:28 left. The Hawks countered with a three by Kent Bazemore at 1:06 to push the lead up to 103-99. Atlanta proceeded to put the game away by hitting 5 of 6 free throws in the final 23 seconds.

Atlanta’s balanced scoring continued throughout the game. 4 of the Hawks starters finished in double figures, led by Jeff Teague with 23 points, Millsap had 19, Carroll scored 16, and Bazemore finished with 11. Mack and Schroder came off the bench to score 14 and 10, respectively. Even without Korver, the Hawks still launched 31 three-pointers, hitting 12. Atlanta finished at 45% from the floor. The Kings came alive in the 4th, hitting 10 of 17 from the floor. Jason Thompson had a perfect game, hitting all 7 of his shots from the floor and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. He finished with 18 points off the bench, while Miller had 16 off the bench on 6 of 7 from the floor. Cousins led the Kings with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Omri Casspi had 16, McLemore added 11 before fouling out with 23 seconds left, and McCallum chipped in with 10. The Kings finished at 47% shooting from the floor, including 7 of 20 from beyond the arc, but had 20 turnovers for the game, which proved too difficult to overcome.

Next up for the Kings will be the Los Angeles Clippers when they visit on Wednesday night at 7pm.

 

Warriors run winning streak to 5, defeat Pistons

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By Robert Steward

OAKLAND–

The Golden State Warriors extended their winning streak to five games, defeating a feisty Detroit Pistons squad, 105-98. With the win, the Warriors maintained their league-best record, improving to 51-12. The 51 wins matches their win total from last season, with 19 games remaining in the regular season. Barring a total collapse, Golden State should be a lock to set the team record for most wins in a season. The 1975-76 team finished 59-23 in the regular season, losing to the Phoenix Suns in the Conference Finals, one year after defeating the Washington Bullets in a four-game sweep in the NBA Finals, the last year the franchise won the NBA Championship.

This year’s team has shown no signs of letting up. Tonight was no different. The Warriors took their first lead, 9-8, on a jumper by Draymond Green with 8:15 left in the first quarter. They eventually built the lead to 10, at 26-16 with two minutes left in the quarter before the Pistons made a 9-2 run to trim the lead to 28-25. Andre Iguodala grabbed an offensive rebound following a Harrison Barnes miss and made a 13-foot jumper as the horn sounded and the Warriors led 30-25 after one quarter.

In the second quarter Golden State once again built a double-digit lead, going up as much as 44-31 following a shot by Marreese Speights with 7:43 left in the half. But, as they did in the first, the scrappy Pistons fought back, cutting the lead to five, 56-51, at halftime.

As the third quarter unfolded Detroit continued chipping away at the Warriors’ lead, eventually tying it at 65, then going ahead, 67-65, on a Tayshaun Prince jumper at the 5:26 mark. Both teams then took turns holding the lead until Golden State scored 7 unanswered points to go up 79-73 before Detroit’s Spencer Dinwiddie hit a three pointer as the quarter ended to draw back to within three, at 79-76, entering the 4th.

The Warriors opened the 4th by missing their first 5 shots, allowing Detroit to regain the lead, 81-79, before Shaun Livington’s jumper at 9:07 broke the scoring drought and tied the game at 81. It was at this point in the game that Golden State finally put the pesky Pistons away, going on an 18-2 run to take their biggest lead of the night, 97-83. During the scoring run Klay Thompson scored 9 of the 18 points. For the game Thompson finished with a game-high 27 points, leading the way for Golden State, who had 6 players reach double figures in scoring. Green and Iguodala both had 13 points each. Speights and Andrew Bogut each scored 12 points, while Leandro Barbosa chipped in 10. Detroit’s Andre Drummond was an absolute beast on the boards, hauling down a career-best 27 rebounds, 17 on the offensive side, to go with a team-high 22 points. Greg Monroe scored 20 points, Reggie Jackson added 14, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished with 13.

