Category: NBA

Warriors win again defeat Minnesota Timberwolves 113-104

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By Jerry Feitelberg

San Francisco- The Golden State Warriors won their second game in a row Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-104. It was the first time this season that the Warriors have won two straight. The Timberwolves, who started the season 10-8, extended their losing streak to 11 games. Minnesota was without the services of the best player, Karl-Anthony Towns, due to an injury.

Both teams played a lousy first quarter. The score was tied 22-22 at the end of 12 minutes. The Warriors shot 28% from the floor while the Timberwolves were slightly better at 33%. Neither team played well.

The Timberwolves grabbed an early lead to start the second quarter. The Warriors were able to even the score at 31 and again at 35. It was at this point in the period when the Warriors got their act together to go on a 20-3 run to lead 55-38. The W’s finished the first half with 14-point lead 57-43. D’Angelo Russell led the team with 13, Alex Burks had 10, and Willie Cauley-Stein kicked in with 10, too. Andrew Wiggins and Jeff Teague led the T-Wolves attack with 12 and 10.

The Warriors extended the lead to 21 early in the third quarter. They were leading 80-58 when Minnesota went on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to fifteen. Alec Burks made a two-point bucket, and the W’s finished the third quarter with a comfortable 84-67 advantage.

As basketball fans know, teams have to play for all 48 minutes if they hope to win. Even though a team has a big lead, they have to be careful to not let the other side get back into the game. The Warriors had lost several games as they let down in the final period. Minnesota gave them a tussle as the W’s started to make mistakes, and that let Minnesota get within six points. The Timberwolves went on a 16-5 run to make it 89-83. The Warriors made 8 turnovers in the quarter. The T-Wolves cashed in. The Warriors met the challenge as Russell, Burks, and Damion Lee all connected on threes to thwart the T-Wolves. The W’s built the lead back to 10 and held on to win 113-104.

Game Notes- The Warriors improved to 7-24 while Minnesota fell to 10-19. The Warriors’ Glenn Robinso III was out of action with a sprained ankle. The W’s recalled guard Ky Bowman from the G-League to take his spot on the roster.

The Warriors had four starters in double figures Monday night. D’Angelo Russell paced the team with 30 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and he connected on 5 threes in 11 tries. Burks was second with 25 points and 8 assists. He made 2 threes. Damion Lee had 14  points, 7 boards, and 3 assists. He knocked down 3 threes. Willey Cauley-Stein had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Draymond Green’s line was 9 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists. Eric Paschall rerturned to action and tallied 8 points in 8 minutes of playing time.

The Timberwolves had two starters in double figures. Andrew Wiggins led them with 22. Gorgui Dieng added 11. Bench players Jordan McLaughlin had 19, Jeff Teague 12, and Keita Bates-Diop had 10.

The Warriors meet the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Christmas Day, at the Chase Center. The game will start at 2 pm PT.

The Kings lose the final game of their road trip in Memphis 119-115

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Buddy Hield vs Memphis
Buddy Hield goes for the steal @NBC CA

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings had to fly home from Memphis licking their wounds after losing the final three games of their four-game road. On Saturday night, the Kings dropped the final game of the road swing to the Grizzlies 119-115. The game was never as close as the final score might imply.

Lead Changes

There were three lead changes in the game; however, the Kings never held the lead after the first quarter of the game. The largest lead of the game for Sacramento was seven points. The Grizzlies biggest lead was 17 points.

Memphis held a 10 point lead – 60 to 50 – at halftime.

By the end of three quarters, the Grizzlies were up 91-78 over the Kings.

The Kings made a big charge in the final period as De’Aaron Fox scored 14 points while Memphis went 12 players deep to rest their starters. Sacramento outscored the Grizzlies 37-28 the fourth quarter but came up four points short of winning the game when the final buzzer sounded.

3-point baskets made the difference 

The Grizzlies hit 15 of 35 attempts (42.9%) from downtown in the game versus the Kings.

The Kings shot just 30.6% (11-for-36) from behind the arc in the contest which ultimately led to their downfall.

The charity stripe was unkind to SAC

The Kings went to the line 24 times but hit only 18 shots.

The Grizzlies went 24-for-29 from the charity stripe. Those six points proved too big when the final horn sounded.

Sacramento

  • Harrison Barnes led all scorers with 25 points in the game.
  • De’Aaron Fox – who got the start in the game – finished with 22 points.
  • Richaun Holmes put up a double-double putting in 18 points and hauling in 12 rebounds.
  • Marvin Bagley III also had a double-double game with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Memphis

  • Jaren Jackson Jr. was the Grizzlies leading scorer with 18 points.
  • Jae Crowder recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
  • Dillon Brooks scored 16 points.
  • Ja Morant and Grayson Allen both scored 13 points in the contest.

