Category: Golden State Warriors

Warriors overcome 17-point deficit, beat Blazers 114-111

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors again showed what they have hearts of lions as they clawed their way back from a poor first half to down the Portland Trailblazers 114-111 at Oracle Arena Thursday night.

The Warriors blew out the Blazers in Game 1. Many pundits said that the Warriors will win the series in five, while others thought the Warriors might sweep the Blazers. However, games are played on the court, not on paper. People have to remember that the Blazers are a professional basketball team that finished with the third best record in the Western Conference. They have an outstanding backcourt of CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard. The Blazers knew that they had to outplay the Warriors on both ends of the court. They put 65 points on the board in the first half and held the Warriors to 50. They made 11 threes in the first half. Steph Curry led the Warriors with 19, but no other Warrior starter was in double figures.

The first quarter was fairly even as Portland finished with a two-point advantage 31-29. The second quarter belonged to Portland as they outscored the Warriors 34-21 to finish with a 15-point lead 65-50. The Blazers had hoped to steal a game in Oakland and return home to Portland with the series tied at one apiece.

The Warriors had to regroup and figure out what they had to do to slow down Portland and come back to win the game. Portland made the first basket of the second half to increase the lead to 67-50. Steph Curry made a three, and the Blazers hit a two to lead 69-53. At this point, the Warriors went on a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to three 69-66. Portland refused to wilt, and they maintained the lead 75-74. Klay Thompson drained a three and the Warriors had their first lead since the first quarter when they led 8-6. The Warriors offense, paced by Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, had help from an unexpected source, Jordan Bell. Bell, who had played sparingly in the playoffs, had his best game of the season. The Warriors were up by five until Portland regrouped and they were able to finish the third quarter tied 89-89. The Warriors won the quarter 39-24, but still had 12 minutes left to play.

In the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers put the pressure on the Warriors. Portland’s offense came to life, and they had a 108-100 lead with five minutes left to play. Portland’s Seth Curry, Steph Curry’s younger brother, knocked down two threes in the quarter that propelled the Blazers into the lead.

Blazers coach Terry Stotts had his team concentrate on double-teaming Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The Warriors had seen teams use this defense before.

Players such as Andre Iguodala and Kevon Looney made buckets as time was winding down. Looney made a bucket to bring the Warriors close 108-107. Steph Curry then made a three to put the Warriors up 110-108. Portland hit a three and led 111-110. Looney connected on a lob from Draymond Green, and Green made a bucket to put the Warriors ahead 114-111 with 12.3 seconds left. The Blazers knew they had to make a three to tie the game. They wanted the ball in either Lillard or McCollum’s hands. Lillard had the ball and was making his move when Iguodala slapped the ball out of his hands and stole the ball to secure the 114-111 win for Golden State.

Game Notes and Stats: Steph Curry led the Warriors with 37 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. He made four threes in 14 tries. Klay Thompson had 24. Draymond had a double-double with 16 points, 10 boards, seven assists and blocked five shots. Jordan Bell had 11, and Kevon Looney knocked down 14 and had seven boards. Jonas Jerebko did not score, but he did have seven rebounds while on the court. Andre Iguodala had four points, five rebounds and five assists.

Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 23. He had five rebounds, 10 assists, and he connected on five threes. CJ McCollum had 22 points and three threes. Seth Curry finished with 16 points and made four threes.

Up Next: The Warriors and Trail Blazers meet for Game 3 in Portland Saturday night. Game time will be at 6 pm.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: How much of a force are the Bucks?; Warriors look to take second game against Blazers; plus more

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Photo credit: @BleacherReport

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony:

#1 The Milwaukee Bucks are truly a force to reckon with. The Bucks opened their series with the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night with a game one 108-100 victory in Milwaukee.

#2 The Bucks’ Brook Lopez led the Bucks in scoring with 29 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points. The Bucks have this great punch at the top of the offensive lineups.

#3 Kevin Durant not expected to be back for game two of Golden State’s playoff game against the Portland Trailblazers. We ask Tony if the Warriors will rest Durant for the rest of the series.