Golden State improved to 28-2 at home. Detroit fell to 23-41, overall, on the season. The Warriors will travel to Denver to take on the Nuggets on Friday at 6pm.

NBA All-Star game: West defeats East in 3-point fest

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By Robert Steward

NEW YORK CITY–

The NBA held its annual playground pick-up game, otherwise known as the All-Star game, tonight at Madison Square Garden, which has certainly seen its share of iconic moments. One can’t forget The New York Knicks’ Willis Reed hobbling onto the floor in the opening moments of game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals and hitting his first 2 shots in the early going to inspire his teammates to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers and crown the Knicks as NBA Champions. Other iconic moments have included the first Ali-Frazier fight in 1971, the so-called “Fight of the Century,” and when the New York Rangers won the NHL’s Stanley Cup in 1994. Tonight’s game will not be remembered as such.

In a game that featured a record total of 321 points between both teams, the West All-Stars defeated the East All-Stars, 163-158. Both squads were intent on making sure that no injuries occurred, as there was absolutely no defense played and no hard fouls committed by either side. But, as those who follow the NBA know, it is only an exhibition for the fans. Tonight’s contest resembled a glorified highlight reel shootaround. A 3-point contest ensued as both teams threw up an insane number of 3-point attempts. The West connected on 25 of 65 from long range, while the East was 23 of 68 from beyond the arc.

The Warriors’ Klay Thompson appeared to still be in a 3-point funk carryover from last night’s 3-point shooting contest, where he was trounced by teammate Stephen Curry in the finals. Thompson, in 20 minutes of playing time, threw up 11 shots, 9 of which were from 3-point range. He connected on exactly one trey and finished with 7 points. Meanwhile, Curry was a little better, making 6 of 16 from the floor, 3 of 10 on 3-pointers, for 15 points in 27 minutes of play. Sacramento Kings’ Center DeMarcus Cousins made the most of his 18 minutes of playing time, making 6 of 7 from the floor and finished with 14 points.

The West had more success in the early going, leading 47-36 after the first quarter. Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook set an All-Star record for most points in the first half when he reached 25 with 7:24 still left in the half. Officiating the game with actual referees should be considered optional in future All-Star games, as the players resembled wax figures from Madame Tussauds when they were on defense. One of the game’s rare defensive highlights occurred for the East with 4:07 left in the first half as Toronto’s Kyle Lowry actually made a steal and then gave up the ball for a nice alley-oop to Washington’s John Wall to make it 73-63, in favor of the West. The East made a late 10-2 run at the end of the half to cut the West’s lead to 1, 83-82, at halftime. The 165 total points for both teams set a new All-Star record. A grand total of 2 fouls were called in the first half.

Another highlight play occurred at 8:11 in the third quarter as Lowry threw an underhand lob from way beyond the 3-point line to Cleveland’s LeBron James for a resounding reverse dunk to put the East in front, 93-91, following an 11-0 run by the East. But the lead was short-lived as Thompson hit his one and only 3-point shot 8 seconds later to regain the lead for the West, 94-93. Westbrook finished the quarter with a total of 33 points and both squads were tied at 122 entering the 4th quarter.

As the 4th quarter played on, more iconic moments at the Garden came to mind. There were great concerts played there, such as Elvis in 1972, Michael Jackson in 1984, and, of course, who could forget the 2001 concert in the wake of 9/11, which featured Billy Joel, Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Jay-Z? While Ariana Grande put on quite the halftime show, the layup drills and 3-point bonanza continued as the game drew to a close. Following a 3-pointer by Houston’s James Harden, the West lead, 161-153, with 1:23 left. The East made one last valiant effort as the hometown Knicks’ representative, Carmelo Anthony, nailed a trey to cut the West’s lead to 161-156 with 42 seconds left. Following a miss by the Clippers’ Chris Paul, the East proceeded to miss three straight 3-point shots until Chicago’s Pau Gasol put back a miss to make it 161-158 with 2.8 seconds left. Inexplicably, the East then fouled twice to give Westbrook one more chance to go to the free throw line. He sank both free throws for the final 2 points of the game.

