Category: NBA

Warriors Come From Behind To Beat Denver 118-116

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The Golden State Warriors picked up a narrow pre season victory over the visiting Denver Nuggets at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Wed Oct 6, 2021 (USA Today photo)

Warriors Come From Behind To Beat Denver 118-116

By Barbara Mason

This evening the Golden State Warriors took on the Denver Nuggets in their second pre-season game. Tonight we will see Denver superstar Nikola Jokic. Jokic referred to as the “Joker” took his game to another level last season winning the MVP award just edging past Stephen Curry. He will be relying heavily on two of his youngest teammates Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon this season.

While these two players are to be watched out for, the Warriors have their own arsenal of young players in Jordan Poole who shot 30 points in Golden State’s last game with 7 three pointers. Another mega talent for the Warriors is Andrew Wiggins. Of course the Warriors have Steph Curry. Klay Thompson, Draymond Greene and former Nugget Andre Iguodala but the club is building a whole new and exciting level of younger players around these guys.

This will be the first game at the Chase Center this season and that in itself is enough to get fans coming out for this game. Although it is pre season, fans will no doubt have a great time out tonight.

A small but boisterous crowd was on hand for the second pre-season game. The Nuggets jumped out to a 39-26 lead as the first quarter came to an end. Jordan Poole had another nice quarter with 10 points.

In the second quarter the Warriors began to force turnovers and crept back into this game. Otto Porter Jr. had four shots from downtown in the half and showed some real tenacity defensively. With four minutes left in the half the Warriors had cut a fifteen point deficit down to four. The score at the half was 63-62 in favor of the Warriors. We saw some Curry magic shooting his fourth three pointer with 1.9 seconds left on the clock.

After three quarters Denver had a 89-84 lead. Bjelica and Porter Jr. had a combined 28 points off the bench.

A little over two minutes into the fourth quarter the Warriors had taken a 93-91 lead. The final was a close one with Golden State coming out on top 118-116. Jordan Poole would finish with 17 and Steph Curry with 14 points.

Friday night the Warriors will take on the Lakers at Chase Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Kings beat down on Clippers in 113-98 win

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The Sacramento Kings Matt Barnes (40) takes a shot against the Los Angeles Clippers power forward Nicolas Batum (33) during pre season action at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Wed Oct 6, 2021 (photo from sbnation.com)

by Marko Ukalovic

It’s only the preseason but so far so good for the Capital city.

The Sacramento Kings used a big run in the third quarter en route to a blowout 113-98 victory over the Los Angeles in their second preseason game on Wednesday evening at Staples Center.

The Kings jumped out to 20-9 lead in the first quarter. De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with eight points including two three pointers on two of three shooting beyond the arc.

Ivica Zubac and Paul George each had five points to pace in the first 12 minutes to pace the Clippers as they closed the first quarter on 13-10 run at 28-22.

Sacramento (2-0) shot 44% (11-26) from the field as they held Los Angeles (1-1) to just 42.9% from the floor.

Los Angeles went on 7-0 run to gain their first lead of the game to go up 37-36 led by Terrance Mann as he came off the bench and scored nine of his 11 points in the second quarter.

The Clippers closed out the second quarter on 8-2 run as the Kings went 0-6 with a turnover in the final four minutes of the half as LA climbed back to tie the game at 51 going into halftime.

Fox scored the final eight points of the half for Sacramento. Buddy Hield had an abysmal first half shooting 1-9 and only two points.

Both teams opened up the third quarter trading baskets with each other for the first half of the second half.

Sacramento closed out the final 6:21 of the third quarter on a 26-4 run to pull away from Los Angeles as they went to the fourth quarter with a 89-68 lead as they outscored the Clippers 38-17.

Hield rebounded as led the way in the third quarter with three-3 pointers and Fox chipped in with seven points.

Terence Davis scored all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter as the King extended their lead over a Clippers team that was playing with out star forward Kawhi Leonard who is recovering from an torn ACL he suffered during last season’s playoffs.

Fox finished with 23 points to lead the Kings in scoring on 7-10 from the field, including 3-5 from beyond the arc. Davian Mitchell chipped in with 13 points and Marvin Bagley III had nine points off the bench. Harrison Barnes contributed with 11 points.

Brandon Boston Jr. led the Clippers in scoring with 20 points off the bench shooting 6-19. None of the Clippers starting five scored in double digits. Reggie Jackson led the starters with just nine points.

UP NEXT: Sacramento continues their preseason on the road as they take on the Portland Trailblazers on Monday 10/11 at 7:00pm at the Moda Center.

Kings open pre season with 117-106 win over Suns; Barnes leads with 18 points

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The Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley (35) and Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton (22) scramble for the ball during pre season home opener for the Kings at the Chase Center in Sacramento on Mon Oct 4, 2021 (USA Today photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action at the Golden One Center on Monday night. It was the first preseason game for the Kings since last season. A lot had taken place since the Kings last took the court.

The Kings drafted elite defender Davion Mitchell to try and jumpstart a defense that is way behind NBA level. The Kings main focus in training camp this year was defense. With the likes of De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Halliburton, Harrison Barnes, and Buddy Hield the Kings should be able to score plenty of points.

The issue has been defense and that’s what the Kings were looking to address. The Kings would take on the Phoenix Suns on Monday night at 7 PM PST.

The Suns came into Sacramento as the defending Western conference champions. Of course, since it is preseason the Suns wouldn’t have all their starters on the court. However, all the Kings starters did play. The Kings came away with a pre season home opener victory over the Suns 117-106.

In the first half, Harrison Barnes shined for the Kings. The first quarter saw the Kings outscore the Suns 30-23 as the Kings offense got off to a hot start. In the second quarter, it was more of the same.

The Kings offense put up 31 points compared to the Suns 24 as the Kings would pull out in front to a commanding 61-47 halftime lead. In the first half, the Kings got a great performance from the aforementioned Harrison Barnes who scored 16 points.

Barnes hit 4-6 threes in an impressive half for the Kings playing 16:20 minutes. The Suns were led in the first half by Landry Shamet who scored ten points. The Kings would hope to finish off a solid game to start the preseason but would need to avoid a second-half hangover in order to do so.

In the second half, the Kings continued to play solid basketball. The third quarter saw the Kings score 29 points compared to the Suns 24 points. The Kings had outscored the Suns in each of the first three quarters as the Kings regulars continued to get minutes.

The Kings would take a 90-71 lead into the fourth quarter as they looked to seal the deal. In the fourth quarter, the Kings were outscored by the Suns 35-27 but the Kings still won the game 117-106. The Kings were led in victory by Harrison Barens (18 points), Marvin Bagley (15 points), and Buddy Hield who added 14 points. In defeat, the Suns were led by Landry Shamet who scored 13 points.

Up Next: The Kings will take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night in Los Angeles. The tip is scheduled for 7:30 PM PST.

Warriors Open Pre-Season With A 121-107 Win; Wiggins relents takes vaccine in time for pre season home opener on Wednesday

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Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins poses for the Warriors Media Day photos at the Chase Center on Wed Sep 27, 2021 (AP News photo)

Warriors Open Pre-Season With A 121-107 Win

By Barbara Mason

Tonight the NBA takes its first step towards the regular season. The Golden State Warriors took on the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center in their first pre- season game of 2021.

We may not see a whole lot of the starters for Golden State. Head Coach Steve Kerr typically does not play them very much in pre-season but there will be a number of bench players we are looking forward to seeing.

The projected starting lineup will be Curry, Poole, Wiggins, Green and Looney. We will have to see just how long these guys stay in the game. Of course we are all waiting for the return of Klay Thompson who is still a few months out but we certainly welcome the fans back. They are such an important part of the game day experience and they symbolize the return to some sort of normalcy.

In the first quarter, the Warrior began firing those 3’s. Jordan Poole had three of them. As the quarter came to an end the Warriors led by a single point 26-25.

In the second quarter both teams played even exchanging the lead in a closely contested quarter. We got a good look at Damian Lee, Otto Porter Jr., Andre Iguodala and Juan Toscano. At halftime the score was dead even at 60. Jordan Poole had 15 points in the half and for Portland the point leader was Damian Lillard with 19.

As the third quarter began to wind down Golden State had taken a significant lead 97-83. At the end of the quarter the Warriors had a 100-85 lead.

Jordan Poole had 30 points for Golden State and Damian Lillard finished with 19. Otto Porter Jr. had 19 points off the bench. Poole also knocked down 7 three’s. He was the story of this game.

The final was 121-107. We got to see some old faces and some new ones as well. The bottom line is that basketball is back and we are going to have 82 games to enjoy this season which gets underway on October 19. Until then we will have four more pre-season games. On Wed October 6th the Warriors will play the Denver Nuggets in one of those pre-season games. Tipoff will be at 7:00 PM.

Notable notes: Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins on Sunday accepted taking his first vaccine shot. Asked what changed Wiggins mind Warriors head coach Steve Kerr didn’t want to elaborate as to the why but only would say he took it and it’s over nothing further to discuss.

Wiggins would not have been allowed inside Chase Center the home of the Warriors had he refused to take the vaccine because of Covid 19 protocols and would have lost $350,000 per game. The Warriors who host the Nuggets Wednesday night at home would have not been able to even allow Wiggins in the building had he further refused to take the vaccine shot.

Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason: After two years off Thompson ready to splash the net again

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Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson seen here on Thu Jun 13, 2019 getting help from the training staff in game 6 of the NBA Finals vs. the Toronto Raptors at the Oracle Arena in Oakland (AP News file photo)

On the Warriors podcast with Barbara:

#1 It’s hard to believe after two long years of various injuries for Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson in 2019 the ACL tear and in 2020 the ruptured Achilles.

#2 It’s been a long road to recovery but although it’s just an exhibition game on Monday in Portland Thompson has to be happy to be back and although .

#3 You have to go all the way back to the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors which Thompson and the Warriors lost. Thompson said his goal is to get back to that level of play after the last two years off.

#4 How important is it for Stephen Curry to get his splash brother back and will they be able to rekindle that old magic again or will the key word be old after two years of not playing together as there might have been some aging process since Thompson’s return?

#5 Thompson said once he gets back out on the floor tonight he wants to be an effective player and a player that can execute will it take some time to get adjusted or know the kind of player Thompson is he’ll be firing on all cylinders right away?

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

Warriors get Kuminga 7th pick; Kings select Queta 39th overall pick

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Jonathan Kuminga the Golden State Warriors 7th overall pick in the NBA draft receives congratulations from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn on Thu Jul 29, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jessica Kwong

Golden State Warriors: The 2021 NBA Draft took place Thursday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Golden State Warriors drafted two young players: forward Jonathan Kuminga with the seventh overall pick and guard Moses Moody with the 14th overall pick.

Kuminga, from Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, moved to the US in 2016 and graduated from high school at The Patrick School in New Jersey. Last season, he averaged 15.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.00 steals in 32.8 minutes in 13 games for the NBA G League Ignite. Kuminga will wear No. 00.

Moody, from Little Rock, Arkansas, as a freshman at the University of Arkansas averaged 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.03 steals in 33.7 minutes. He won 2020-21 AP All-America Honorable Mention honors, All-SEC First Team and SEC Freshman of the Year. Moody will wear No. 4.

The 2021 Draft was the first time in Warriors franchise history that they had two Lottery picks since the Draft Lottery started in 1985. Golden State selected two players in the top 14 picks for the first time since 2001.

Sacramento Kings: Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings selected Neemias Queta from Utah State with the 39th overall pick. As a junior at Utah State during the 2020-21 season, Queta averaged 14.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 3.3 blocks, 1.1 steals and 30.0 minutes per game in 29 games.

Queta was the Mountain West Conference defensive player of the year in 2021 and 2019. He “brings a defensive prowess to the Kings after holding records of most career blocks (219) and blocks per game (2.5) during his three-year stint at Utah State,” the Kings stated in a press release.

The first three draft picks went as planned: the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham, the Houston Rockets took Jalen Green and the Cleveland Cavaliers nabbed Evan Mobley.

NBA Finals podcast Joe Hawkes: Bucks just one away from winning it all; Milwaukee wins game five 123-119

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Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, top, dunks over Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul during game 5. The Bucks hold a 3-2 lead at Milwaukee on Sat Jul 17, 2021 (AP News photo)

On the NBA Finals podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 The Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks have played some close basketball and game 5 on Saturday night in Phoenix was no different the Buck won it four points.

#2 In game 5 the Bucks offense were looking for Giannis Antetokounompo who led all scorers with 32

#3 Khris Middleton has been big for the Bucks in the Finals he finished in second in scoring with 29 on Saturday night.

#4 The Phoenix Suns Devin Booker couldn’t do it all he scored 40 but it wasn’t enough as the Bucks scored just enough to put the series on the brink.

#5 It is game six the Bucks have the home floor on Tuesday night who do you see having the most pressure in game six the Bucks or Suns?

Join Joe for a look at the NBA Finals or baseball coverage by next Friday night http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NBA Finals podcast with Tony Renteria: Bucks even up series 2-2 with Suns; Game 5 goes back to Phoenix

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Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) gets a piece of the ball that was shot by Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton (22) during the second half in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wed Jul 14, 2021 in Milwaukee (AP News photo)

On the NBA Finals podcast with Tony R:

#1 After the Phoenix Suns took the first two games of the Finals the bad news for them was they had to go to Milwaukee and the Bucks dominated on the home floor for games 3 and 4 with wins to tie up the series.

#2 The game Wednesday was a relatively close contest but in the third quarter it was the difference maker as the Bucks outscored the Suns by six 30-24 and won it by six 109-103.

#3 In game 3 the ball went to Giannis Antetokounmpo who scored 41 points, in game 4 a bit of a strategy this time the Bucks were feeding the ball to guard Khris Middleton who led with 40 points.

#4 It seemed like the Bucks really needed a big scorer to stay in it with the Suns and have really made a series out something that looked like the Suns were going to be in the drivers seat at the beginning.

#5 Tony, series is all knotted up at 2-2 going back to Phoenix where the Suns had the home floor to start games 1 and 2 this time with game 5 do you see the Suns having the home floor advantage or that all out the window seeing how the Bucks handled the Suns in games 3 and 4?

Join Tony R for sports analysis each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NBA Finals podcast with Joe Hawkes: Suns rolling could they put Bucks on their backs tonight?

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The Phoenix Suns Devin Booker (right) drives on the Milwaukee Bucks Khris Middleton (left) in the first half of game 2 of the NBA Finals on Fri Jul 9, 2021 (AP News photo)

On the NBA Finals podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 Joe the Phoenix Suns got to a big jump on the Milwaukee Bucks with a 2-0 series lead what would you allude being the biggest reason for that happening.

#2 Joe, talk about the Suns big three who scored in double figures in game 2 Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, and Chris Paul they were potent in the playoffs and wasted no time getting off the dime in the first two games of the Finals.

#3 The Suns defense is also credited by keeping the Bucks at bay with the game 2, 118-108 win. The Suns have demonstrated what kind of team they’ve been from the defensive side of the ball.

#4 For Giannis Anteokounmpo he led the Bucks in scoring with 42 in game 2 it seems like when the Bucks go on offense the balls going to him but they Bucks are going to need a lot more than Giannis to try and come back and get back in these Finals.

#5 Game 3 tonight Suns up 2-0 Bucks have the home floor there will little doubt the Bucks will be fired up to try and get a win on the home floor.

Joe Hawkes does the NBA Finals podcast Sundays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NBA Finals podcast with Joe Hawkes: Bucks heading to Finals for first time since 1974; Suns first time back since 1993

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The Milwaukee Bucks touch the Eastern Conference Champion Trophy for good luck after game 6 Sat Jul 3, 2021 in Atlanta as they prepare for game 1 on Tue Jul 6, 2021 in Phoenix against the Western Conference Champions Suns (AP News photo)

On the NBA Finals podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 The Milwaukee Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo who missed his second straight game against the Atlanta Hawks out due to a knee injury could be assured that his talented teammates pressed on without him and won Saturday’s sixth game 118-107 to move onto the NBA Finals.

#2 Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the staple for the Bucks since his acquisition and he’s not doubt going to be a huge part of these finals coming off that knee injury.

#3 The last two games the Bucks won in games 5 and 6 and they made it look relatively easy with an 11 point win to close out the Hawks on Saturday night.

#4 The Phoenix Suns have handled many of their opponents in the post season and closed out the Los Angeles Clippers in game six last Wednesday 130-103. The Suns Chris Paul put away the Clippers almost single handedly with 41 points.

#5 Tip off for game 1 of the Finals is on Tuesday 6th in Phoenix Joe how do you look at this series that opens up on the Suns home floor.

Join J Hawkes for the NBA Finals podcast Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com