Category: Golden State Warriors

Warriors dominate Kings, 102-69

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By George Devine, Sr.

With David Lee sidelined for the fifth game in a row due to a sprained right hamstring, and Andrew Bogut out for the fourth consecutive game with a bruise in the pelvic area, the Warriors were not in the best possible shape for their game against the Kings at a sold-out Oracle Arena. It didn’t matter, as Golden State gave up the least points all year to Sacramento, in a 102-69 blowout. Conversely, the Kings scored their fewest points of the season, in this David-Goliath matchup in which — unlike the Bible story — the giant triumphed over the slingshot.

The imbalance of power was conspicuous throughout the night: Golden State led by 59-27 at the half, and shortly after by 75-33 early in the third period.

The game gave the W’s an advantage in terms of playoff hopes: they are now 2.5 games behind fifth-place Portland and will be playing some of their less daunting opponents in their remaining six contests.

At first it appeared that the absence of Lee and Bogut would leave the Dubs vulnerable inside, allowing DeMarcus Cousins to score almost at will. As it turned out, Cousins did notch 19 points, which is hardly a banner night for him. He was in foul trouble within the first two minutes of the game, and another foul — a technical against coach Mike Malone — ensued when he tried to intervene in behalf of his big man. Another high scorer for the Kings, Rudy Gay, was good for only 10 points, roughly half of his average. Cousins contributed 11 boards, but the Kings were outrebounded, 58-44. Even with Cousins’ efforts, the Kings were outscored 54-28 in the paint. Isaiah Thomas, meanwhile, was missing from the Sacramento lineup for the sixth time in a row due to a right quadriceps injury.

For Golden State, Klay Thompson had 21 points and Stephen Curry 13. Jermaine O’Neal added 13 points and 9 boards, and Draymond Green was good for 10 in each of those two categories. In the mean time, the Kings turned the ball over 16 times. Most of those turnovers turned into fast breaks for the Warriors, a good number of them dramatic dunks that sent the crowd into a frenzy and the Golden State into a series of celebrations on the bench.

Kings downtown arena: Third Court of Appeals paves way for Kings to breakground at the downtown mall

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by Ken Gimblin

SACRAMENTO–With the last piece of the property puzzle solved by the Third Court of Appeals in Sacramento favoring the ruling that the Macy’s building at the eastern end of the downtown plaza will be sold for $4.35 million via eminent domain, building and property owners U.S. Bank certified owners and CalPERS will be forced to sell which paves the way for the Sacramento Kings to start making plans to build their brand new arena.

The Sacramento City Council will hold a vote detailing the blueprints and plans for the new building and the vote will be held on May 13. Sacramento Assistant City Manager John Dengberg was besides himself by the court decision and was relieved that if the appeals ruling had gone the wrong way it could have held the arena build hostage until the appeals process was solved which could have lasted months.

The higher court upheld the Sacramento Superior Court decision on eminent domain that ruled the certified owners and CalPERS to sell the building and construction for the new arena should start at the beginning of June with the demolition of the Macy’s building. For City officials it’s ka sara sara to some of the toughest parts of the court battles in making a dream come true for the Kings and the City, “it’s a huge deal, we’re very pleased” said Dengberg.

The new arena will be at the eastern part of the mall, the Macy’s building will be torn down and it will be turned into a Kings workout, training and player development center. The 17,000 seat arena will run the team $448 million in private and public funding. The City says that the money will come from the general fund for it’s share to the price tag of $258 million.

The City said they will recoup the money to pay back the fund by city owned parking lot fees and taxes on ticket sales made at all Kings games and all events at the new arena, “a lot has been accomplished in the last year we’re negotiating the final wrap ups” said Dengberg.

The issues that the city council will vote on on May 13th will include asking the Planning and Design Commission to review the layout and blueprints for the new arena and the mall, zoning changes that will allow the Kings to construct digital scoreboards at several of the major freeway exits in the city, the council will also vote on the overall terms of the deal for the financial funding portion on the city’s part hence the $258 million, the project will include the new arena, offices, retail, housing and hotels in the neigboring area just a block or more from the arena.

Ken Gimblin is covering the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors arena developments for Sportstalk radio

Spurs too much for Warriors

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By George Devine, Sr.

Despite a 16-5 run by Golden State in the third, the Spurs dominated as they beat the Warriors, 111-90. This win extends San Antonio’s streak to 19 games and its lead over the Thunder to four games, which augurs very well for them in the playoffs. Tonight’s victory marks 31 straight wins at San Antonio over Golden State and a sweep of the season series.