Westbrook finished with 41 points, one shy of Wilt Chamberlain’s record, to earn the MVP of the game. Harden added 29 for the West squad, while Portland’s LaMarcus chipped in with 18, including 4 of 4 from 3-point range. The East All-Stars were led by James, who scored 30 on a game-high 32 minutes. Atlanta’s Kyle Korver came off the bench to score 21 on 7 of 13 from the floor, all but one shot coming from beyond the arc. Wall finished with 19 for the East. As far as being an entertaining game, well, let’s just say I’ve never heard the Garden that quiet for such an extravaganza.

 

Warriors cruise to win over Kings

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AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

By Robert Steward

SACRAMENTO–

The Golden State Warriors ran their winning streak to four against the Sacramento Kings Tuesday night with a 121-96 victory. While Klay Thompson did not come close to a repeat performance the last time the teams met on January 23rd, when he scored an NBA-record 37 points in the third quarter, hitting 9 three-pointers en route to scoring 52, the result was the same: another Golden State victory. Sacramento, fresh off snapping an eight-game losing streak at Indiana this past Saturday, jumped out of the gate quickly and lead 7-0 with only 2 minutes gone in the game. They eventually stretched it to their biggest lead of the game at 20-10 with 6:05 left in the quarter. The Kings’ Ben McLemore had the hot hand in the early going, hitting 4 of his first 5 shots, including 3 of 4 from 3-point land. After that, however, Golden State completely took over the game, going on a 19-2 run, including 15 consecutive points to finish the quarter leading 29-22. Sacramento missed its last 8 shots in the quarter, while the Warriors heated up from the floor and shot 58% for the quarter compared to the Kings 36%.

Sacramento’s woes continued into the second quarter as they missed their first two shots and turned it over 3 straight times. Meanwhile, Golden State ran off the first 8 points of the quarter before the Kings’ Jason Thompson ended the 23-0 Golden State run with a jumper at the 9:37 mark to make it 37-24, Warriors. But the high-scoring Warriors came right back with a 3-pointer by Leandro Barbosa and then got a lift off the bench from Marreese Speights, who hit 5 of 8 from the floor in the quarter, including scoring 8 straight points. Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins was repeatedly chirping at the referees, no doubt frustrated by the lack of fouls he believed should have been called on the Warriors, who were certainly physical with the Kings’ big man in the middle. Golden State continued to light it up from the floor throughout the quarter, grabbing their biggest lead of the half, 63-40, right before the quarter ended with Sacramento trailing, 63-42. Golden State maintained their hot shooting, finishing at 58% for the half, while the Kings were only shooting 37% from the floor. The Warriors also dominated the Kings in the paint and on fastbreak points, outscoring the Kings, 32-14 and 24-8, respectively.

Golden State opened up the third quarter much like the second quarter, going up 69-44 following a 3-point shot by Harrison Barnes. But Sacramento made a brief run at that point, with McLemore and Rudy Gay hitting back-to-back 3-pointers, followed by a jumper by Darren Collison to cut the deficit to 17, at 69-52. But, as was the case throughout the game, anytime the Kings even threatened to get remotely close, the Warriors had an answer every time. Golden State’s Klay Thompson hit a 3-pointer to end Sacramento’s run and shortly thereafter the Warriors had pushed their lead back up to 78-56. Sacramento then did their best to make it a game, going repeatedly to DeMarcus Cousins in the low post and Rudy Gay began to heat up. A 17-7 run by Sacramento, fueled by Cousins and Gay scoring 15 of the 17 points, cut the lead to 12 at 85-73 with 2:36 left in the quarter. The Warriors’ Andre Iguodala ended the run with a trey and the Warriors closed out the third quarter leading 94-80. Gay scored 14 in the quarter, while Cousins scored 11.