Up next

The Kings return home to host the very tough Houston Rockets on Monday night.

The Grizzlies will host the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.

Warriors find a way to win as they beat the Pelicans 106-102

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors met the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night at the Chase Center. Each team came into the game floundering at the bottom of the standings in the Western Conference. The Warriors had lost five in a row and 10 of the last 11. The Pelican snapped a 13-game losing streak Wednesday night and were hoping to get back on the winning track against the Warriors. The Warriors, who played well in the loss to Portland, started well. They built the lead to 20 in the second quarter. The Pelicans dominated the third quarter to lead 81-78. The Warriors came back and were able to hold on and win for the sixth time this year, 106-102.

The Warriors won the first quarter 31-18 Guard Damion Lee led the Warriors with 10 points. The other guard, D’Angelo Russell, kicked in with six. Glenn Robinson added seven.

The Warriors went ahead 44-24 to lead by 20. It was at this point that the Pelicans went on an 18-2 run to make it a 46-42 game. The Warriors regrouped and were able to finish the first half with a 12-point lead 56-44.

The Pelicans dominated the third quarter. The Warriors, over the past five seasons, used to own the third period, but not Friday night. The Pelicans, behind the hot shooting of JJ Redick, outscored the Warriors 37-22 to finish the quarter 81-78. The Pelicans’ Jrue Holiday hit a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to give New Orleans the advantage. The Pelicans took advantage of several Warrior turnovers, too. They also controlled the offensive boards and put second-chance points on the board.

The Pelicans increased the lead to six 97-91. It looked as if the Warriors were done. They regrouped and tied the game at 98 when D’Angelo Russell knocked down a three. The Warriors went ahead 100-98. The Pelicans made a bucket to tie the game. Russell hit a deuce to make it 102-100. Draymond Green was fouled, and he made both free throws to make it 104-100. The Pelicans cut it to 104-102. As time was running out, the Pelicans fouled Damion Lee. He made both free throws. The Pelicans were finished. The Warriors won 106-102.

Game Notes: D’Angelo Russell and Damion Lee led the Warriors in scoring. Russell had 25 points, seven assists, and he knocked down four threes. Lee’s totals were 20 points, six boards, and he, too, made four threes. Alec Burks had 17 points and 8 rebounds. Draymond had 10 points, four rebounds, and 8 assists. Glenn Robinson had nine, Willie Cauley-Stein eight, and Marquese Chriss eight.

Jrue Holiday and Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 25 points each. Reddick finished with 14, Lonzo Ball also had 14.

With the win, the Warriors improve to 6-24. The Pelicans fall to 7-23. The Warriors still own the worst record in the NBA. The Pelicans aren’t too far behind in the race to the bottom.

Warriors forward Eric Paschall left the game after the end of the first half with soreness in his right knee.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Minnesota Timberwolves Monday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 7:30 pm.

Kings Struggle in 119-105 Loss to Pacers in Indianapolis

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Photo credit: @SoleCollector

By Jeremiah Salmonson

Just when you thought the Sacramento Kings were at full strength, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Trevor Ariza were unavailable for the Kings in Friday night’s tilt against the Indiana Pacers. Bogdanovic is dealing with a sore ankle and Trevor Ariza is not with the team for personal reasons. The Kings were coming off a tough loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday and would look to bounce back Friday.

In the first quarter, Nemanja Bjelica got off to a hot start. Bjelica scores 13 points in the first and helped lead the Kings to an early 32-30 lead. The Kings weren’t able to play their style of defense against the Pacers in the first, but that was overshadowed by the Kings offensive prowess.

In the second quarter, the Pacers went on a bit of a run that allowed them to build a double digit 53-42 lead with 6:00 left in the half. The rest of the half, the Pacers’ lead held true. The Kings would get the lead down to 8 points, but the Pacers were able to get it back by putting up 38 in the quarter. Richaun Holmes led the way for the Kings in the first half putting up 14 points. The Pacers’ T.J. Warren scored 13 points to lead the Pacers to a 68-57 lead going into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Kings couldn’t get anything going on offense. They had their chances, but players like Buddy Hield couldn’t get anything going in terms of hitting shots. The Kings were only able to put up 22 points and headed into the final quarter down 92-79. The bright spot for the Kings was Justin James, who had managed 10 points for the Kings off the bench.