Leading the charge for the home team was Tony Parker with 18 points and 8 assists. Manu Ginobili and Patty Mills scored a baker’s dozen apiece. Marco Belinelli had 12 and Kawhi Leonard had 11.

For Golden State, Marreese Speights scored 22, and had 9 rebounds; Jordan Crawford hit for 16. Klay Thompson had 15 points and Stephen Curry scored 11. With 6:23 to go in the third period, Thompson’s second trey narrowed the lead to 71-61 and Speights, two minutes later, cut it to 74-67 on two free throws, on an evening when Golden State was 100% from the charity stripe. Speights was particulary strong from the inside and was 10 for 16 in field goals. But the Spurs could not be stopped: San Antonio jumped out to a 17 point lead in the first frame, and although the visitors cut it to seven in the third quarter, the Spurs then went on a 13-0 run to end the quarter.

Andrew Bogut, David Lee and Festus Ezeli all rested, and one can only wonder how much better Golden State could have done with a full complement.

Turnovers were abundant, as each team had 13. The Warriors actually had higher percentages on field goals from beyond the three-point line (38-21) but trailed in all other statistical categories excepting free throws, where they missed none and the Spurs shot a usually respectable 86%.

Curry Surprises Jackson With Buzzer-Beater Over Mavs In OT On Coach’s Birthday

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By Matthew Harrington
Warriors coach Mark Jackson received quite the birthday gift from his All-star guard Tuesday night at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. Stephen Curry hit the game-winning shot with .1 seconds remaining in overtime to cap a Golden State 122-120 upheaval of the Dallas Mavericks (44-31). As coach Jackson blew out the 49 candles on his cake, the Dubs created a little bit of breathing room in the Western Conference playoff picture. Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs entered play Tuesday with 44 wins, just one less than their foes from California. The Warriors (46-28) have two games in hand over Dallas.

Curry’s game-winner in the extra session, his third career buzzer-beating basket, was a culmination of a 43-minute, 23-point effort. Fellow guard Klay Thompson topped Golden State on 27 points, going 11-for-24 from the field including 4-of9 from downtown. Jermaine O’Neal, starting at center with Andrew Bogut not making the trip nursing a sore groin and David Lee in street clothes for the third-straight game, picked up 20 points and 8 rebounds. Marreese Speights’ 9 rebounds paced the Warriors.

Ex-Warrior Monta Ellis did his best to sink his former franchise, shooting 11-for-23 with 27 points. Mavs perennial All-Star Nowitzki contributed a game-high 33 points over 39 minutes of play and converted the double-double on a game-high 11 boards.

The Warriors connected on a blistering 57.1 shooting percentage, making 52 shots on 91 attempts including nearly half (15) of their 31 shots from beyond the arc. Mark Cuban’s club held the advantage in turnovers, forfeiting possession 8 times to the visitors’ 12. The Mavericks somehow managed to keep Golden State from going to the free throw line for the entirety of the second half.

The Warriors overpowered their hosts in the first, racing out to a 30-21 lead after twelve minutes of play. Dallas bombarded Golden State with 41 second-quarter points, the most the Warriors have yielded in a single frame this season, while limiting the visitors to 23 points for a 62-53 halftime edge.

It took the Warriors nearly ten minutes of play in the third to catch up to Dallas when Speights rolled in a layup to make it 78-all before Vince Carter hit one of two free throws to restore the slim Mavs one-point edge. The Warriors would score seven of the last nine points for an 85-81 lead after three frames.

Dallas capped a 10-5 run to open the fourth with a Carter basket to pull ahead 91-90 nearly four minutes in to the final stanza of regulation. The Warriors briefly wrestled the lead back from their foes but found themselves trailing 106-102 with 1:43 until the final horn. Andre Iguodala and Thompson sandwiched three-pointers around an Ellis jumper to knot things up a 108 a piece with a minute left but that would be the last basket of regulation as the teams would require an five-minute overtime to decide the victor.

Dallas opened the final five minutes on a Dirk jumper before Jermaine O’Neal hit only one of two free throws to pull the Warriors within one at 110-109. O’Neal represented the first Warrior to head to the charity stripe since Thompson completed the and-1 play with 2:55 left in the second quarter. From there the two teams would go shot-for-shot over the next five baskets before a Thompson trey preceded a Curry 16-foot jumper to put the Dubs up 118-117 over halfway through OT.

The Mavs’ Jose Calderon responded with a three of his own before O’Neal took a Draymon Green feed to the rim to knot things up at 120-all. The Warriors were looking for a quick basket to force a last-possession chance, a goal achieved when Green connected with O’Neal with 28 seconds left.