The Warriors hammered away at the Kings on the boards in the 4th quarter, outrebounding the Kings, 16-6 in the quarter. The Kings were still in striking distance, trailing 101-86 with 8:44 left before Golden State ran off 12 points in a row to open up their biggest lead of the game at 113-86 with 5:31 left, essentially ending any hopes of a Kings comeback. For the game, Golden State outrebounded Sacramento, 49-34, while also dishing out 33 assists to the Kings’ 17. A balanced scoring attack and a deep bench played dividends for the Warriors tonight, as they had 5 players in double figures, lead by Stephen Curry with 23. Iguodala and Speights both chipped in 17 off the bench, with Thompson scoring 14 and Barbosa contributing 12 points, also off the bench. The Kings were led by Cousins, who had his usual strong game, finishing with 26 points and 11 rebounds, to go with 4 blocked shots. Gay had 20 points, while McLemore and Darren Collison both scored 18 apiece. Strangely enough, McLemore, who started strong and made 4 of his first 5 shots in the opening 6 minutes of the game, took only 4 more shots for the duration of the game, making 2. Golden State improved to 38-8 overall, while the Kings fell to 17-30.

Up next for the Kings will be the Dallas Mavericks, as they come visit Sleep Train Arena on Thursday night at 7pm.

 

 

Late rally by Kings falls short, lose 5th straight

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By Robert Steward

SACRAMENTO–

The Sacramento Kings dropped their 5th straight game, including their 4th in a row at home, tonight against the Brooklyn Nets, 103-100. The Kings were looking to begin the second half of the NBA season on a positive note but aside from an early 5-4 lead with barely one minute gone, they trailed the entire game. The Nets had the hot hand early, making their first 6 shots, consistently getting and making shots in the paint, while the Kings were content to fire away from 3-point range with some success, making 3 of their first 6 from beyond the arc. Sacramento trailed, 24-22, following a Brooklyn timeout with 2:40 left in the quarter. However, the Nets went on a 12-2 run to finish the quarter with a 36-24 lead. Brooklyn hit 14 of 20 from the floor for a 70% clip, while the Kings were only 8 of 21, to the tune of 38%. The Nets had 22 points in the paint.

Brooklyn continued to score inside repeatedly in the 2nd quarter, while the Kings shooting woes continued. With 7-0 foot center Brook Lopez coming off the bench to score 11 points, the Nets continued to build on their lead, 47-31 with 8:19 left in the half. Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins struggled to hit anything, missing both inside and outside shots, making only 2 of his first 12 shots in the half. The Nets eventually led by as many as 23, at 60-37, with 3:57 following a 3-pointer by Alan Anderson. The Kings did make a late 9-2 run to cut into the deficit and trailed, 62-46, at the half. Lopez was certainly a thorn in Sacramento’s side, ending the half with 13 points on 6 of 9 from the floor, to go with 5 blocks, and consistently frustrating Cousins. The disparity in the low post game was obvious as the Nets outscored the Kings, 38-16, in the paint. Brooklyn shot 55% from the floor, while the Kings shot only 41% for the half.

Sacramento closed the gap to 12 points on three separate occasions early in the 3rd quarter but Brooklyn answered each time with a basket of their own. Finally, after the Kings’ Darren Collison hit a jumper and Rudy Gay knocked an errant pass away, Gay then hit Ben McLemore for a layup to reduce the lead to 70-60, forcing the Nets to call a timeout with 5:52 to go in the quarter. It was the closest that they had been since trailing, 36-26, early in the 2nd quarter. The rally was short-lived, however, as Collison missed a wide-open three-pointer, which would have cut the lead to 7. Following the miss at the other end, Lopez got fouled by Cousins going to the basket, making the shot and converting the free throw for a nice 3-point play, bumping the lead back up to 73-60. Brooklyn extended the lead to as much as 16, at 79-63, before the Kings trimmed it slightly and trailed by 13 at the end of the quarter, 82-69. Lopez had 20 points at the end of the 3rd, while Cousins started to come alive, hitting 4 of 5 shots in the quarter, giving him 15 points heading into the 4th.

