Category: NBA

47 candles for 47 points on Curry’s birthday as Golden State takes out Washington 126-112

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) is congratulated by forward Draymond Green (23) after scoring a three pointer in the first half at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Mon Mar 14, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

It was a great Monday night game for the Golden State Warriors. It was Stephen Curry’s birthday and we saw the return of Draymond Green. It had been 1005 days since the tenacious threesome Curry, Thompson and Green had played a game together. Reunited and it sure felt good. The Warriors (46-22) took on the Washington Wizards (29-37) at Chase Center.

The Wizards are 11th in the Eastern Conference and are 3.5 games out of 10th place. It is a given that Curry will again be double teamed but not to the extent that he was against the Bucks Saturday night.

The Warriors had an amazing start to the game and had hit seven three’s in the first quarter. They led 33-30 with the Wizards nipping at their heels for the entire quarter. There were monstrous cheers when Green hit his first basket. Curry was able to get loose even having some uncontested shots. Although a close game so far the Warriors were looking real good.

Golden State really got going in the second quarter leading at the half 73-57. It was a far different game for Curry tonight already having scored 20 points in two quarters. Not known for their three-point shooting, the Wizards rely on shooting in the paint, which the Warriors shut down pretty well.

Washington was forced to attempt three point shots and was actually having some success although it was not enough to keep up with Golden State. Green had five points and four rebounds in his return in the first half.

The Warriors went into the third quarter with Curry playing lights out basketball shooting for 34 points a vast difference from Saturday’s game. Thompson already had 20 points and Poole had 14 points. They led 101-84 after three. The Warriors had hit 15 from downtown and there was some outstanding defense going on for the Warriors.

The Wizards made a move in the fourth quarter and had pulled to within 11 points. They had gotten some great work from their bench with 38 points. The Warriors had cooled off mid-way through the final quarter and Washington was trying to take advantage. With 5:15 left in the game the Wizards trailed by single digits.

Closer Curry came in to finish off the Wizards. Curry continued to get some great separation and had made nine of his last ten shots. He was playing on another level, an unearthly level and couldn’t be stopped. He finished with 47 points and Golden State had won their fourth game in a row.

Poole and Thompson both came away with 20 points in this game. This was such an efficient game for the Warriors offensively. It was a vast difference from a week ago, a total reversal.

“I’ve got to get my timing back. It’s just like riding a bike,” said Green after the game. “Obviously the two seed would be great but whether it be the two seed or the three seed it doesn’t matter,” he said.

It was a huge disappointment for Washinton. They had gone 0 for 4 on this road trip and hopes for a play-in game were rapidly fading.

Wednesday night the Warriors will be taking on the hottest team in the NBA right now the Boston Celtics. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Shots On Target: Efficient Kings build a big lead and hold on, beat the Bulls 112-103

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO–The crowd showed up, and the Kings showed out.

If any NBA team needs circumstances to be just right from available players, a representative start to the early evening sunset bestowing sufficient daylight within the Golden 1 Center, it’s the Kings.

On Monday, the circumstances were right and the Bulls were made to pay, in a 112-103 loss to the Kings.

Sacramento built a 20-point halftime lead by hitting 3’s and going near perfect from the free throw line, and held on, surviving a Bulls’ 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to break a four-game losing streak.

De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 34 points, six rebounds and six assists, capped by a pair of made free throws in the game’s final minute that increased Sacramento’s lead to 110-103 with 36 seconds left.

“De’Aaron is playing so well right now and he’s doing an extremely good job of controlling the game,” coach Alvin Gentry said. “Night in and night out what he is doing for us is amazing. He’s playing as well as anybody in the league if you go back over the last month or so.”

Domantas Sabonis returned from a two-game absence and added 22 points, seven rebounds while keeping Bulls center Nikola Vucevic to similar numbers (23 points, 10 rebounds). That virtual draw at the center spot allowed the Kings to fully benefit from off-shooting games from Demar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.

The dangerous backcourt duo for the Bulls shot 15 of 35 which dragged the visitors shooting from the floor to 41 percent. The Kings far more efficient shooting numbers–including 10 for 25 shooting from distance–spelled the difference in a game driven by each team’s surges offensively.

Bulls 12-0 run down 90-89 with 8:17 remaining after DeRozan FT’s.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Morris Phillips: Kings looking to snap four game skid against Bulls tonight

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (00) gets airborne between Sacramento Kings defenders at the Golden One Center in Sacramento on Sat Mar 12, 2022. The Kings hope to improve their chances against the Chicago Bulls on Mon Mar 14, 2022 in Sacramento (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Morris:

#1 The Chicago Bulls (41-26) fourth in the Eastern Conference against the Sacramento Kings (24-45) 13th in the Western Conference a 7:00 pm PDT tip at the Golden One Center in Sacramento. Kings are looking to end their four game losing streak.