On the penultimate Dallas possession of the game, Ellis tried to take the winning shot but he was rejected on the layup by O’Neal. On the next Warrior possession Curry connected on the off-balance jumper with a tenth of a second remaining. The Mavs couldn’t connect on the in-bound deflection play, and after a brief review, the Warriors win was official.

Golden State looks to give Jackson a second belated gift Wednesday evening. They continue on to a showdown in San Antonio with the Spurs at the AT&T Center where they haven’t won since Valentine’s Day of 1997, just six days before then 31-year-old point guard Jackson was dealt from the Denver Nuggets back to the Indiana Pacers. After the second leg of the Texas road trip the Warriors return to the West Coast for a showdown with in-state rivals, the Sacramento Kings, Friday night at Oracle Arena.

Kings downtown arena: Not so fast, Kings face another road block in eminent domain case

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by Ken Gimblin

SACRAMENTO–George Speir who represents the U.S. Bank certified co-owners of the vacant Macy’s men’s store building located at the eastern end of the downtown plaza are the only group that is holding out to sell the vancant department store. The last piece of the puzzle that will open the path for construction for the Sacramento Kings to build their new arena.

The City took the owners of the Macy’s building to court and won an eminent domain judgement to purchase the building from owners CalPERS and the certified owners for $4.35 million back on March 15th. The certified owners said the building selling price should be at $10 million and that the certified owners own the building would not get their fair share as the certified owners say the building and property is worth more than double than the $4.35 million that the city and the Kings are paying. CalPERS owns the property land portion and have agreed to sell their share.

A ruling by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Raymond Cadei that the property maybe sold to the city and the Kings for $4.35 million for the benefit of the city while the building is not doing any good sitting empty and CalPERS and the certified owners would lose any business by selling an empty buidling. CalPERS had no problem with selling their share but the certified owners said they’d be shortchanged in the deal. Speir says that the case will now be brought to the 3rd District Court of Appeals even though the city of Sacramento is in control of the property.

While the appeal is pending that further pushes back the time deadline set by the NBA of fall 2017 to have the arena finished, groundbreaking is scheduled for late spring (May). The NBA said that if the arena is not in place and ready to go by fall of 2017 the team will be forced to leave Sacramento and will be moved to another city.

Speir wrote on court documents that the certified owners rights are being violated and that Cadei’s ruling was a rush to judgement and that the certified owners case needs to be heard out, “the city’s needs are not grounds for taking shortcuts and ignoring the (owners) property rights.”

Assistant City manager John Dangberg said the timeline is a major factor in play now that the certified owners have filed an appeal “failure to achieve possession of the property by April 2014 will put the arena project at significant risk (and development) would come to a halt” said Dangberg.

Further the certified owners say the lawsuit filed by the city for eminent domain only covered the land and property which CalPERS owns and not the building which the certified owners own. The city and the Kings are basically $5 million apart from the $4.35 million purchase price of the vacant building which the certified owners will most likely be asking for. The Kings who have purchased most of the downtown plaza at $36 million or more than 96 percent of the mall property, may have to haggle these last $5 million with the certified owners in the court of appeals.

Ken Gimblin is covering the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors arena developments for Sportstalk radio

Despite Rally, Depleted Dubs Downed by Desperate Knicks

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By Matthew Harrington

With Oakland native MC Hammer sitting courtside at Oracle Arena, it was the visiting New York Knicks who brought the hammer down on the shorthanded Golden State Warriors 89-84 Sunday night. New York used a big second quarter to grab the lead before its play down the stretch in holding off a Warriors comeback bid echoed Hammer’s hit “Can’t Touch this”.

Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry continued his strong play against the Knicks, collecting his third 30-plus point performance against the Gothamites in two seasons. Curry went 10-for-21 from the field, including hitting half of his 12 three-point attempts, for 32 points in 40 minutes of play. Andre Iguodala (12) and Klay Thompson (15) also finished in double-digits in scoring, but the absence of David Lee and Andrew Bogut from the frontcourt doomed the Dubs.

Guard J.R. Smith topped the Knicks with 21 points while Carmelo Anthony went 7-of-21 from the field for 19. Amare Stoudemire reeled in a game-high 13 rebounds for the desperate Knicks (31-43) who entered Sunday sitting a game behind the Atlanta Hawks for the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

The Warriors (45-28) appeared to have the game in hand after a dominant 32-22 first quarter but the visitors fired back with a dominant second 12 minutes to take the 56- 44 halftime lead. New York stifled its host to only 12 second-quarter points while exploding for 34 of its own.

