That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: Tiger’s Masters win is confidence-building, could he win another one?; How Walton will fit in in Sacramento; plus more

Photo credit: @Neo_Ungasabi

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 On Sunday, Tiger Woods made a comeback and won the Masters for the first time in 11 years. What made this day so unbelievable?

#2 How do you see Luke Walton fitting in at the Sacramento Kings organization as head coach?

#3 It was a true battle between the Warriors and Clippers on Monday night as the Clips erased a 31 point deficit for a 135-131 win.

#4 After the San Francisco Giants got nearly no hit by the Colorado Rockies pitcher German Marquez, is this alarm that offense has to do something and very soon?

#5 The Oakland A’s got clobbered by the Houston Astros on Tuesday night and the A’s struggled with the Astros on the road trip earlier this month.

Barbara Mason is a freelance sports reporter for Area Grande Spanish Newspapers and is filling in for Amaury Pi-Gonzalez for News and Commentary.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: The KD-Beverley battle heads to LA for game 3

Photo credit: @losangelesinfor

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 Will the Los Angeles Clippers’ Patrick Beverley and the Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant keep up their feud? It’s been an entertaining series.

#2 The series moves back to Los Angeles. Will that be some kind of advantage for the Clippers as they know anytime they play Golden State they have a lot to go up against?

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

Hold off from pressing the panic button on the Warriors

bleacherreport.com photo: The Los Angeles Clippers routed Golden State Warriors, erasing a 31-point deficit in Game 2 at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Monday night. The series moves to Staples Center in Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday night. 

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors were riding high, leading the Los Angeles Clippers 73-50 at halftime.

Warriors point guard Stephen Curry led all scorers with 22 points in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting, 4-of-7 from three, and 6-for-6 from the foul line. But in the second half, Curry scored just seven points.

Then the roof caved in.

Golden State couldn’t hold on to its 31-point lead that they built up in the third quarter after starting the frame scoring 21 points on 9-for-9 shooting off eight assists, and saw the Los Angeles Clippers complete the largest postseason comeback in NBA history by shocking the Warriors, 135-131, to take Game 2 of their first-round series to even the best-of-7 series at one game apiece.

Rookie Landry Shamet hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 16.5 seconds remaining to complete the Clippers’ historic comeback over the Warriors.

The Clippers outscored Golden State 85-58 in the second half. In the third quarter alone, Los Angeles outscored Golden State 44-35. The 44 points were the most in a postseason quarter for Los Angeles.

The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 this Thursday night from Staple Center.

Oh yeah, the Warriors lost center DeMarcus Cousins with what is being reported as a “significant” quad injury for an “extended period of time.”

Cousins injured his left quad muscle after diving to the floor following a steal in the first quarter. Cousins immediately grabbed his left side and limped off the floor and into the locker room.

An MRI for Cousins is scheduled for Tuesday, but it is feared that Cousins will miss the rest of the series if not, the remainder of the Warriors’ playoff run.

Before Warriors fans hit the panic button, let me put you at ease: the Warriors will still win this series. I know that’s not nothing new, but its just reassurance from me.

Sure, the top-seeded Warriors were punched in the mouth by the eighth-seeded Clippers on Monday night behind a career-high 36 points and 11 assists from Lou Williams and 25 points from Montrezl Harrell, but it did take a herculean effort for Los Angeles to take down the two-time defending NBA champions in front of a frenzied, sold out Oracle Arena crowd.

Clippers starting point guard Patrick Beverley, who continues to be the team’s biggest mouthpiece, has clearly made life difficult for Kevin Durant in this series. Beverley has been irritating (in a good way) Durant at every point, and even gotten the two of them ejected from Game 1.

You expect Durant, who had 21 points, five rebound and five assists in Game 2 before fouling out, to bounce back in Game 3. Durant finished with more turnovers (9) than shot attempts (8), but shot 11-of-12 from the free throw line.

Klay Thompson scored 17 points and Draymond Green had 14 points with nine assists.

Golden State committed 21 turnovers in Game 1, then follow up with 22 more on Monday night. The Warriors have been flat out sloppy in protecting the basketball.

When the Warriors protect the basketball and limit the turnovers, they are nearly unbeatable. Golden State got away with that in Game 1, but got caught with their hand in the cookie jar in Game 2.

The Clippers made Golden State pay this time around.

Even in the defeat, one positive the Warriors can take from this loss was the game that backup center Kevon Looney had. After Cousins left the game, Looney played big, finishing with a career-high 19 points and making all six shot attempts.

Looney will most certainly start Game 3 in Cousins’ absence. Looney did make 24 starts this season for the Warriors and will look to build off his breakout performance.

Instead of the projected four-game sweep that everyone penciled for Golden State, the Warriors will end the series in five or six games.