#4 Even with Durant out, the Warriors managed to get a 22-point win in game one. The Blazers are predicted to be overmatched in this series.

#5 The Oakland A’s went 1-8 on their last road trip, The A’s are on a nine-game trip this time and have already lost the first two games by just a run in each game. What’s lacking — hitting or pitching not closing the deal in the end of games?

Join Tony for Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Warriors make easy work of Blazers; Raptors-Bucks series feels almost like NBA Finals itself; plus more

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nba.com photo: Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (30) drives the lane against the Portland Trail Blazers defense in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals last Tuesday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 The Golden State Warriors head into Game 2 Thursday night at Oracle Arena after coming away with a 116-94 win over the Portland Trailblazers. Is the 22-point win an indication of where the Warriors are in this series?

#2 You talk about the best versus the best. The Toronto Raptors with Kawhi Leonard and the Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s a series that very well could go seven games.

#3 The San Jose Sharks and the St. Louis Blues, who were a tough pick on who wins this series, are all tied up. The Sharks, who opened with home ice, set the tone with a three-goal 6-3 win in Game 1, lost Game 2 in a 3-2 squeaker that had the Sharks trying to figure out the Blues all night. Game 3 Wednesday night in St. Louis will prove no different as these teams are expected to provide a close contest and an unpredictable game.

#4 The San Jose Earthquakes host the Chicago Fire at Avaya Stadium this Saturday. The Quakes are coming off a 3-1 loss last Saturday in New England to the Revolution, but were undefeated previous to that in four games with two wins and two ties. The Quakes are ninth in the West with three wins, six loses and two draws. For the Fire, they are eighth in the East with four wins, four loses, and four draws.

#5 In baseball, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias was arrested and put on administrative leave for domestic abuse. Urias was arrested at a Los Angeles parking lot at a shopping mall. Details of what happened were not forthcoming, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said no matter this is not the ideal situation.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors roll over the Trail Blazers 116-94

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, still without the services of Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins, rolled over the Portland Trail Blazers 116-94 Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors finished off the Houston Rockets last Friday night and had a few days to recover from that grueling series. The Blazers, on the other hand, had to play in Denver on Sunday and flew to the Bay Area after the game. They did not practice Monday and did not have shoot-around on Tuesday.

The Warriors were tasked with shutting down Portland’s two backcourt aces, C.J. McCollum, and Damian Lillard. Lillard, an Oakland native, loves to play at Oracle and has averaged 27 points a game against the Warriors. McCollum is also a scorer who is capable of making threes. The Warriors wanted their Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry, to get into the flow of the game early so that they could lead the team to the win.

The Warriors and Blazers played a low-scoring first half. The Warriors led 27-23 after the first 12 minutes of action. The finished the first half with a nine-point lead 54-45. Curry made two-threes late in the period to give the Warriors the advantage.

The Blazers won the third quarter 26-23 to cut the lead to six after three quarters of action. The Warriors led by 17, 70-53, but the Blazers’ offense came to life and rallied to end the period trailing by six.

The Warriors used their second unit to start the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson was on the floor with Jonas Jerebko, Shaun Livingston, Quinn Cook, and Kevon Looney. Klay hit two buckets and two threes. Cook knocked down two threes, while Jerebko hit a bucket and was a force on defense. By the time Steph Curry and Draymond Green returned to the floor, the Warriors were in total command and cruised to the 116-94 victory.

Game Notes: Steph Curry led the Warriors with 36 points. He connected on nine threes in 15 attempts. Klay Thompson had 26 points. Draymond Green finished with a double-double. He had 12 points, 10 boards, and five assists. Jonas Jerebko had nine points, Quinn Cook had eight points, and Kevon Looney had six.

Damian Lillard had 19 points for Portland. McCollum and Mo Harkless each had 17 points. Rod Hood, coming off the bench, added 17 points.

The Warriors defense held Portland to 36% from the floor. The Blazers made seven threes in 28 attempts. The Warriors knocked down 17 threes. The Warriors had 13 steals and eight blocks and forced Portland into 21 turnovers.

