Category: NBA

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.

Knicks Stun Kings, Win 103-101

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Photo credit: @KnicksNationCP

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings are flying. After taking down formidable opponents in Texas in the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks, the Kings came home and defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder. So, the Kings were coming off a three-game win streak and facing the dysfunctional New York Knicks in Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night.

In the first quarter, the Kings did what they should have. Behind the scoring from Buddy Hield (14) and Nemanja Bjelica (6), the Kings jumped out to an early 32-20 lead over the Knicks. The Knicks leading scorer was Julius Randle, who managed to score 9 points. The Kings managed to shoot 71.4% from downtown and that played a big role in the early lead. Going into the second quarter, the Kings had a comfortable 32-20 lead.

In the second quarter, the Knicks made a little run at the Kings’ lead. Thanks to more scoring from Julius Randle, the Knicks put a dent in the Kings’ 12-point first-quarter lead. The Knicks put up 25 second quarter points to make it a 54-45. Buddy Hield continued to torch the Knicks and finished the first half with 22 points. Nemanja Bjelica followed behind Hield as the King’s second-leading scorer with 9 points. The Knicks were led by Julius Randle who was the game’s second-leading scorer with 17 first-half points. The Kings didn’t play their best first half of the year, but considering the opponent, it got the job done. In the second half, the Kings would look to put away the worst team in the NBA.

The third quarter was not the best for the Kings. Playing against the worst team in the NBA, the Kings were unable to increase their lead. In fact, their lead decreased by one point in the quarter as the Knicks outscored the Kings 27-26 in the third. Buddy Hield added 5 points to his total in the third to bring his total to 27 on the night. Julius Randal continued his hot hand in the game to give him 22 on the night. The Kings would take a 80-72 lead into the final quarter of action.

In the fourth quarter, things got a little dicey for the Kings. The Knicks, the worst team in the NBA, managed to make up the deficit coming into the quarter and tie the game at 93 with 5:15 remaining in the game. The Kings had to get back to work if they wanted to keep their win streak alive. Unfortunately for Kings fans, they weren’t able to do that. The Knicks came roaring back in the fourth to beat the Kings.

It was easily the worst loss of the season for the Kings, who should have defeated the Knicks. Julius Randal led the victorious Knicks with 24 points followed by Elfrid Payton with 16. Leading the Kings in defeat was Buddy Hield with 34 points followed by Harrison Barnes with 15. The Kings and Luke Walton will remember this loss. In a game against the worst team in the NBA the Kings couldn’t hold an 8 point lead going into the final quarter. The final in Sacramento was the Kings 101 and the Knicks 103.

Up Next: The Kings travel to San Francisco to play the Warriors on Sunday evening at 5:30 pm PST.

The Knicks stay West and play the Denver Nuggets on Sunday at 7 pm CST.

Knicks snap 10-game losing skid with 124-122 win over Warriors in OT

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors wrapped up its brief, two-game homestand with a game with the New York Knicks at Chase Center on Wednesday night. Both teams were equally lowly so this contest was a battle of bottom feeders.

GSW’s starting lineup featured D’Angelo Russell, Glenn Robinson III, Eric Paschall, Draymond Green and Willie Cauley-Stein.

GSW had their game faces on and Warriors rookie power forward Omari Spellman had the marvelous moves. Spellman was drafted 30th overall in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks. The 22-year-old played college basketball at Villanova University from 2017-18.

NYK jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, but D’Angelo Russell cut the deficit in half with a 3-pointer with 9:39 left in the first quarter. Kevon Looney then got past Knicks defenders and drove to the basket to finish off a Draymond Green pass to tie the game 15-15 with 4:49 left in the first. The Knicks, however, maintained a 10-point lead and led 30-20 at the end of the first.

GSW managed to turn defense into offense in the second quarter, but its efforts simply weren’t enough. The Knicks outscored the Warriors 38-30 and took a 68-50 lead to the locker room at halftime.

Green was on the move to start the second half and the Warriors added some pep to their step in the third quarter. Despite the traffic, Marquese Chriss shot a perfect dunk with 6:36 left in the third. Chriss was everywhere. Though GSW erased a 22-point deficit, they trailed 87-80 at the end of the third.

GSW and NYK battled until the very end, which led to a 112-112 tie at the end of regulation. The winner was to be decided in overtime. The Knicks outscored the Warriors 12-10 and escaped with a 124-122 win to snap a 10-game losing skid dating back to Nov. 18th when they routed the Cleveland Cavaliers 123-105 at Madison Square Garden.

With the loss, GSW fell to 5-21. The Warriors are now on a 2-game losing skid.

D’Angelo Russell led the Warriors with 32 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. Alec Burks had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Glenn Robinson III had 17 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Draymond Green had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. Marquese Chriss had 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Willie Cauley-Stein had 7 points and 5 rebounds. Damion Lee had 6 points and 1 rebound. Eric Paschall had 5 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Kevon Looney had 5 points and 1 rebound. Omari Spellman had 3 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Ky Bowman added 3 points.