The 4th quarter turned out to be the Rudy Gay show for Sacramento. With the Nets leading 86-73, Gay made a driving layup and drew a foul, converting a 3-point play. He then hit a 3-point shot on the following possession. The Nets called timeout with 6:54 left, leading 88-79. Following the timeout, Gay hit a runner off the glass. A short time later, following a Nets turnover, Gay raced down for an uncontested dunk to cut the deficit to 91-85, forcing the Nets to call another timeout with 4:39 left. Gay single-handedly was keeping the Kings in the game, scoring 12 straight points. Sacramento kept coming and following a Collison tip-in after a Cousins miss, the Kings only trailed, 96-92, with 2:01 left. They drew closer after Cousins was fouled by Lopez and hit both free throws to make it 96-94. However, Brooklyn’s Joe Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 1:11 left to push the lead back to 99-94. Sacramento drew within three, following a Cousins dunk with 19 seconds left to make it 101-98, but after the Nets hit 1 of 2 free throws Ben McLemore missed a trey with 12 seconds left that would’ve cut the deficit to one.

After a slow start, Cousins eventually got it going, finishing with a game-high 28 points for the Kings on 10 of 24 from the floor, along with 14 rebounds. With a strong showing in the 4th, Gay, who hit 6 of 8 from the floor in the quarter, scored 14 points to finish with 25. Collison chipped in with 16 points, while Omri Casspi came off the bench to score 10, all in the second quarter. Brooklyn was lead by Lopez, who finished with 22 points, along with 6 blocks. Johnson and Jarrett Jack both added 16 points each, while Alan Anderson came off the bench with 14. The Nets went cold in the 4th and finished at 47% from the floor for the game, including hitting only 5 of 20 from three-point range. Sacramento finished at 46% from the floor and narrowed the gap in the paint in the 4th. The Nets outscored the Kings, 48-44, in the paint, in the end. Brooklyn improved to 18-24 on the season, while the Kings fell to 16-26.

The Kings hit the road for the next five games, beginning down in Oakland against the Warriors on Saturday night at 7:30pm.

Kings get outgunned by Denver, lose 118-108

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AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

By Robert Steward

SACRAMENTO–

On most nights in the NBA, if a team shoots about 50% from the floor for most of the night and finishes at 49% for the game, there’s a strong chance that you will win. However, if the opposing team shoots in the high 50 percentile for the night and finishes at 55% from the floor, you’re probably not going to win the game. Such was the case tonight at Sleep Train Arena, where the Sacramento Kings hosted the Denver Nuggets. The Kings were hoping to build on their strong victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night and win their second in a row, something they had not done since Nov 20-25, when they won three in a row. A new winning streak will have to wait for another game as the Nuggets, behind a big third quarter, defeated the Kings, 118-108, in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score would indicate, certainly after the third quarter.

DeMarcus Cousins, fresh off a 23-point and 15 rebound game in Wednesday night’s victory, got off to a quick start, scoring 8 of the Kings’ first 10 points of the game. Not to be outdone, the Nuggets’ Arron Afflalo scored 9 of his team’s first 13 points. Both teams favored an up and down tempo, pushing it up the court at a fast pace and getting out in transition. Denver hit 11 of its first 15 shots from the floor and finished at 62% for the quarter on 13 of 21 shooting. Sacramento wasn’t far behind, lighting it up at a 55% clip, shooting 12 of 22 from the floor. Denver led, 30-27, after the first quarter.