#2 Morris, the Kings take on the Bulls tonight this is after De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 41 points but Sacramento still lost to the Utah Jazz on Saturday night 134-125 in a high scoring game.

#3 The Kings are five games below .500 at home at 15-20 and showing not much of a chance to play catch up ball when they are down by ten or more points with a record of 11-25 in that category.

#4 The Bulls are a .500 team on the road this season at 16-16. The Bulls have the upper hand in the three points total leading the NBA with 37.5%. Patrick Williams leads the Bulls with 50% in six games.

#5 The meeting tonight at Golden One will be the second meeting between the Bulls and Kings the last time they met Feb 16th the Bulls defeated the Kings 125-118 with the Bulls DeMar DeRozan leading with 38 points and Fox with 33 points.

Morris has the game recap tonight between the Bulls and Kings from the Golden One Center in Sacramento at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason: Warriors back into the swing of things after big win over Bucks

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, center, throws down between Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, left, and forward Jordan Nwora (13) at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Sat Mar 12, 2022 (AP News photo)

  1. Saturday night the Golden State Warriors took on the reigning World Champion Bucks.  What challenges did they face in in this game?

2. Although superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points in this game it was just not enough to get past the Warriors.

 3.Klay Thompson had his struggles off and on since his comeback but Saturday saw  an electric performance beating the Bucks.  Not only Thompson but Jordan Poole also had a light’s out game.

4. It was a very cool night for Stephen Curry who only scored eight points in the game but with the depth of this roster it was no problem.  Curry didn’t really get a chance to shoot being double teamed all night.

5. Tonight the Warriors take on the Washington Wizards who sit in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and have a lot to play for.  How will the Warriors handle this contest.

Barbara Mason does the Warriors podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Jazz reserve Clarkson unstoppable as Jazz defeat Kings 134-125

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic (44) wins the battle for a rebound against Sacramento Kings forward Trey Lyles (41) in Salt Lake City on Sat Mar 12, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, March 12, 2022

A big night from De’Aaron Fox wasn’t enough for Sacramento on Saturday, as Jordan Clarkson scored a career-high 45 points off the bench for Utah in a 134-125 win for the Jazz in Salt Lake City.

Clarkson’s effort helped offset the absence of Jazz players Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley while setting a Jazz franchise record for most points scored by a reserve. Clarkson has had four games with more than 40 points off the bench.

Clarkson made all eight of his 2-point attempts, all eight free throws and made seven 3-pointers.
Bojan Bogdanovic and Donovan Mitchell were next for the Jazz with 26 and 25 points, respectively. Mitchell had six assists and two steals, and center Hassan Whiteside – filling in for Gobert – grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds to go with 12 points.

Fox paced the Kings with 41 points, 11 assists, two steals and three rebounds. Harrison Barnes scored 18 points, followed by Davion Mitchell with 14, Trey Lyles with 13 and Chimezie Metu with 12. Richaun Holmes was the Kings’ top rebounder with six boards.

Clarkson sank three free throws to give Utah its largest lead at 111-95, But the Kings responded with an 11-0 run, capped by a Mitchell layup, to pull within 111-106.

However, Sacramento was unable to stop Clarkson and Donovan Mitchell and could get no closer. The Kings have lost four games in a row.

The Jazz outrebounded Sacramento 44-33 and shot 56 percent from the field and 39 percent behind the arc.

The Kings host Chicago on Monday night.

Warriors Handle the World Champs 122-109; Thompson takes Bucks by the horns scores 38 points

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

The Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson (right) goes up against the Milwaukee Bucks Bobby Portis Jr (left) at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Sat Mar 12, 2022 (AP News photo)

Warriors Handle the World Champs 122-109

By Barbara Mason

Saturday night the Golden State Warriors (46-22) took on the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks (42-26). The talk of the town is the strength of the Bucks. Superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks and is coming off a crazy performance Wednesday night against Atlanta with 34 points. His has an incredible supporting cast with Kris Middleton, Bobby Portis, and Jrue Holiday.

The Warriors have some super strengths themselves with the Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole off the merit of his excellent bench play averaging almost 24 points a game in his last five games.

Kevon Looney rounds out the starting roster. Looney has been great defensively in the absence of Draymond Green. Monday night Green is expected to be back on the court for Golden State.

Giannis got into some early foul trouble in the opening quarter and sat out the final six minutes of the first quarter. The first 12 minutes of this game were hotly contested. The teams started trading three’s and after the first quarter this game was tied at 28.

The second quarter really heated up for the Warriors as Thompson hit three consecutive shots from downtown. After six minutes in the second quarter the Warriors were lighting up the court as Thompson continued to hit three’s and the Warriors had taken a 50-41 lead.

At the half the Warriors had scored 38 points in the quarter, 17 of them coming from Thompson giving Golden State a 67-58 lead. The game had been tied six times in the half.

Thompson had 21 points in the half for the Warriors and for the Bucks the team leader after two quarters was Antetokounmpo with 17. With Curry attracting so much attention from the Bucks Thompson and Poole had a lot of open looks that they were taking full advantage of. The Warriors had an exceptional first half and would have to repeat it through two more quarters.

The Warriors would take an early 17 point lead in the third quarter, the largest of the game for Golden State. After two minutes the Warriors had a 20 point lead blistering the Bucks from the three point line.

Golden State continued to lead after three quarters 103-84. Every time the Bucks made a move, the Warriors would answer. After three, Thompson had 31 points closely followed by Poole with 30 points.

In the early fourth quarter Thompson had his high score since his returned to action with 36 points. The Warriors had only three turnovers so far in this game. Ball control, energy, effort and execution won this game for Golden State. Thompson finished with 38 points and Poole with 30. Andrew Wiggins really picked it up scoring 21 points.

The Warriors dominated throughout the second half. Curry had a season low in this game but his teammates picked up the slack to bring this one home, 122-109 Golden State has now won three games in a row.

Monday night the Warriors welcome back Green as they take on the Washington Wizards. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM as Golden State will be looking for a fourth win in a row.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings hope to get back on winning track against Jazz Saturday

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

The Denver Nuggets DeMarcus Cousins (4) drives the ball against the Sacramento Kings Justin Holiday (left) at the Ball Center in Denver on Wed Mar 9, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 In the first quarter, it was the Nikola Jokic show for Denver and the Trey Lyles show for the Kings. Jokic started the game by scoring 15 points in the first quarter as his counterpart at the center position Trey Lyles scored 12.

#2 In the second quarter, Nikola Jokic coninued to pour it on the Kings scoring nine points to get his total at halftime to 24 points.

#3 The Kings defense struggled to contain the Nuggets at large as they allowed them to score 31 points in the second quarter. On the other hand, the Kings offense didn’t pick up the slack on the offensive end.

#4 In the fourth quarter the Kings weren’t able to get the job done. It was a nail biting finish, but the Kings came up short by the final of 106-100.

#6 The Kings are in Utah on Saturday night to face the Jazz. The Jazz recently made headlines they donated 32,000 nights to Ukrainians at Air B N B. If the Ukrainians are looking for lodging they can check in free of charge.

Join Jeremiah Fridays for the Sacramento Kings podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors Survive With a High Octane Finish against Nuggets 113-102

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

A late second half basket by the Golden State Warriors Jordan Poole gets Stephen Curry (30) excited against the Denver Nuggets at Chase Center in San Francisco on Thu Mar 10, 2022 (AP News photo)

Warriors Survive With a High Octane Finish against Nuggets 113-102

By Barbara Mason

Thursday night the Golden State Warriors (45-22) took on the Denver Nuggets (40-27) in a game that screams deja vu. if you said hey didn’t we just play these guys Monday night the answer would be a resounding yes and the Warriors lost that one. They didn’t lose on Thursday night with a 113-102 win.

So here are the Warriors back in Denver for a second time in less than a week. The Warriors will have to find a way to contain Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets are currently in a tie for fifth place and a single game out of fourth place. They have a lot to play for in tonight’s game as does Golden State. The Warriors would like to get back into second place in the standings.

The Warriors had a fast start in this game and as expected Jokic was a huge presence throughout the quarter. The Warriors held a slim lead after the first quarter 30-29. The Nuggets came on strong in the second quarter winning it 31-21 and taking a 60-51 halftime lead.

The first two quarters were hotly contested. The Warriors were allowing too many open and uncontested Nugget looks which contributed to the Denver half time lead.

The Nuggets had taken a 14 point lead in the third quarter after the first four minutes of play. Momentum was clearly on their side. As we have seen so many time in the past however, momentum can turn on a dime. The Warriors waged a comeback as the quarter came to an end taking the lead in this game 88-84.