In the fourth quarter, the implosion for the Kings continued. The Kings’ shot-making evaporated in the third and fourth quarters, and they weren’t able to shut down the Pacers’ offense. These negative ingredients for the Kings would lead to a blowout loss 119-105 to the Pacers on the road.

The Kings still look a bit lost on the offensive end. Kings head coach Luke Walton has a lot of work ahead of him to get this group to gel together and start putting wins together. A bright spot for the Kings was Justin James. James is definitely earning minutes with the absence of Trevor Ariza who is away from the team and Bogdan Bogdanovic dealing with some injury issues. Leading the way for the Kings in defeat was Richaun Holmes with 20 points. Leading things for the Pacers in victory was T.J. Warren with 23 points.

Up Next: The Kings travel to Memphis for a back-to-back against the Grizzlies on Saturday at 5 PM PST.

Trail Blazers send the Warriors down to their fifth loss in a row 122-112

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors met the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center on Wednesday night. The Warriors, trying to rebound after a dreadful performance last Sunday night, played well, but not well enough. The Blazers were able to hold off the Warriors down the stretch to win 122-112.

The two teams played a very competitive first quarter. Warriors point guard, D”Angelo Russell, connected on a three to make the score 23-22 in favor of Portland. The Blazers responded by going on a 17-7 run to finish the quarter and led by eleven, 40-27.

The Blazers led for most of the second quarter. The Warriors kept coming back and cut the deficit to four 55-51. Portland upped the lead to 65-57. It was at this point near the end of the first half when the Warriors made three consecutive three-point shots. Alec Burks made two and Eric Paschall, back in action after missing the last two games, connected for his first three of the game. Paschall’s bucket gave the lead back to Golden State 66-65. But that lead didn’t last long as the Blazers scored the last basket of the half to finish with a one-point lead 67-66. The Warriors, outscored by 11 in the first period, outscored the Blazers by 10 in the second.

The Blazers went on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter. The Warriors did not lose their composure and stayed within striking distance of regaining the lead. They came close trailing by one point 87-86.  Portland did not wilt. They made vital buckets and finished the third quarter with a five-point advantage, 97-92.

The Warriors did not fold. They kept coming back. However, they just could not get a bucket or a three-pointer when they needed one. They were down by two, 100-98. Portland built the lead back to seven, 109-102. Glenn Robinson connected on a three to make it 109-105. That was the best the Warriors could do. Portland held on to win by a final of 122-102.

Game Notes: Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr had to be pleased with his team’s effort Wednesday. The Warriors played poorly Sunday night at the Chase Center. The team looked much better. They moved the ball well. They made 16 threes in 38 tries. They turned the ball over just seven times. They had 24 assists. The made seven steals and blocked seven. Their only deficiency was at the free-throw line. They were 14 for 23 from the charity stripe. Portland was 25 for 28. The 11-point advantage helped the Blazers win the game.

The Warriors had six players in double figures. D’Angelo Russell led the club with 26 points. Russell made five threes in 12 tries. Glenn Robinson had 17, and he made a career-high five threes. Alec Burks had 16, and he knocked down four threes. Eric Paschall had in 17 minutes of playing time. Marquese Chriss had his third double-double in the last four games. He had 10 points and 10 boards. Willie Cauley-Stein had 12 points and seven boards.

The Blazers were led by their dynamic backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Lillard had quite a night as he knocked down 31 points, had 13 assists, and five rebounds. McCollum finished with 30. Veteran Carmelo Anthony had 17 points and eight rebounds. Blazers center Hassan Whiteside, who loves to torment the Warriors, finished with a double-double. Hassan, who was with the Miami Heat last year, kicked in with 16 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to help the Blazers win.

With the loss, the Warriors maintained the worst record in the NBA 5-24.  The Warriors have lost five in a row and nine of the last 10. The Blazers, who struggled earlier in the season, improved to 12-16.

Up Next: The Warriors return home to face the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night at the Chase Center. The Pelicans are 7-22 for the year, and the Warriors will be trying to get a win at their expense. The game will start at 7:30 pm PST.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Hornets force turnovers as Kings go down 110-102

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Photo credit sacbee.com: The Charlotte Hornets Terry Rozier (3) drives towards the basket against the Sacramento Kings D’Aaron Fox as the Hornets defeat the Kings by eight points in Charlotte on Tuesday night.

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O

The Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night in Charlotte just simply got outplayed physically. In fact, that was one of the things that Kings head coach Luke Walton said. The Kings just physically got beaten up by the Hornets. It wasn’t in a bad way. It wasn’t like they played dirty.

The Hornets just went out and played a very physical game. They were determined. The biggest number that showed how physical Charlotte was that the Hornets outrebounded the Kings 53-31. When a team is outrebounded with 18 rebounds in a game, you’re not going to win.

Charlie O does the Kings podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings fall to Hornets 110-102 in Charlotte

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings have not been at full strength since the first game of this 2019 season. Tuesday would mark the first time since then the Kings would have all players available. The matchup was the Sacramento Kings visiting the Charlotte Hornets. For Kings fans, they hoped Tuesday would mark the beginning of the season they could have had started if fully healthy.

In the first quarter, the Kings offense sputtered out of the gate. Sloppy ball handling and missed shots allowed the Hornets to only be trailing 9-7 with 6:00 left in the quarter. The rest of the way, the offense continued to sputter.

It’s hard to fault the Kings who are playing with lineups they haven’t seen all year.

Unfortunately, the offense looked a little lost in the first quarter something the Kings would look to remedy in the second quarter. All in all, the Kings put up 21 points compared to the Hornets 26. Leading scorer for the Kings thus far was Harrison Barnes with 5 points while Marvin Williams put up 8 for the Hornets.

In the second quarter, the Kings perimeter shooting continued to struggle. The Kings shot a mediocre 33.3% in the first half from downtown. That being said, they were able to put up 47 in the half. The Hornets didn’t play exceptionally well either, who shot an identical 33.3% from three, were able to put up 53 in the half to lead the Kings 53-47 going into halftime. The leading scorers in the game were De’Aaron Fox for the Kings with 11 points and Hornet Marvin Williams with 10 points. The Kings offense didn’t look smooth, but it wasn’t all red flags. De’Aaron Fox, after missing the last 17 games, looked good in the opening half. Sure the offense didn’t flow the same way it has in recent games, but the Kings are well on their way to getting the rhythm back.

In the second half, the Kings started to hit their three-point shots. The Kings shot much better from downtown making five threes and it makes a difference in the score. The Kings were able to put up 32 in the third out scoring the Hornets who added 27. In his return, De’Aaron Fox continued to lead the Kings putting up 15 points through three quarters. The Kings would try and do something they haven’t done all year on the road; win trailing after three quarters. The Kings went into the fourth trailing 80-79.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings faltered early. Hornets guard Malik Monk started hitting shots after struggling early and the Kings were in a 101-90 hole with 4:25 remaining. From there, the Kings weren’t able to muster anything against the Hornets. The Kings didn’t attack the basket with enough urgency as the Hornets were in foul trouble and that led to a disappointing defeat. The Kings dropped the first game of the road trip by a final of 110-102 in a game dominated by the Hornets in the fourth quarter. The Hornets ended up out scoring the Kings 30-23 in the fourth. The positive for Kings fans from this game was the return of a healthy De’Aaron Fox. Fox led the Kings with 19 points.

Up Next: The Kings travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers on Friday at 4 PM PST.

Kings get over the Warriors 100-79

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By Charlie O. Mallonee @Charlieo1320

After losing to the NBA’s worst team — the New York Knicks — on their home court on Friday night, the Sacramento Kings (12-14) needed to bounce back into the win column in a big way versus the Golden State Warriors (5-23) on Sunday night in the brand-new Chase Center in San Francisco. After years of being the perpetual underdogs when facing the Warriors, the 2019 Kings knew they were the more talented team going into the game on Sunday evening.

The Kings dominated the first quarter shooting 62.5% from the field while outscoring the Warriors 26-18. It appeared that injury-depleted Warriors were well on their way to another humbling defeat at the hands of their Northern California neighbor.

The Warriors woke up in the second quarter
Golden State started attacking the basket using the dribble-drive to make layups and cut into the Kings lead. D’Angelo Russell (who may or may not be a Warrior much longer) and Damion Lee did most of the damage in the quarter. The Warriors outscored the Kings 16-8 in the paint.

Both teams shot 9-for-16 from the field in the second period. Sacramento held a 16-point lead at one point in the quarter, but Golden State trailed by just nine points at the half.

The Kings changed the story in the second half
Sacramento came out in the third quarter and shot 64.7% overall and 60.0% from 3-point range to outscore Golden State 28-17. The Kings were up 79-59 at the end of 36 minutes and had the game well in hand.

Luke Walton used 11 players in the game rather than just eight as he had in the previous games. A big lead will give a coach that luxury. The Kings outscored the Warriors in the final quarter 21-20. It was like the kid who has been bullied for years finally had the opportunity to get even and they did.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Kings had beaten the Warriors 100-79.

Lead tracker
The Kings biggest lead in the game was 25 points. The Warriors largest lead was just three points.

The game was tied four times.

The lead changed four times in the game.

The Kings never trailed in the second, third and fourth quarters.

Team Numbers

  • Points in the Paint: SAC 46 GSW 44
  • 2nd Chance Points: Kings 6 Warriors 5
  • Fastbreak Points: SAC 10 GSW 4
  • Rebounds: Kings 38 Warriors 26
  • Assists: SAC 27 GSW 24
  • Turnovers: Kings 27 Warriors 20
  • Field Goal %: SAC 60.3% GSW 39.0%

Leading Scorers

  • Bogdan Bogdanovic was the games high scorer with 25 points
  • Former King Willie Cauley-Stein led the Warriors with 14 points

The Glass Cleaners

  • Marvin Bagley III led the Kings with six rebounds
  • Marquese Chriss was the Warriors leading rebounder with six

Distributing Dimes

  • D’Angelo Russell was the assist leader with eight
  • Cory Joseph was the Kings assist leader with five dimes

Up Next
The Kings travel to Charlotte to take on the Hornets on Tuesday night.

The Warriors also hit the road to play the Trail Blazers in Portland on Wednesday evening.

Warriors’ long season continues after loss to Kings 100-79

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photo from sacbee: Buddy Hield (24) of the Sacramento Kings drives on the Golden State Warriors Draymond Green in the Kings win on Sunday night at Chase Center in San Francisco.

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, December 15, 2019

A dreary season continues for the Golden State Warriors, as they fell to the visiting Sacramento Kings 100-79 Sunday at Chase Center.

The 79 points matched a season low for the struggling Warriors.

Bogdan Bogdanovich led the Kings (12-14) with 25 points, along with 19 points by Buddy Hield.

The Kings defeated Golden State (5-23) for only the fourth time in the last 25 games between the neighboring rivals, going back to 2013-14.

Willie Cauley-Stein was the Warriors’ top scorer with 14 points.

Golden State has used 14 different lineups this season. Damion Lee started at the 2-guard — his first career start as a Warrior — and Glenn Robinson III returned to small forward. Lee scored 10 points in the first half.

Warriors forward Eric Paschall missed his second straight game with left hip soreness, but Coach Steve Kerr told the press corps he anticipates Paschall’s return on Wednesday at Portland.

Sacramento led 51-42 at halftime and put the game away by outscoring the Warriors 28-17 in the third quarter.

The 18 points scored by Golden State in the first quarter was not their season low for the opening period; that happened on Oct. 14 with 14 points in the opening 12 minutes against Phoenix.

Mired in last place in the NBA Pacific Division, the Warriors trail Atlanta, New York and New Orleans (6-21) for the league’s worst record.

Daniel Dullum is filling in for Warrior beat writer Jerry Feitelberg at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Bogdanovic and Mitchell lead Jazz past Warriors 114-106

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photo from sfchronicle.com: Warriors forward Marquese Chriss, who had a double-double, dunks against the Jazz.

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Friday, December 13, 2019

Bojan Bogdanovic snapped out of a recent scoring slump and sparked the Utah Jazz to a 114-106 win over Golden State Friday at Vivint Center in Salt Lake City.

Bogdanovic hit a go-ahead shot in the final two minutes, to go along with eight 3-pointers and a game-high 32 points. The Jazz forward was 8 of 13 from behind the arc.

Donovan Mitchell was next with 28 points for the Jazz (15-11), who picked up their third win in four games. Also, for Utah, Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 15 rebounds, Joe Ingles scored 13 points along with eight assists, and Royce O’Neale chipped in with 14 points.

Alec Burks was the Warriors’ top scorer with 24 points, followed by Damion Lee with 21 and D’Angelo Russell with 18. Marquese Chriss pulled down 13 rebounds, matching his career high.

Bogdanovic and Mitchell hit back-to-back 3’s with 1:18 left, putting Utah up 109-104. The Warriors (5-22) lost, despite outscoring Utah 52-12 in bench production, and holding a 48-43 rebounding edge.

Golden State led 31-22 in the second quarter, and led by as many as 13 with a 9-0 run that gave Golden State a 50-37 lead. The Jazz responded with a 14-4 third quarter run, fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers by Bogdanovic, putting Utah up 76-68.

A Russell 3 put Golden State up 91-88, capping a 7-0 run early in the fourth quarter.

Draymond Green and Eric Paschall did not play. Green was being rested, and Paschall was out with left hip soreness.

The Warriors host Sacramento on Sunday at 5:30 p.m.