The Warriors face the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Friday, Dec. 13 at 6 pm PST.

Kings Roar Back, Beat Thunder 94-93

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back home. After over a week on the road, the Kings returned home after splitting the road trip 2-2. The two wins for the Kings on the trip came on the toughest part, the back-to-back against Dallas and Houston. The Kings were able to pull off both those wins and came home with a good feeling about rising to .500 in the coming week. The Kings started off the homestand with a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center.

In the first quarter, the Kings were looking to get off to a good start against a team they should have a good chance beating on paper. The Kings didn’t shoot as well as they would have hoped in the first at just 40% from the floor. However, that was better than the showing the Thunder put on shooting only 30% in the first from the floor. Leading the Kings was Nemanja Bjelica with 7 points, followed by Trevor Ariza with 5 points. For the Thunder, Steven Adams led with 5 points. Going into the second quarter, the Kings led the Thunder 23-18.

In the second quarter, things would unravel a bit for the Kings. Thanks to poor shooting and the Thunder knocking down shots, the Kings would give up the lead going into halftime. The Kings were only able to manage 15 points in the second as opposed to the Thunder’s 29. Dennis Schroder finished the first half as the game’s leading scorer with 15 points. Continuing to lead the Kings in scoring, despite not adding a basket in the second, was Nemanja Bjelica with 7 points. Buddy Hield got on the board, scoring 5 in the second quarter. Overall, the Kings shot 35.65% from the field in the first half compared to the Thunder’s 41.5% clip.

In the second half, the Kings looked to come out with the energy they lacked in the first half. Unfortunately, the Kings were lackluster on offense. Taking a 9-point deficit into halftime, the Kings had only let that deficit grow to a 64-50 Thunder lead with five minutes remaining in the third. The Thunder had been shooting extraordinarily well at a 40% clip from downtown. The rest of the way in the third it would get much better for the Kings. They finished the third down by two points 71-69. Buddy Hield finished the third with 15 points and Marvin Bagley had 11 points.

In the fourth quarter, the Thunder would retake the lead early. They retook a 10-point lead 83-73 at the 7:49 point in the game. From there, it would be all Kings as they came roaring back to tie the game with 1:00 remaining in the game. Bogdan Bogdanovic would foul the Thunder and they made both their free throws. The Kings took a timeout with the ball with 30 seconds left down 93-91. Bogdan Bogdanovic was able to get open and knock down a three to set up the last possession for the Thunder with 13.4 seconds left in the game. The Thunder got the ball to Chris Paul, who was defended by Richaun Holmes. Paul tried to hit a pullup jumper but missed it and the game ended. The Kings came away victorious 94-93.

What’s Next?
The Kings stay home to host the New York Knicks on Friday at 7 PM PST.

The Thunder continues the West Coast trip against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday at 6 PM PST.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings take two on the road, host OKC and Knicks in upcoming homestand

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Photo credit: mavsmoneyball.com

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

Looking at the road trip, our initial projections were the two teams they could beat on the road trip were Portland and San Antonio, they lost to Portland and they lost to San Antonio. The two teams we figured that they had no chance to beat the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets.

The Mavericks and the Rockets were back to back and that’s almost asking too much on the road. They lost to the Trail Blazers, they lost to the Spurs a heartbreaker, turned around and they beat the Mavericks and the Rockets in a back to back.

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

Kings surprise the Rockets on a last-second 3-point prayer

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By Charlie O. Mallonee 

The Sacramento Kings shocked the 18,055 fans at the Toyota Center in Houston — when with one-second left to go in the game — Nemanja Bjelica put up a 33-foot, 3-point jump shot that went in for the winning basket. The Kings players ran off the bench to mob Bjelica, while the Rockets stood around with mouths wide open trying figure out what had just happened.

What had happened was the Kings had beaten the Houston Rockets 119-118 to close out their four-game road trip. What was even more of a surprise was this was the second game of a back-to-back set on the road. On Sunday, the Kings beat the Dallas Mavericks on a last-second basket also by Bjelica.

The Kings finished the road trip 2-2. SAC suffered back-to-back losses in Portland and San Antonio before putting together consecutive wins over Dallas and Houston (15-8). After losing the first two losses, the Kings could have easily gone 0-4 on this road trip. Finishing with two last-second victories over two of the best teams in the Western Conference is a testament to the Kings tenacity and response to the new coaching staff.

Sacramento (10-13) has endured a very tough time without two of their star players – Marvin Bagley III and De’Aaron Fox. The good news for the Kings is that Bagley — who has been cleared for full basketball contact — may well be back in the lineup on Wednesday night when the OKC Thunder visits the Golden 1 Center. The team reports that Fox’s rehabilitation is going well, but no timetable has been set for his return.

This game was truly a battle that featured 12 lead changes and 14 ties.

Leading Scorers

  • Russell Westbrook was the high scorer in the game putting 34 points in the scorebook.
  • Buddy Hield led the Kings scoring attack with 26 points.