The fourth quarter was a high-octane affair for both teams. The Warriors led through seven minutes of the quarter. The Nuggets made a comeback tying up the game at 98. Denver would go one to take a slim lead before Jordan Poole iced the game.

Poole shot two from downtown with 54 seconds left on the clock and Golden State had survived a very tough challenge. They won this game.

Stephen Curry had a great game with 34 points and was five of 12 from downtown. Off the bench the hero of the game Jordan Poole had 21 points and was four of seven from downtown including the two critical shots in the final minute of the game. Golden State displayed some great defense especially in the fourth quarter.

Jokic was not hitting three’s tonight which made things awfully hard on Denver. The Warriors defense had a lot to do with the missed Jokic shots. He would finish with 23 points and zip from three point range.

This was a gritty, gutsy game that Golden State played, especially down the stretch. They did not fall apart, making critical baskets when desperately needed. The Warriors are now in second play tied with the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference.

This is a second win in a row for the Warriors and they hope to string a third on Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks at Chase Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM.

Kings make run at Nuggets in third quarter but can’t catch Denver 106-100

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic makes for the hoop against Sacramento Kings center Alex Len (right) at the Golden One Center in Sacramento on Wed Mar 9, 2022 (AP News photo)  

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings (24-44) were back in action on Wednesday night in Sacramento. The Kings welcomed the Denver Nuggets (40-26) into town. The Kings last played on Monday night which turned into an ugly blowout to the New York Knicks. The Kings played a solid first half against the Knicks, but fell apart in the second half to lose the game 131-115.

On Wednesday, the Kings were hoping for a different outcome against the formidable Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets beat the Kings 106-100 on Wednesday night. Lets take a look on what led to this result.

In the first quarter, it was the Nikola Jokic show for Denver and the Trey Lyles show for the Kings. Jokic started the game by scoring 15 points in the first quarter as his counterpart at the center position Trey Lyles scored 12. The Kings were outscored 31-29 in what was a competitive first quarter. The second quarter got ugly for the Kings.

In the second quarter, Nikola Jokic coninued to pour it on the Kings scoring nine points to get his total at halftime to 24 points. The Kings defense struggled to contain the Nuggets at large as they allowed them to score 31 points in the second quarter. On the other hand, the Kings offense didn’t pick up the slack on the offensive end.

The Kings scored 21 points in the second quarter to take a 63-51 deficit into halftime. Trey Lyles had a quiet second quarter but led the Kings in the first half with 14 points. The Kings were within striking distance if they could get back on track on the defensive end.

In the third quarter, De’Aaron Fox had his best quarter of the game. De’Aaron scored nine points in the third to lead all scorers. Nikola Jokic was hot on his heels but only managed seven points, Overall the Kings outpaced the Nuggets by the toon of 26-17 to get the game into toss up territory for either team to win. Could the Kings win the fourth and beat the favored Nuggets?

In the fourth quarter the Kings weren’t able to get the job done. It was a nail biting finish, but the Kings came up short by the final of 106-100. The Kings fought hard in the final quarter, but Nikola Jokic proved too much to overcome.

The Kings were outscored 26-24 in the final quarter as they just couldn’t edge the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic showed why he was the MVP of the league last year and is the leading candidate this season. Jokic finished with an impressive 38 points and 18 rebounds. For the Kings, De’Aaron Fox led the way scoring 32 points and adding ten assists.

Up Next: The Kings will look to rebound in their next games on Saturday against the Utah Jazz in Utah.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors were playing so bad they almost needed Will Ferrell’s help

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Actor Will Ferrell takes some practice shots Rick Barry style in front of Golden State Warrior guard Stephen Curry before their game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Tue Mar 8, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 Actor Will Farrell took his act to the floor of Chase Center in San Francisco and took pre game practice with Golden State Warriors (44-22) superstars Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry. It must have work Golden State had a five game losing streak going and all that laughing and getting loose helped the Warriors defeat the Los Angeles Clippers (34-33) Tuesday night 112-97.

#2 Dave, talk about that surprising top three of scorers for the Warriors on Monday night Jonathan Kuminga with 21 points, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole both finishing with 20 points.

#3 It’s off to Denver and the Nuggets (39-26) who are playing in Sacramento tonight and will face the Warriors on Thu Mar 10th at Ball Arena in Denver. The Nuggets have now won nine out of their last ten games and got a big win over the Warriors on Monday night 131-124. The Warriors will be really going after the Nuggets on Thursday night.

Join David each Wednesday for the Warriors podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com