The Dubs cut the lead by four after the third frame, scoring 22 points to New York’s 18 then continued its run to nearly force a tie early in the quarter at 74-72. The Knicks would add breathing room before a Warriors 6-0 run capped by a Curry trey knotted the game at 81-81 with 2:48 left in regulation. The Knicks held the Warriors to only one basket, a three out of the hands of Thompson, down the stretch while Anthony netted four of New York’s eight points over final three minutes to hang on for the win.

Golden State hopes to have Lee back for Tuesday’s pivotal contest in Dallas with Western Conference playoff implications. The Mavericks currently sit in ninth place, outside the playoffs looking in, and are two games behind the Warriors who sit in sixth place. Bogut is not expected to play Tuesday or Wednesday night as Golden State heads to San Antonio Spurs.

Warriors commentary: The Spurs will be tough customer for Warriors if they meet in post season

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by David Zizmor

OAKLAND–The Golden State Warriors are very familar with the San Antonio Spurs and they played them in their last series in the playoffs last post season. It was a rough six game series and in retrospect it could have gone either way if the Warriors made a few plays here and there in a couple of those games.

The Warriors know that the Spurs are going to be a tough team to beat and even without some of their top players it’s never easy to beat that team and they have a lot of experience and a great coach with Greg Poppovich.

It doesn’t matter if it’s Tim Duncan or Manu Ginobili, San Antonio is tough to beat one way or the other and to be honest their the hottest team in the league right now. That definitely doesn’t help. The Spurs are playuing great basketball their on the road to locking up the number one seed and their just playing fantastic whether at home or on the road.

These games are always difficult especially for the Warriors they have various match up issues with them and some of the Warriors weaknesses play right into the strength of the Spurs so that certainly is going to be a problem. The Warriors have to look at the Spurs and say “hey we hope we don’t have to play them in the first round and someone else can knock them off so that we don’t have to play them at any point.”

That’s the best scenario the Warriors can hope for, San Antonio is going to be a tough opponent for anybody not just the Warriors you have to remember it took the Miami Heat seven games even then it was down to the last minute in game seven. San Antonio was just so close to being the defending champion. They were a fantastic team it really doesn’t seem to matter despite some of the older players on the team.

The Spurs are playing fantastic ball club and you have to tip your hat to them their a rough team and the Warriors had a rough go against them. So the Warriors aren’t a in different category because of that their just doing what everyone else does and that’s struggle against the Spurs.

David Zizmor covers the NBA for Sportstalk radio

Warriors refuse to lose, mount late comeback to top Grizzlies, 100-93

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By Gabe Schapiro

The Golden State Warriors (45-27) simply wouldn’t be denied as Stephen Curry led a late comeback to topple the Memphis Grizzlies (43-29), 100-93, Friday night, at Oracle Arena. A Grizzlies win would have tied the two squads in the standings, and extended their luck on the Warriors home court, having won four straight in Oakland. Golden State was without David Lee and Andrew Bogut, but they still put together one of their more impressive outings of the season, leading to very different headlines.

The contest was close throughout, and was played with a true playoff atmosphere. Neither side ever held more than a seven-point lead, as the two Western Conference foes duked it out. The Warriors had a three-point lead after the first quarter, and that was trimmed down to one point heading into half time.

After another close quarter in the third, as it often does it all came down to the final 12 minutes. Heading into the waning minutes the momentum swung decidedly in the Grizzlies favor, and it looked like they would outlast Golden State. With a bit more than three minutes remaining, Memphis had opened up a game-high seven-point lead. The Grizzlies wouldn’t score another point, however, and the Warriors came alive, going on a 14-0 run.

A huge Draymond Green three-pointer brought the Dubs back to within just two points, and a minute later Curry followed suit with a trey of his own to tie grab back the lead. Golden State suffocated the Grizzlies offense in the final minute plus, and Curry provided the dagger on the offensive end. Two Klay Thompson free-throws with a few seconds left officially sealed the Warriors victory.

Curry was fantastic, finishing with a game-high 33 points, eight assists, five rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. If he was Batman, than Green may well have been his batman. He played a huge 32 minutes off the bench, and contributed 12 points and nine boards. Marreese Speights got his first start of the season, a decision that was initially confusing, but paid off. He had 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and eight rebounds.

On the negative side Bogut took a hit to the groin just four minutes into the game, and never returned after heading to the locker room. His status moving forward is unknown, but would be a huge loss if he has to miss any significant time.