Up Next: Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be Thursday night at Oracle Arena. Game time will be at 6 pm.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: Will Irving reunite with LeBron in L.A.?; Leonard’s 4-bouncer rim shot gets Raptors in the semi Finals; plus more

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Photo credit: @AFordTaurus

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury on That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 What about all the talk from ESPN radio that they can see a LeBron James and Kyrie Irving reunion at the Los Angeles Lakers especially if Jason Kidd had come on board as head coach but Frank Vogel got the job as Lakers head coach? Stephen A Smith says that not going to happen that his sources tell him that Irving is going to the Knicks and Brooklyn is trying to weigh in on Irving, but Irving is focused on going to the Knicks and Madison Square Garden.

#2 The Toronto Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard sunk a four-bouncer on the rim and got the Raptors into the next round defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 92-90 on a buzzer beater. Leonard had himself a game finishing with 41 points in a Game 7 elimination contest to advance to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

#3 The Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lilliard will be all the rage as the Blazers are coming off a narrow 4-3 win past the Denver Nuggets. It took seven games for the Blazers to advance. Do the Blazers have enough to go deep with Golden State? In game one the Warriors rolled past Portland 116-94.

#4 In hockey, the San Jose Sharks and St Louis Blues played Game 2 Monday night in the best of seven in this third round of the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Final. The Sharks have been getting help from all around, but the Sharks’ Timo Meier has been on fire with two goals scored in Game 1. The Sharks had home ice in game for the first two games.

#5 The Oakland A’s opened up a two-game series in Seattle on Monday night the A’s got five homers but couldn’t win it in the end. The A’s and M’s are battling for that third place spot in the American League West and are two games out of second place but eight games behind Houston. The A’s and M’s have almost identical records in a short series that could prove to test the A’s on the road and the M’s against an A’s team who’s capable to break out the bats and get good pitching.

Barbara does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary every Tuesday night and is a freelance writer for Area Grande Spanish papers at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Curry to take on Lilliard and brother Seth in Semifinals; Can Warriors get by Blazers without Durant?

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Photo credit: @NBCSWarriors

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 What does it mean for Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors to be battling the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lilliard and his brother Seth in the Western Conference Finals?

#2 The Warriors are without Kevin Durant, whose situation is game to game during this series. What is the extent of his pain and injury to his calf?

David does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors find a way to eliminate the Rockets in Game 6

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, playing without two of their stars, DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Durant, found a way the defeat the Houston Rockets 118-113 Friday night in Houston. Most of the pundits, excluding this writer, picked the Rockets to win Game 6 and force a deciding Game 7 on Mother’s day in Oakland. The “experts” felt that the Warriors could not win with Kevin Durant. Durant was averaging a smidge over 36 points a game and how were the Warriors going to pick up the slack. The Warriors bench had not produced much in the playoffs this year. Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr knew that he could not let his starters play all 48 minutes. He needed the bench to come through and did they ever. The Warriors motto is “Strength in Numbers,” and the bench led by Kevon Looney, Shaun Livingstone, Quinn Cook, Jordan Bell, and Jonas Jerebko all contributed to the Warriors victory and they did it in a hostile environment.

The Rockets, for the past year, were hoping to avenge last year’s demise in the Western Conference Finals against the W’s. Their star point guard, Chris Paul, injured his hamstring and did not play in the last two games. Paul was healthy, and they felt they had the advantage as Durant was not able to play for Golden State. What the Rockets didn’t count on was the fact that the Warriors know how to win. They won a championship in 2015 without Kevin Durant. They almost repeated in 2016 and did not have Durant. The W’s won the last two championships with KD, and, hopefully, they will win their third in a row with Durant as a teammate. The Warriors knew they had to find a way to stop the Rockets offense. They had to play strong defense, rebound, make steals, block shots, and not turnover the ball. They did everything right except they were a bit sloppy as they turned the ball over 17 times.

The Warriors and Rockets played a very competitive first half. The Rockets won the first quarter by one-point to lead 28-27. The Warriors offense in the first quarter was driven by Klay Thompson, Kevon Looney, and Draymond Green. The Warriors won the second period by a point, and the game was tied at 57 at the of two-quarters of action. Steph Curry did not score a single point in the first half. He committed three fouls and spent a lot of time on the bench. Klay Thompson led the W’s with 21. Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Kevon Looney each had 8. Shaun Livingston had 6. The Rockets’ attack was led by James Harden’s 19. Chris Paul added 11. Hot-shooting Eric Gordon was held to 4. The Warriors knocked  down7 threes while Houston made 8. The Rockets shot 10 more free three than the Warriors to keep them in the game.

The Warriors were hoping to get Steph going in the third quarter. The Rockets planned to double team both Steph and Klay and force the other Warriors to make the shots. The lead changed hands several times in the period. The Rockets increased the lead to six 74-68, but the W’s met the challenge and tied it at 77. The Rockets led by one 83-82 when they went on a 4-0 run to finish the period leading 87-82.

It all came down to the last 12 minutes of play. The Rockets led by five and had the crowd roaring their support. Would it be possible for The W’s to catch the Rockets? Could they put enough points on the board to win? Would Steph Curry lead them to the win? All those questions were answered. The Warriors refused to fold. The Rockets could not put Golden State away. The W’s tied the game at 97 when Steph made a two-point bucket. The took the lead for good when Kevon Looney made a huge bucket. Steph followed with a three, and the Dubs led 102-97. The Rockets’ James Harden hit a three, and it was a two-point contest 102-100. Curry was a one-man wrecking crew at this point. Steph made a duce and a trey and the Warriors were up 110-104 with 36.1 seconds left to play. Kevon Looney blocked a shot, and the ball went Golden State. The Rockets fouled Steph, and he made both free throws. Harden countered with a three. The Rockets kept fouling Steph, and he kept making free throws. The Warriors held off Harden and Paul to win 118-113, and they again ended the Rockets’ season.

Game Notes and stats- The Warriors outscored the Rockets 36-26 in the fourth quarter to overcome the five-point deficit at the end of three. Steph Curry scored 16 points in the final five minutes of the game. He scored 23 points in the fourth quarter and 33 points in the second half.

The Warriors resume play Tuesday night at Oracle Arena when they face the winner of the Denver Nuggets- Portnad Trailblazers series.

Steph led the W’s with 33. He made four threes in 11 tries. Klay had 27, and he made 7 three. Draymond Green had 8 points, 10 boards, and 7 assists. Andre Iguodala played well on offense as well as defense. He had 17 points, and he made five threes. Kevon Looney had 15, Shaun Livingston 11. The rest of the bench added 8. The W’s shot 49.4% from the floor. The had 35 boards and 10 offensive rebounds.

James Harden led the Rockets with 35. Chris Paul 27, P.J.Tucker 15, Clint Capela 10 points and 10 boards, Eric Gordon 9. Austin Rivers also had 9. The key to the win was not letting Eric Gordon, and Austin Rivers knock down threes.

The Warriors again showed the world that they are champions. They refused to fold. They could have, and nobody would have criticized them as they were without two All-Stars. They made the shots when they had to. They played defense in the fourth quarter. They did what they had to do to win.

 

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Warriors hang with Rockets to take series lead; Sharks’ Pavelski a big influence that inspires; plus more

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Photo credit: @warriors

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 The Golden State Warriors kept in step with the Houston Rockets with a 104-99 win. A game that went right down to the wire, which shows the Rockets dropped the first two of this series and came back to even it up, but the Warriors won Game 5 on the home floor.

#2 The San Jose Sharks advance to the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 7 was a squeaker in a 3-2 win. The Sharks had to be inspired after their team captain Joe Pavelski came out of the IL after suffering a concussion in round one, Game 7 and went out in Game 7 of the second round against the Avalanche and scored a goal.

#3 The Oakland A’s, who had a game delay because of lighting issues on Tuesday night; then on Wednesday night, the game with the Cincinnati Reds went extra innings. Either way you look at it there were no short games in this series.

#4 There are four quarterbacks who could replace quarterback Derek Carr for 2020. What are the reasons why he would be leaving and what do you think of the four quarterbacks who could replace him?

#5 The San Francisco 49ers signed offensive lineman Wesley Johnson, Johnson spent time with five teams and signed with the 49ers for a one-year deal. Johnson played with the Detroit Lions and the Miami Dolphins for 10 games last season.

Tony R does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: In NBA Playoffs, Warriors take one-game lead in Game 5 victory

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On the Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 After the Houston Rockets won Games 3 and 4 to even the series, the Warriors, who had the home floor for Game 5, held on to stay ahead of Houston in a 104-99 win.

#2  It’s off to Houston for Game 6 of these best of seven playoff as the Warriors, who have a 3-2 series lead, could eliminate the Rockets Friday night.

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors down Rockets 104-99, lead series 3-2

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets continued their epic struggle in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series.

The series has been extraordinarily close, and neither team has been able to blow out their opponent. The first four games were extremely close as exemplified by the fact that the Warriors had outscored the Rockets by just one point in four games played.

Wednesday’s contest was another heat pounding nail-biter. The Warriors won 104-99, but it was not easy. They had a 14-point lead at the end of the first 24 minutes of play. The Rockets wiped out the lead in the third quarter. The teams entered the final period of the game 72-72.

The Warriors lost Kevin Durant to a calf strain late in the third quarter. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had to figure out a way to stop the hard-charging Rockets. The Rockets took the lead just once in the period, and the Warriors summoned up the will to not let the guys from Houston beat them at Oracle Arena. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala showed everyone that they have the hearts of champions as they prevailed to take a 3-2 advantage. If they beat the Rockets Friday night, they will advance to the Western Conference Finals.

The first half of Game 5 between the Rockets and Warriors belonged to Golden State. The Warrior defense was outstanding as they held the Rockets to 43 points in the first half. Steph Curry did not score in the first 12 minutes of play. He connected on a three and a deuce in the second quarter to give the Warriors a 52-37 advantage. Kevin Durant paced the Warriors with 20 points, and Klay Thompson was second with 17. James Harden led the Rockets with 14. The Warriors held Eric Gordon to 4 points, and he was) for 5 from the 3-point range. None of the other Rocket starters were in double figures.

The third quarter belonged to the Rockets as they outscored the Warriors by 14 points to finish the period 72-72. The Rockets put the clamps on the Warrior offense, and they caused the Warriors to turn the ball over six times. Kevin Durant left the game late in the quarter with a leg injury. He went to the locker room and was diagnosed with a right calf strain and did not return to the game.

Curry hit a three to put the Warriors ahead 82-79. The Rockets kept coming back, but the Warriors refused to relinquish the lead. The Warriors took a five-point lead after a technical foul was called on Draymond Green. Green’s answer was a three to give Golden State the lead 94-89. The Rockets kept clawing back, but Klay Thompson came up big with another three to extend the lead to eight 97-89. Curry made two free throws and Klay hit a three with 4.1 seconds left to ice the win. The Warriors prevailed 104-99.

Game Notes and Stats: Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 27 points. He made five threes in 10 tries. Curry, after a slow first half, pumped in 20 in the second half to finish with 25. He made three threes in 11 attempts. Kevin Durant had 22. Andre Iguodala finished the night with 11. Draymond Green had another double-double with eight points, 11 assists and 12 boards.

To no one’s surprise, James Harden led the Rockets with 31. Eric Gordon, who was bottled up in the first half, finished the night with 19. He connected on three threes to keep Houston in the game. Defensive whiz, P.J.Tucker also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Chris Paul and Imam Shumpert each had 11.

The Warriors shot 45.3% from the floor. Their defense held the Rockets to 41,8%.

The Warriors made 13 threes, and the Rockets connected 12 times.

The Warriors outrebounded the Rockets 42-39 and had 12 offensive rebounds. The Rockets had eight.

Game 6 will be played in Houston on Friday. Game time will be at 6 pm.