In the second period, both teams got a bit sloppy in the early going. The Nuggets struggled from the free throw line, hitting only 2 of its first 8 free throws. The Kings had already committed 7 turnovers when Nik Stauskas came off the bench and hit a three-point shot for his 8th point of the game, the game was tied at 34-34 with 8:39 left in the half. Both teams see-sawed back and forth throughout the rest of the quarter. But when Darren Collison hit a 10 foot floater and Ben McLemore hit a running 3-pointer as the horn sounded, the Kings found themselves with their biggest lead of the game, 60-54, at halftime, outscoring Denver, 33-24 in the quarter. Rudy Gay had the hot hand for the Kings in the first half, hitting 7 of 9 from the floor to lead the Kings with 16 points. Cousins had 13, to go with 8 rebounds, and Collison chipped in with 10 points along with 7 assists. Afflalo led Denver with 13 and J.J. Hickson came off the bench to score 12 on 6 of 9 from the floor. At the break, Sacramento was shooting to the tune of 58% from the floor, while Denver, having cooled off slightly, was not far behind at 55%.

In the third quarter, the Nuggets jumped on the Kings and quickly ran off the first 8 points of the quarter to re-take the lead at 62-60, forcing the Kings to call a timeout with 10:18 left to go in the quarter. Per Denver’s Head Coach, Brian Shaw, the Nuggets “really ramped it up defensively in the third quarter. Got after it, got active, and played with a lot of energy.” Ty Lawson heated up in the quarter, scoring 14 points, including all three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt with 7:00 left. Denver went on a 9-0 run and opened up their biggest lead to that point, 76-64, before Collison drained a trey to break the drought with 5:24 left in the quarter. The Nuggets, however, continued to push the tempo, while the Kings “settled for jumpshots and didn’t make them,” according to Kings Head Coach Tyrone Corbin. “They were running and made some shots, but then they got on us a little bit in the paint. We couldn’t stop their run.” Denver crashed the boards and got plenty of second chance points. Jusuf Nurkic, Denver’s “Bosnian Beast” at 7’0″ and 280 pounds, was hard to stop in the low post and even popped a 20-foot jumper from the outside. He added 8 points in the quarter. The Nuggets eventually increased their lead to 19 before the Kings scored the last 4 points to trail 90-75 after three quarters. Denver continued its torrid shooting from the outside, hitting 13 of 22 in the quarter, while Sacramento cooled off considerably, only hitting 7 of 22 from the floor. The Kings also failed to get to the free throw line at all in the 3rd, while the Nuggets found their way there, hitting 10 of 11 from the charity stripe.

The fourth quarter was much of the same, with Denver continuing to dictate the tempo of the game and Sacramento not responding. The Nuggets eventually extended their lead to 20 points at 107-87 when Kenneth Faried converted a 3-point play with 6:02 left in the game. They attained their biggest lead of the night when they scored their last points with 2:31 left in the game, to go up, 118-97. The Kings scored the last 11 points of the game to close out the scoring but it was of little consolation. Sacramento shot 49% for the game. Cousins is still not fully 100% while recovering from a nasty bout of viral meningitis that caused him to miss 10 games earlier in the season. Still, he managed to log 39 minutes of playing time, finishing with 32 points and 13 rebounds, along with a season-high 4 blocked shots. Gay finished with 22, while Collison had 15. Stauskas had 13 off the bench. Denver had a balanced scoring attack, with 6 players in double figures, led by Afflalo and Lawson, who both finished with 22. Hickson and Nurkic both had 16 apiece, while Kenneth Faried ended up with 12 points and led the Nuggets with 13 rebounds. Darrell Arthur finished with 10 points for Denver.

The Kings will look to get back in the win column when they play host to Cleveland on Sunday at 6pm. For the season Denver improved to 17-20, while Sacramento now stands at 15-21.

 

 

 

 

Warriors go cold in 4th quarter, drop second straight

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By Robert Steward

LOS ANGELES–

Playing without big men Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli, both of whom were out with injuries, the Golden State Warriors went with a smaller lineup against the Los Angeles Clippers. Playing their second game in a row at the Staples Center following a disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, the Warriors watched the Clippers shoot poorly in the first quarter and then did the same themselves in the 4th quarter as they were defeated, 100-86.