Zach Randolph led the way for Memphis in the losing effort. He posted a team-high 21 points and seven rebounds. Mike Conley added 20 points and six assists.

The Warriors are back in action this Sunday, when the New York Knicks come to town. The game starts at 6:00 PM.

Warriors at Piers 30-32: Judge rules that voters can decide on Waterfront height restriction

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by Ken Gimblin

SAN FRANCISCO–The supporters for development on the Waterfront particularly the Golden State Warriors and San Francisco Giants didn’t get what the Sacramento Kings got. The Kings won a court ruling preventing an initiative from going on the ballot in Sacramento to strike down a proposition that would ask voters if public money should be spent to build the new downtown Sacramento Kings arena.

Ballots that were submitted to the Sacramento County Clerks office in favor of the initative were ruled not to have legal wording and that the initiative was therefore kept off the ballot. The Warriors who want a brand new arena built at Piers 30-32 and the Giants who want to develop retail and condos at AT&T Park were told that Proposition B a height striction initiative would be allowed on the June ballot that would ask voters if height restrictions should be in play for any new development for the Waterfront.

The Giants who are underwriting a legal challenge to Prop B with three plaintiffs fronting the charge to stop the initiative Tim Colen Executive Director of the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition, Michael Theriault a leader of the building and construction trades, and Corrine Woods a neighbor of the project site.

Intially the Giants wanted the court to hear the appeal which would strike down the initiative but the state appellate court of appeals would not hear the legal challenge and denied the appeal. The Giants group were contending that illegal encroachment on state shoreline laws and that local or city jurisdiction could not prevent the Giants group from development.

The Giants further argued that the San Francisco Port Authority had jurisdiction on waterfront development laws but the judge Marla Miller had denied an earlier request to strike down Prop B from the coming election in June. One reason was that the voters have virtually spoken with more than double the required 9,702 signatures to put Prop B on the ballot. Miller also added that any legal challenge would be heard after the election.

The Warriors want a brand new arena built on Piers 30-32 the intial build on the piers are estimated double the original cost at $180 million. The waterfront neighborhood want the height restrictions enforced and don’t want to lose their views of the Bay Bridge, Treasure Island and the bay. The Warriors by building at Piers 30-32 would get a brand new 12 story arena, a 17 story luxury condo and a ten story hotel which would be built across the street from the arena.

After Thursday’s appeals court decision opponents to the initiative said the denial for development of the projects would have an economic impact on the city for years to come and that it would put 3,690 housing units in jeopardy at the cost of $8.5 billion in port costs.

For proponents of the initiative it was a great victory as neighors said that with the initative they will get their views and neighborhood back, some neighbors said some of the housing units proposed by the Giants and Warriors wouldn’t be for affordable housing but for high profit margin move ins. Jim Stearns who is a political advisor who was supporting Prop B said, “we’re pleased that this issue has been kicked out of the courtrooms and back to the voters where it belongs.”

Ken Gimblin is covering the arena developments of the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings for Sportstalk radio

Warriors fall to Spurs, 99-90

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By George Devine, Sr.

In a low-scoring and generally lackluster contest at Oracle Arena, the San Antonio Spurs prevailed over the home team, 99-90. The visitors, winning their 13th straight game, came into the game with a 52-16 record and bettered it as the Warriors approached the court with a 44-28 skein and could hardly afford to lose if they intend to go forward as postseason play approaches, especially with a winless record against San Antonio.

The Spurs dominated in all periods excepting the second, when the W’s led 25-18. In the final analysis, an 11-0 run at the top of the fourth quarter sealed the deal for San Antonio. Neither team was impressive from beyond the 3-point line, but what made the difference was the height and speed of the Spurs who scored better than the Warriors did up close, and who prevented Golden State from hitting 2-pointers.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 20 points and 5 assists. Danny Green was next with 18 points and 6 boards. Tiago Splitter was especially valuable with 14 rebounds, and might have scored more than his 17 points had he not gotten into foul trouble with 4. Kawhi Leonard contributed 16 points and 7 rebounds, and Mario Belinelli had 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. In short, the Spurs provided a well-balanced “spread the wealth” team effort that was hard to stop, on both offense and defense. They did this while resting Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.

The Warriors had only two scorers in double digits: Stephen Curry had 20 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds. Klay Thompson had 16 points, with only 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Draymond Green had 8 points and 6 rebounds, and Marreese Speight had 6 points. Although Andrew Bogut had only 2 points, he made a significant contribution with 17 rebounds.

On Wednesday, April 2, the Warriors face the Spurs again, at San Antonio. Tipoff will be at 5:30 p.m. PDT.