The Clippers exasperated all their energy in securing Game 2 and after stealing a game that they had no business of winning, Los Angeles has gotten the Warriors’ full attention and are beaming with confidence.

That’s not a good thing.

Clippers tie series 1-1 with 135-131 win over Warriors

Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors returned to Oracle Arena with a 1-0 series lead and had hoped to make it 2-0 against the Los Angeles Clippers in a nationally televised game Monday night. The Warriors didn’t do that.

It was a cold, rainy day in the Bay Area, but the Warriors announced their starting five of Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and DeMarcus Cousins nonetheless.

Game 2 was presented by realtor.com, who provided gold and royal blue playoff t-shirts. The lights and flames went up and the game was underway in Oakland. Los Angeles scored first for a 2-0 lead, but Curry tied the game with a 2-point field goal to tie the game 2-2 at the 10:34 mark of the first quarter. The game remained close throughout the first, and at one point, Golden State was 9-10 from the free throw line compared to LA’s 0-0. Yet, Golden State continued to amaze Dub Nation with some sweet plays, including a reverse layup from Klay Thompson. The Warriors led 33-25 at the end of the first.

DeMarcus Cousins suffered a left quad injury in the first and didn’t return to Monday’s game. Cousins will get an MRI in the next 24 hours.

Despite Cousins’ injury, Golden State continued to prevail. The Warriors expanded their lead to the double-digits from the start of the second quarter. Shaun Livingston dribbled the ball and tried to knock down a jumper, but it was unsuccessful. However, Andre Iguodala came to the rescue and knocked down a shot.

Green and Durant got the job done late in the second. The two made eye contact, Durant caught Green’s pass and then threw down a wide-open slam dunk that could’ve destroyed the rim. Oh, and there was a lot of yelling, but thankfully, no scuffles like the scuffle between Durant and Patrick Beverley in Game 1 at Oracle Saturday.

Curry added to the Warriors’ lead with a 3-pointer at the 2-minute mark. The Warriors went up 64-48 with two minutes left in the second. But the Warriors weren’t done yet. Kevon Looney scored his 10th point of the second and 14th point overall to make it 70-50 in favor of the Warriors. With that point, Looney recorded a new playoff career-high with 14 points (5-of-5 FG), one off of his regular season career-high of 15 points (January, 28, 2019, at the Indiana Pacers). Curry quickly stepped back from a Clipper defender and hit a 3 to give the Warriors a 73-50 lead to close out the first half.

The Warriors kept the points and assists coming in the third quarter. The Warriors were outscored by the Clippers 44-35, but they held a 108-94 lead at the end of the third.

The Warriors were outscored by the Clippers 41-23 and ended up losing by a final score of 135-131. Their series is now tied 1-1.

Check out the Warriors’ final stats below.

The series shifts to LA for Game 3 at Staples Center Thursday night at 7:30 pm PT.

Sportstalk podcast at Diplomat Steakhouse in downtown Sacramento — Monday, April 15, 2019

Photo credit: diplomat.com

Cast: Michael Duca (mlb.com and host), Jeremy Kahn (SF Giants reporter), Jeremy Harness (SF Giants and PGA reporter), London Marq (Sacramento Kings and SJ Earthquakes reporter), Jeremiah Salmonson (Sacramento Kings reporter), Charlie O (Oakland A’s and Sacramento Kings reporter), Lee Leonard (producer). Sportstalk is proud to podcast at The Diplomat Steakhouse at 1117 11th Street in downtown Sacramento. Our thanks to our hosts: Owner Ramesh Prasad,  Pa Vang Executive Vice President, Brianna Blaschke Event Concierge and Executive Chef Chris Manning.

On the podcast, discussions of the recent Sacramento Kings season and their new head coach for the 2019-20 season, progress reports on the Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants along with the San Jose Sharks and Golden State Warriors in the playoff hunt.

The Diplomat’s statement is as follows: Being diplomatic is our brand’s core binding. We are intuitive when in conducting your dining experience, and can achieve peaceful resolutions to any quandary while facilitating intriguing discussion with anyone on the map. We broadened the scope and magnified the habitual steakhouse fare. We resolve differences by implementing international fusion cuisine to please any and all palates. We strive to achieve a peaceful atmosphere, and our ingenuity gives us the edge to connect to any guest.

Restaurateur, Ramesh Prasad, has dined worldwide in the vast-ever occurring steakhouse and knows the ins and outs of traditional fine dining concepts. Complacent with their predictability, he manifested his vision into reality. Sacramento is in the prime of revitalization, and developing a signature steakhouse is pioneering the industries’ cravings.

Warriors cruise past Clippers 121-104 in Game 1; Curry passes Allen for most career threes

Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers kicked off their first-round series. Game 1 was at Oracle Arena on Saturday night.