Following a stretch where the Clippers played 4 games in 5 days, including 4 different time zones, their fatigue showed as they started the game ice cold from the floor. After making their first shot, on a dunk, the Clips proceeded to miss their next 16 in a row. Despite shooting an atrocious 4 of 24 from the floor, Los Angeles only trailed, 20-18, after the first quarter. Jamal Crawford was the lone bright spot for the Clips, coming off the bench to score 10, including a pair of 3-point shots late in the quarter. Golden State shot better in the quarter, 9 for 21 from the floor, but the smaller lineup hurt the Warriors as the Clippers got second-chance shots following their offensive rebounds.

The shooting woes continued for Los Angeles into the second quarter as the Clippers trailed, 34-24, with 5:09 left in the half. At that point the Clips had only hit 7 of 36 from the floor, while the Warriors were 15 for 29. But the top guns for Golden State, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, were quiet in the first half. Towards the end of the quarter, LA started to come alive. After Blake Griffin had missed his first 8 shots, he made a dunk and then J.J. Redick, after missing his first 5 shots, hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 42-39 with 48 seconds left. Chris Paul hit 2 free throws with 30 seconds left to close out the scoring in the first half, trailing Golden State, 42-41, at the break. That the Clippers were down by only 1 at halftime was something of a Christmas miracle due to the fact that they shot only 28% from the floor, including 3 of 17 from beyond the arc. Crawford led Los Angeles with 12 points. The Warriors, while shooting 45% from the floor at the halfway mark, were only 3 of 13 from 3-point land themselves. Los Angeles had a 9-3 advantage in offensive rebounds.

Both teams started better in the third quarter, getting their transition game into gear with more of an up tempo pace. Matt Barnes gave the Clippers their first lead of the game since the opening moments with a jumper to make it 56-55 with 7:18 left in the quarter. The Warriors answered with a 3-pointer from Draymond Green and 1 of 2 free throws from Klay Thompson. But the Clippers then got it going with a 3 from Redick to tie it, along with a pretty reverse alley-oop from Paul to DeAndre Jordan. Paul then put Curry in the spin cycle with a nice fake and a driving layup, all the while being fouled by Curry. Paul hit the free throw to complete the 3-point play then followed it up with a 3-point shot of his own to complete an 11-2 Clippers run to lead, 67-61, forcing Golden State to call a timeout with 3:51 left in the quarter. In addition to the obvious difference on the offensive boards, Los Angeles went to the line twice as much as the Warriors, hitting 16 of 22 from the charity stripe, versus 5 of 11 for the Warriors as Paul closed out the third quarter with another nice fake on Justin Holiday, leading to another driving layup as the Clippers lead, 73-70, heading into the 4th.

A bright spot off the bench for the Warriors was David Lee, who hit all 5 of his shots from the floor to finish with 11 points in 19 minutes of playing time. After Lee’s dunk with 9:17 left to cut the Clippers lead to 78-74, the Warriors could not buy a bucket from the floor. They missed their next 10 shots from the floor as the Clippers went on a 19-3 run to pull away to a 97-77 lead with 2:55 left. Holiday broke the drought with a trey at the 2:40 mark. Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 15 points, but only hit 2 of 10 from beyond the arc. Curry finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists but also committed 5 turnovers. Harrison Barnes had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Green also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

For the Clippers, Crawford led all scorers with with 24 points in 28 minutes off the bench. Paul had 22 points, DeAndre Jordan had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and after missing his first 8 shots, Griffin finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists. The Clippers held the advantage from the free-throw line, sinking 23 of 31, while the Warriors were only 12 of 22. Los Angeles improved to 20-10, while the Warriors dropped to 23-5. Golden State returns home to Oracle Arena on Saturday at 7:30pm when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves.