Category: NBA

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings frustrating loss to Heat Thursday; In Chicago to face Bulls Sat nite

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Sacramento Kings guard Marvin Bagley III (30) defends Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (right) in the first half of Thu Feb 18, 2021 game at Golden One Center in Sacramento (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Kings took a tough loss at home at Golden One Center against the Miami Heat on Thursday night 118-110. The Kings just couldn’t keep up.

#2 Jeremiah, talk about the offensive efforts of De’Aaron Fox and he’s been able to lead on offense but he’s been doing a lot of heavy lifting.

#3 The Kings played some close quarters but the Heat were able to stay ahead. How frustrating does that have to be for Kings head coach Luke Walton.

#4 The Heat’s Jimmy Butler scored 13 points, 13 assists, and had 10 rebounds. It was Butler’s third straight triple double game.

#5 Jeremiah, the Kings are in Chicago Saturday night against the Bulls. The Bulls 12-15 and 6 1/2 games back in the Western Conference. The Kings are 12-16 and 11 1/2 game back. How do you see these two teams for Saturday night at the United Center?

Join Jeremiah for the Kings podcasts each Friday morning at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings continue to struggle in 118-110 loss to Heat

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Photo credit: sports.yahoo.com

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings came into Thursday night’s game against the Miami Heat on a four-game losing streak. The Kings have been struggling, and ended up losing their fifth straight game 118-110 at Golden 1 Center. It sounded like a familiar theme that they went through early on in the season and aren’t back dealing with. The Kings showed signs of life a few weeks back, but have since fallen back into their losing ways. Their last game was against the Brooklyn Nets. 

In the Nets game, the Kings didn’t play any defense. The Nets scored a large 136 points against the Kings defense. The Kings managed to score 125 points against the Nets, but the high-powered offense was too much to overcome. On Thursday, the Kings were set to take on the Miami Heat in Sacramento at 7 PM PST. 

In the first half, the Kings fell behind early. In the first quarter, the Heat were able to outscore the Kings 31-21. In the second quarter, it was largely more of the same. The Kings weren’t able to get into an offensive rhythm and they weren’t able to get defensive stops either. The Kings were again outscored by the Heat in the second quarter 26-22 to dig themselves a 57-43 heading into halftime. The Kings would need to right the ship in a hurry to come back in the second half.

In the second half, the Kings weren’t much better. However, they started on the right foot. In the third quarter, the Kings outscored the Heat 36-32. It appeared the Kings were on the right track for a comeback, but the fourth quarter would go as planned. The Kings did outscore the Heat 31-29 in the final quarter, but it nearly enough to overcome the deficit. The Kings ended up losing 118-110 as they continue to search for answers to end their five-game losing streak. The Kings left this game still searching for answers. They’ll have to wait until they play on Saturday. Tyler Herro led the Heat with 27 points in the win. In the losing effort, the Kings were led by Nemanja Bjelica, who scored 25 points. 

The Kings head to Chicago to take on the Bulls on Saturday night at 6 PM PST. 

Warriors come back from 19-point deficit beat Heat in overtime 120-112

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The Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (30) is fouled by Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (left) in the second half at Chase Center in San Francisco on Wed Feb 17, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors found a way to come back from a 19point deficit to beat the visiting Miami Heat in overtime 120-112. The Warriors’ Draymond Green did not play as he had soreness in his right ankle. Draymond had recorded 86 assists in his last seven games.

He was the only center to accomplish that feat in 51 years. The Warriors used Juan Toscano-Anderson and Eric Paschall at center. Neither player is taller than six feet six inches in height.

The Heat had the height advantage with Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk. The Warriors head coach Steve Kerr knew that his team’s only chance of winning was making three-pointers. It was another fantastic finish for the Warriors. The came back to beat the LA Clippers and the LA Lakers earlier this year. This was another thriller.

Things did not go well for the Warriors for the first three-quarters of the game. The Warriors tied the game at six in the first period. The Heat went on a 14-2 run in the first quarter to lead 33-19. The Heat finished the quarter leading 36-24. The Heat double-teamed Steph Curry all night long. In the first 12 minutes of play, Curry made one three in nine tries.

The Heat won the second quarter 25-22 to finish the first half with a 15-point advantage. Curry had seven points in the half. Kelly Oubre, Jr. had 11. Andrew Wiggins and Kent Bazemore each had ten.

Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn were the scoring leaders for Miami. The Heat shot 56% from the floor and connected on eight three. The Warriors shot 41% from the floor and were six for 24 from three-point range. The Heat led 61-46.

The Warriors regrouped and played better in the third quarter. Warriors continued to fail the make threes. He was one for six in the quarter. However, the Warriors started the period with a 13-3 run to close the deficit to five 64-59.

Miami’s two bigs, Abedayo and Olynyk, made a couple of buckets to put Miami ahead 71-62. Miami increased the lead to 13, 79-66. The Warriors continued to play hard. They refused to quit. Bazemore and Oubre each made a three to get the Warriors a little closer. They trailed the Heat by ten 86-76 at the end of the third quarter.

Former Warrior Andre Iguodala started the Heat on the right foot to start the fourth period. Andre knocked down a three to make it 89-76. They went up by 15, 96-81. The Warriors refused to wilt. Brad Wanamaker made a three.

Oubre, Wiggins, and Eric Paschall all made buckets to make it a three-point game 99-96 with 3:37 left to play. Miami made it 103-98 until Curry connected on a three to cut the deficit to two 103-101 with 2:16 left. Miami’s Bam Adebayo made it 105-101. Kent Bazemore made two buckets to tie the game at 105. The Warriors had gone on a 20-6 run to tie the game.

In overtime, Miami scored first to lead 107-15. The Heat would never lead again. Bazemore tied the game at 107. The Warriors went ahead 109-107. Miami made a bucket to tie. Curry, who had been hounded and double-teamed all night, made a three to put the Warriors ahead 112-109.

Wiggins hit a corner three to put Golden State in the driver’s seat 115-109. with 40 seconds left. Miami’s Duncan Robinson made a three to close the gap to 115-112. Curry’s three was the shot that ended Miami’s hope for a win.

The Warriors led 118-112 with 15.9 seconds to play. The Heat turned the ball over. They fouled Warriors, and he made both free throws to ice the win. The Warriors win 120-112.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors are 16-13 for the year. The Warriors had just 15 wins last year. Miami is now 11-17. 

Warriors highlights:  Curry had 18 points in the second half to finish with 25. He made five threes in 20 tries. He made two threes in the five-minute overtime to secure the win. Four other Warrior players were in double figures.

Kent Bazemore led the Warriors with 26 points. He was 10-for-19 from the floor, and he made four threes. Kelly Oubre, Jr had 23 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. He, too, made four threes.

Andrew Wiggins had a big night with 23 points and eight rebounds. He added four threes. Eric Paschall finished with 11. The Warriors, as a team, shot 45.3% from the floor. They were 18-for-52 from three-point range. The Heat outrebounded the Dubs 56-55. The smaller Warriors worked hard in the second half to outrebound them 35-30.

Miami totals-The Heat had seven players in double-figures. Bam Adebayo had 24, Kendrick Nunn 19, Duncan Robinson 13, Tyler Herro 11, Andre Iguodala 10. Jim Butler had a triple-double. He had 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists.

The Warriors on a four-game road trip starting Thursday night in Orlando. The game will start at 4 pm.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Take aways from Green’s comments about player trade requests

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The Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green gets a technical foul and argues the call in a game against the New York Knicks during Thu Jan 21, 2021’s contest at Chase Center in San Francisco. Green on Mon Feb 15, 2021 in a post game press conference had something to say about how players are traded and treated in the NBA (AP News file photo)

On Warriors podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 The Warriors Draymond Green after Monday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers was vocal about players being benched and not being able to speak up about teams that trade them.

#2 Also Green said that if a player wants to be traded and the team doesn’t want to trade that player like a James Harden than the player gets criticized in the media. If the team and the player are in concert with the trade than the player doesn’t take the criticism does that go with the nature of the business or is Green right the player shouldn’t be criticized for asking for a trade even if the organization doesn’t want to move that player and some critics in t he media have said this has racial bias in how the criticism is meted out?

#3 The Warriors host the Miami Heat tonight at the Chase Center in the City the Heat come in playing .500 ball they lost on Monday night to the Los Angles Clippers 125-118. The Warriors likewise are playing .500 ball winning four of their last eight games and defeated the Cavaliers on Monday night how do you see this match up tonight?

Join David Zizmor every Wednesday morning on the Golden State Warriors podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor Wed Feb 17, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

 

Barracuda-Stars game postponed due to inclement weather

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 Texas Stars winger Nikita Scherbak (21) and the San Jose Barracuda forward Joachim Birchfeld (86) battle for the puck earlier in the series over the weekend. Due to heavy snow storms and bad weather conditions the game was postponed on Tuesday night (photo from sjbarracuda.com)

by Marko Ukalovic

CEDAR PARK, Texas—The AHL announced earlier this afternoon that the third game of the series between the San Jose Barracuda and the Texas Stars was postponed due to a winter weather emergency. Heavy snow fall has recently blanketed the Northern Texas area.

To give you an idea how bad the situation is in Texas electricity prices have shot up 10,000% due to a glitch and Citibank reportedly can’t fix the error. Normally the game of hockey is played in freezing conditions but not tonight because of the heavy snow the most in memory and fans can’t get to the game due to poor conditions. 

Texas is in a deep freeze. It’s 19 degrees in Cedar Park and the Barracuda who have left the rink after the game was postponed are supposed to fly to Tucson for a game against the Tucson Roadrunners at the Tucson Convention Center which is scheduled for Thursday night the first of three games. 

Tuesday night was suppose to be the completion of the three game series between the Stars and Barracuda with the Barracuda opening the series in game one with a 5-2 win on Friday 12th and the Stars came back to even the series on Saturday 13th winning 5-3. 

A reschedule date between the two teams has not yet been determined by the league.

 

Sacramento Kings game wrap: Nets Dominate in a Route of the Kings 136-125

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The Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) leads the way with a drive on Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) in first half action at Golden One Center in Sacramento on Mon Feb 15, 2021 (AP News photo)

Nets Dominate in a Route of the Kings 136-125

By Barbara Mason

Monday night the Sacramento Kings took on the Brooklyn Nets at Golden 1 Arena. The Nets came into this game playing red hot ball while the Kings have lost three games in a row. Prior to their losing streak the Kings were the red hot team winning seven of eight games. The one game they lost during those eight games came at the hands of the Miami Heat and it was by a single point. The Kings played well during that stretch and they hope to find that winning formula tonight against the Nets.

The Nets came into this game with both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant being the difference maker for the team along with James Harden. Irving and Durant were responsible for 43 points in their last game but the bad news for the Nets was that Durant was out for this game with a hamstring injury. He will also miss tomorrow’s game which is bad news for the Nets since they have struggled without Durant on the floor but without Durant the Nets handled the Kings for a 136-125 victory at Golden One Center.

When the first half came to an end the Nets were leading by the score of 74-68. The Kings lead by a single point after one quarter 37-36 and were keeping pace with the Nets. They began to slip through the second quarter falling behind by six points at the half. They would have some ground to make up in the second half.

The third quarter was a great one for the Nets as Sacramento failed to keep up with Brooklyn at all. The Nets Kyrie Irving came unhinged in the third quarter scoring 37 points and James Harden also playing some great ball and contributing 26 points.

At the end of the third quarter the score was 107-88 in favor of the Nets. A fourth straight loss for the Kings was looking more and more inevitable. Buddy Hield was leading Sacramento scoring with 21 points and was 6 of 8 outside the arc. Fox and company could only muster 2 three pointers outside of Hield’s. Fox had a disappointing 13 points after three quarters. Off the bench for Sacramento Hassan Whiteside had a nice 16 point effort.

Trailing by 20 plus became the trend through the fourth quarter for the Kings although they surged in the latter minutes of the quarter. Sacramento had cut what had once been a 25 point Net lead to 11 but it was to little to late. The Kings Hassan Whiteside was great off the bench with 26 points scoring more points than any of their starters.

The Kings continue their struggles with outside shooting and defensive effort losing their fourth game in a row. This game was a close one in the first half but it was all Nets in the second. The Kings now drop to 12-15, three games under .500.

The Kings will be back on the court Thursday at Golden One to take on the Heat. Tipoff is 7:00.

 

Warriors bounce back rout Cavaliers 129-98; Curry makes it look easy top scorer with 36

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The Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (30) goes for a lay up against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Chase Center in San Francisco on Mon Feb 15, 2021 (AP News photo) 

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors bounced back from a beating by the Brooklyn Nets last Saturday night to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-88 Monday night at the Chase Center.

The Cavaliers had lost seven in a row and were hoping to snap the streak against the Warriors. The Cavs’ star center Andre Drummond was held out of the game as rumors are swirling that the Cavs are ready to make a trade. Their star forward Kevin Love was not available due to a calf injury. The Warriors were still without the services of James Wiseman and Kevon Looney. 

With Wiseman and Looney out, the Warriors had to find a way to handle the Cavaliers two big seven-foot centers, Jarrett Allen and former Warrior JaVale McGee. The Warriors and the Cavs played a very entertaining 24 minutes of basketball.

The teams were tied at 32 after the first quarter. Steph Curry paced the Warrior attack with 16. The Cavaliers young backcourt of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton led the Cleveland offense. The Cavs did not take a lot of three-point shots.

They preferred to attack the rim using the big men to put the ball through the hoop. The Warriors fell behind 46-41. The Warriors got the offense going to go on a 23-8 run to finish the first half to lead by ten 64-54.

Curry led the offense with 24 points. Draymond Green recorded nine assists as he kept getting the ball to an open Warrior for the score. The Warriors needed the skills of Curry and Green as the Cavaliers outrebounded them 31-19. 

The Warriors won the third quarter 37-30. Curry continued to shine as he scored twelve points in the period to pace the Dubs to a 101-84 lead after three quarters.  Green continued to make assists.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr did not use Curry or Green in the fourth quarter. The Warriors second unit played well on both ends of the court as they held the Cavaliers to 14 points while they were able to put 28 on the board. The Warriors win.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors are 15-13 for the season. Cleveland is now 10-19.

Warrior highlights: Steph Curry has now scored 27 or more points in ten straight games. The Warriors recorded 30 or more assists for the tenth time this year. Draymond Green tied his career-high with 16 assists. 

The Warriors had six players in double figures. Curry led the parade with 36. Andrew Wiggins had 15, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Eric Paschall 14, Juan Toscano-Anderson 13, and Mychal Mulder 12. 

As a team, the Warriors shot 52.3% from the floor. They made 17 threes in 37 tries. Curry was 13 for 19 from the floor, and he knocked down seven three pointers in eleven attempts. Mulder made four threes. The Warriors, as a team, recorded 33 assists on offense. On defense, they had nine steals, ten blocked shots and forced 17 Cleveland turnovers. 

The Cavaliers had four starters in double figures. Two of them, Cedi Osman and Jarrett Allen, finished with a double-double. Osman had 17 points and ten Rebounds. Allen’s line was 13 points and 14 boards.

Darius Garland had 16 points. Collin Sexto, the Cavaliers young star, led the team with 23. Damyean Dotson had ten, and JaVale McGee seven.

The Warriors held the Cavs to 38.9% from the floor and 26.7% from three-point range. 

The Warriors host the Miami Heat Wednesday night at the Chase Center. The game will tip off at 7 pm.

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: Linsanity in the G league; Kings lose their third straight

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Jeremey Lin prepares to pass against the Westchester Knicks Myles Powell on Sat Feb 13, 2021 at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz (photo from nypost.com)

On Headline Sports with Barbara:

#1 Will Jeremy Lin 32, make a return to the NBA? Lin had a great game against the New York Knicks G league team shooting for seven three pointers for the Santa Cruz Warriors on Saturday night.

#2 Lin created the G league version of Linsanity scoring 29 points with nine assists. Some even said that when he left the NBA he still had game and there was no reason for him to have been cut from the league.

#3 After the Sacramento Kings dropped two straight games to the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic the Kings hosted the Memphis Grizzlies at Golden One Center but struggled for their third straight loss Sunday night 112-98. The Kings had struggled with defense against the Grizzlies and couldn’t find the hoop on offense.

#4 The Kings are still competitive but could lose ground fast if they start compiling loses the Kings are ninth in the Western Conference and face Kyle Irving and James Harden, and the Brooklyn Nets tonight at Golden One. Kevin Durant will not play tonight out with a hamstring pull.

#5 One thing the Kings can say their getting offensive production out of guard De’Aaron Fox who has led Sacramento in scoring.

Join Barbara for Headline Sports Monday mornings at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason Mon Feb 15, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

 

Sacramento Kings game wrap: Kings can’t keep up with Grizzlies lose third straight 124-110

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The Sacramento Kings center Richaun Holmes (22) gets a hand on the Memphis Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas (17) shot in the first half at Golden One Center in Sacramento on Sat Feb 13, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings came into their game on Sunday night licking their wounds. The Kings previous game they took on the Orlando Magic.

In Friday’s game, the Kings couldn’t really manage to contain the Magic. Nikola Vucevic ran all over the Kings defense by scoring 42 points. Ultimately, the absence of De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley proved too costly for the Kings to overcome losing 124-110.

On Sunday night, the Kings were set to take on the Memphis Grizzlies. The Kings and Grizzlies had to postpone their previous two game due to COVID-19 protocols. The game was set for 7 PM PST in Sacramento. The Kings were behind for much of the game but got some scoring but never could catch up and lost by 14 points as the Grizzlies come away with a 124-110 victory.

In the first half, the Kings struggled on both sides of the ball. In the first quarter, the Kings were our scored by the Grizzlies 30-22 as neither the offense of defense was able to get a player to do well on either side of the ball.

The second quarter was more of the same. The Grizzlies out scored the Kings again in the second 32-24. If the Kings were looking to win the game they would need to improve play on both ends of the court. The Kings entered halftime down 62-46.

In the second half, the Kings offense improved but the defense wasn’t able to get stops. The Grizzlies outscored the Kings in the third quarter 37-33 to really put the game out of reach for the Kings.

In the fourth, the Kings managed to outscore the Grizzlies for the first time in the game 31-25 but it wasn’t nearly enough. The Kings have looked poorly on the defense end the last few games and it will be crucial for them to get that side of the ball back on track in order to snap the now three game losing streak. De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 23 points as Jonas Valanciunas scored 25 points for the Grizzlies.

Up Next: The Kings will prepare to take on the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night in Sacramento a 7:00pm

Nets rout the Warriors 134-117

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors welcomed the Brooklyn Nets to the Chase Center Saturday night. Former Warrior Kevin Durant visited the Bay Area for the first time since rupturing his Achilles tendon in the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. His former teammates gave him a lovely welcome as they appreciated his efforts as a Warriors member. Durant won two titles and probably would have won a third had he not been injured in the series against Toronto. The Warriors had a nice tribute for Durant before the game.

“Tribute video was cool. I think about those moments daily,” Durant said. “Every single moment that I have had in this league, I think about it and try to analyze it and get better. My time here in Golden State was so much fun. It was such a big learning experience, especially learning basketball in a different philosophy. I’m gonna take that with me for the rest of my life.”

The Nets, in addition to superstars Kyrie Irving and Durant, traded for another outstanding player, James Harden. The Nets, if they stay healthy, should be in contention to make the NBA Finals this season.

The plucky Warriors, winner of two straight games, were still missing two key players. James Wiseman and Kevon Looney were not available Saturday night. The Warriors had to go with a small lineup. They needed to find a way to defend the three Brooklyn superstars and then make shots from downtown. It was too much to hope for as the Nets routed the Warriors 134-117.

The Warriors could not handle Brooklyn’s attack in the first half. The Nets won both quarters and finished the first half leading by 15 points, 66-51. The Warriors attempted 20 three-pointers, but only four went for a bucket.

Brooklyn won the third quarter 42-31 to put the Warriors back on their heels. The Warriors outscored the Nets in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the Warriors are now 14-13 for the season. The Nets improved to 16-12.

Steph led the Warriors with 27 points. He was 10 for 17 from the floor, and he connected on two threes in nine tries. Draymond Green injured his knee in the first half, but was able to return later. The Warriors had four other players in double figures. Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre, Jr. each had 17. Eric Paschall had 16, and Kent Bazemore had 11. The team shot 48.9% from the floor. That would usually be good enough to win. However, the Nets shot 53.8% from the floor and made 16 threes. The Warriors were 9 for 34 from behind the three-point arc.

The Nets had six players in double figures. Kyrie Irving led with 23, Kevin Durant had 20, James Harden had 19, Bruce Brown had 18, Joe Harris had 15, and Jeff Green had 14.

The Nets outrebounded the Warriors 51-45. Brooklyn recorded 35 assists on 50 made baskets. James Harden had 16.

Up Next: The Warriors host the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 7 pm PT.