The Warriors’ starters were Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and DeMarcus Cousins.

The Oracle was Roaracle due to the loud cheers and chants from Dub Nation. The game went underway and Cousins scored the first bucket of the NBA playoffs at the 10:45 mark of the first quarter after trailing 3-0 at first. Durant dropped back-to-back dimes with 8:45 left in the first. Cousins continued shooting his shots and then Green contributed his shots. Green was a perfect 5-5 in field goals. The Warriors led 36-27 at the end of the first.

The Warriors turned offense into art in the second quarter. Curry played beautiful basketball. Durant scored a bucket, and with that bucket, Durant (3,665) passed Dirk Nowitzki (3,663) for 15th place on the NBA all-time career playoffs points scored list. Check out the bucket below.

Andre Iguodala threw it down late in the second, and the Warriors took a 69-56 lead to the locker room at halftime.
The Warriors gave a shoutout to Kaiser Permamente for providing Dub Nation with customized Gold and Royal Blue playoff shirts.

The Warriors returned to action in the third quarter. Curry got the crowd pumping with his three-pointers, some of which were long distance threes. Aside from Curry, who passed Ray Allen for most career threes, the Warriors turned defense into offense as Iguodala forced a turnover and threw down a dunk that could’ve broke the rim.

Curry proceeded to shoot threes in the fourth quarter, and the Warriors blew out the Clippers 121-104 for a 1-0 series lead. The Clippers are down 0-1.

Curry led the Warriors with 38 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and one block. Durant had 23 points, four rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal. Draymond Green had 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, one block and one steal. Klay Thompson had 12 points, two assists, two blocks, one rebound and one steal. DeMarcus Cousins had nine points, nine rebounds, four assists and one steal. Andre Iguodala had eight points, seven rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals. Kevon Looney had six points, five rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block. Andrew Bogut had three points, one rebound, one assist and one block. Alfonzo McKinnie had three points and one block. Quinn Cook had two points, one rebounds and one steal.

The Warriors and Clippers face off in Game 2 on Monday night at 7:30 pm PT. The game will be broadcast on NSBA, TNT and FSPT.

Warriors wrap up regular season with 132-117 loss to Grizzlies

Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors closed out the 2019 regular season on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum on Wednesday night. Warrior fans were in attendance to get some autographs from the players, including Andrew Bogut, and of course, watch some pregame hoops before the tipoff.

The Warriors were locked in and ready to take on the Grizzlies in game 82. The Warriors’ starting five featured Quinn Cook, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jordan Bell, and Andrew Bogut.

The Warriors started things off with a fiery play that had Warrior fans talking amongst themselves. Andrew Bogut passed the ball to Kevin Durant, who passed the ball over to Jordan Bell, who tossed a two-point bucket on a no-look at the 11-minute mark of the first quarter.

Quinn Cook drew attention to himself as he hit a three-pointer with 7:52 left in the first. With the three, Cook upped his point total to 500 and counting.

Klay Thompson also drew attention to himself. Thompson appeared in his 615th career game and passed Purvis Short (614) for the 10th most regular season games played in Warriors’ history. Thompson’s the Warriors’ all-time leader in postseason games played with 102.

Speaking of Thompson, the big man hit back-to-back threes to put the Warriors up with 5:23 left in the first. Thompson then added a bucket.

Thompson hit another three to make it a one-point game with 2:11 left in the first. With the three, the Warriors knocked down a total of 1,078 threes this season for a new franchise record.

Despite all the highlight reel worthy moments, the Warriors trailed 86-68 at the end of the first half.

Things didn’t get any better for the Warriors, who trailed 114-90 at the end of the third quarter. But at least there was a silver lining when Jonas Jerebko rose up for a two-handed flush with 1:21 left in the third.

The Warriors outscored the Grizzlies 27-18 in the fourth quarter, but put a wrap on the regular season with a 132-117 loss.

The Warriors finish with a 57-25 record, while the Grizzlies finish with a 33-29 record.

Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 21 points, six rebounds, and one steal. Klay Thompson had 19 points, three assists, one steal, and one block. Jordan Bell had 15 points, eight rebounds, and one block. Marcus Derrickson had 13 points and two rebounds. Damion Lee had 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Quinn Cook had 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Jacob Evans had eight points, four assists, and three rebounds. Jonas Jerebko had six points, three rebounds, three assists, and one block. Kevon Looney had six points, three rebounds, and three assists. Andre Iguodala had five points and five assists. Alfonso McKinnie had four points and three rebounds. Andrew Bogut added six rebounds, two blocks, and one steal.

The Warriors get ready for the postseason as they await their first round opponent.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Virginia Tech Cavaliers shock the country; Will ankle problems plague Curry in postseason?; Sharks on ice for game one tonight; plus more

photo from yahoosports.com: Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) trips as New Orleans Pelicans guard Elfrid Payton (4) looks on during the first quarter at the Smoothie King Center. photo Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

On the Headline Sports podcast with London Marq:

#1 The Virginia Cavaliers are the college basketball champs of the NCAA. How surprising, what expectations, were as surprised and a game which the Cavs won it in overtime?

#2 It’s the ankle again. The Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry, who hurt his ankle before turned his ankle on Tuesday night in New Orleans in the Warriors’ 112-103 win over the Pelicans. Head coach Steve Kerr says Curry should be alright for game one of the playoffs.

#3 The San Jose Sharks are coming off three wins of their last five games. The Sharks’ Erik Karlsson returned from his injury and Evander Kane looks like he’s got that old spark again. How do the Sharks look going into game one of the playoffs on Wednesday night?

#4 StubHub has announced that tickets could be had for as low as $6 in the lower stands at Oracle Park. The Giants are assured that their attendance would not drop no lower than 26,000 because they have sold season tickets to guarantee that crowd number. The Giants drew 28,000 their smallest crowd in recent memory against the Padres on Monday night. Lastly, it should be noted the Giants didn’t lay an egg on Tuesday night, getting six runs in the bottom of the second and a large lead to get past the Padres to pull within four games of .500. The Giants dropped Wednesday’s game 3-1 and fell five games below .500 at 4-9.

#5 The San Jose Earthquakes were able to pull off a huge win in a 3-0 shutout over the Portland Timbers on Saturday at Avaya Stadium. It was the Quakes first win of 2019 and our very own London Marq was there.

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

 

 

Team effort a factor in Warriors’ 112-103 win over Pelicans

Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors had hoped to make it six wins in a row just moments before their game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday night. They did just that.

The Warriors’ starting five featured Stephen Curry, Jacob Evans, Draymond Green, Alfonzo McKinnie, and DeMarcus Cousins. The Warriors were well-aware that it was go time in the Big Easy.

It was a low scoring first quarter. The Pelicans were up 6-5 with 5:50 left in the first. However, DeMarcus Cousins threw down a dunk to score two points and lift the Warriors to a 7-5 lead with 5:47 left in the first. Both teams battled it out in the first, but New Orleans held a 19-18 lead at the end of the first. Meanwhile, Golden State received bad news as Steph Curry suffered a mild right foot sprain and didn’t return to the hardwood Tuesday.

Both teams proceeded to battle it out in the second quarter. Jacob Evans made a notable steal and ran down the court to make a layup, but it was unsuccessful. Though, Jonas Jerebko was at the right place at the right time and finished around the basket for a sweet layup with 7:33 left in the second. The Warriors outscored the Pelicans 38-37 in the second and tied the game 56-56 at the end of the first half.

The game shifted in favor of the Warriors in the third quarter. Jacob Evans went coast to coast in his first career start as a shooting guard. Evans was drafted 28th overall by the Warriors in the 2018 NBA Draft. Evans played college basketball at Cincinnati from 2015-18.

Anyways, DeMarcus Cousins scored his 12,000th career point. Cousins made a two-point bucket to help the Warriors get out of a tie and move ahead 71-69 with 5:47 left in the third. Cousins has been playing pro basketball since 2010.

The Warriors got their first double digit lead of the game 95-85 with 9:50 left in the fourth quarter. Also, Damion Lee hit a three-pointer and upped his season point total to 17 with 8:25 left in the fourth.

Quinn Cook caught the attention of a lot of folks when he threw a shot that went off the window. Cook expanded the Warriors’ lead to 107-94 with 4:12 left in the fourth.

Both teams scored 24 points apiece in the fourth, but the Warriors came out on top for the 112-103 win.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Warrriors with 21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block. Damion Lee had 20 points, seven rebounds, and one steal. Quinn Cook had 19 points, three assists, and two rebounds. Jacob Evans had 11 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists, and two blocks. Alfonzo McKinnie had 10 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. Jordan Bell had 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Jonas Jerebko had seven points, three assists, and two rebounds. Marcus Derrickson had five points and three rebounds. Steph Curry had five points. Kevon Looney had four points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Draymond Green had six rebounds and two assists. Shaun Livingston added 3 rebounds.

The Warriors wrap up the regular season against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 5:00 pm PT.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors sow up the top seed throughout playoffs; Also, a virtual audio review of Dave’s Oracle experiences

Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 With the win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, the Golden State Warriors assured themselves the number one seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.

#2 Dave talks about his own personal experience attending games at the Oracle Arena. Oracle was the site of the Warriors home from 1967-2019. The Warriors open up at their new arena Chase Center next season, where the cheapest ticket for a walk up is said to be $300.

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