The Glass Cleaners

  • J.P. Tucker pulled down 19 rebounds and made it a double-double game by scoring 10 points.
  • Harrison Barnes was the Kings top rebounder with eight.

Dishing out dimes

  • James Harden was the leading assist distributor dishing out 10 dimes to go with 27 points.
  • Trevor Ariza contributed seven assists for the Kings.

Game Notes

  • The Kings hit 40 of 88 (45.5%) field goal attempts in Houston. 20 of those buckets were 3-point baskets.
  • SAC worked the free throw line in this game. The went to the line 22 times and put the ball through the hole 19 times.
  • The Kings kept the turnovers to a minimum again making just 10 giveaways that resulted in 13 Houston points.
  • Both coaches used just eight players in the contest.
  • The Kings bench outscored the Rockets second unit 27-23.
  • Cory Joseph must be given credit for the incredible job he did on defense. He spent most of the game guarding “The Beard”. Joseph put up 14 points and added six assists while guarding Harden.

Up next

The Kings return to action on Wednesday night when they will host the OKC Thunder at the Golden 1 Center.

The Rockets head out to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

Morant’s big night sparks Grizzlies’ win over struggling Warriors 110-102

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Photo credit: @GrizNationCP

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Monday, December 9, 2019

Ja Morant celebrated his return to the Memphis lineup Monday by scoring 26 points while dishing out seven assists, as the Grizzlies handed Golden State its 20th loss of the season with a 110-102 decision at Chase Center.

Morant, the second overall selection in the 2019 NBA Draft, also had two rebounds and a steal after missing the last four games with a sore back. It was the Grizzlies’ second win in their last 11 games.

Dillon Brooks was next on the Grizzlies scoring list with 17 points, followed by Jaren Jackson with 16, Grayson Allen scored 15 off the bench, and Jonas Valanciunas had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

D’Angelo Russell and reserve Alec Burks each scored 18 points to lead the Warriors (5-20), followed by Willie Cauley-Stein with 17. Draymond Green scored16 points and Omari Spellman added 10. Russell also struggled from the field, hitting 6 of 22 shots.

Cauley-Stein and Glenn Robinson III each grabbed eight rebounds and Burks had seven, as Golden State held a 46-42 rebounding edge. However, the Warriors also shot 38 percent for the game.

Memphis (7-16) led 54-47 at halftime, but the Warriors stayed close throughout the second half. The Warriors had pulled to within 106-100 with just over a minute to play, but Morant finished a drive through the lane with a dunk that silenced the crowd.

Some good news for the Warriors: Jacob Evans III, who has been on the shelf since Oct. 28 with a strained left hip, played nine minutes against the Grizzlies.

On Wednesday, Golden State hosts the New York Knicks in a matchup of two of the NBA’s charter members. The Knicks, who fired coach David Fizdale and assistant Keith Smart last Friday, are the only team with a worse record than the Warriors.

Kings go big and hang on to beat the Mavericks 110-106

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings have been struggling. That’s no secret. They haven’t started the season the way they wanted to and are were on a three game skid. Things didn’t get easier either as the Kings took on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center on Sunday. Tip-off was set for 4 PM PST.

In the first quarter, the Kings came out strong. Nemanja Bjelica and Buddy Hied both came out shooting very well. Nemanja up 12 in the first and Buddy dropped 11 on the Mavs defense. The Kings also played lock down defense in the first. The Mavs were able to put up 27 points in the first. However, that doesn’t accurately depict the quality of the defense by the Kings. The score going into the second was 36-27 Kings.

In the second quarter, the Kings came out just as strong as the first quarter. This had been arguably the best half of basketball the Kings had played l year. The Kings continued to get good looks off screens and ball movement while holding the Mavericks and Luka Doncic down on defense. Leading the Kings in scoring for the first half was Buddy Hield with 18 points. The leading scorer for the Mavericks in the first half was Tim Hardaway Jr. with 17 points. Heading into the second half of basketball, the Kings were up 66-46 and looking to finish the job on the road.

In the third quarter, both teams played at a high level. One thing entering the third that the Kings could not do was give up a large run to the Mavs. They didn’t allow that to happen. Even though the Mavs began hitting some of their tough looks they failed to cut significantly into the Kings lead. The Kings started the quarter with a 20-point lead and ended the third with a 14-point lead. The quarter would end with the Kings ahead 92-78. Tim Hardaway Jr. continued to put up big numbers finishing the third with 29 points. Nemanja Bjelica also continued his torrid play finishing the third with 25 points.

In the fourth quarter, it was the Kings game to lose with a 14-point lead. The Kings needed to continue to compete on the defensive end and knock down shots. However, the game got a little dicey late. The Kings, who had done such a good job taking care of the ball in the first three quarters, started being careless. The Kings turned the ball over multiple times leading to easy baskets for the Mavericks. What was a 14-point lead entering the fourth had evaporated into a two-point 108-106 lead with 13.4 seconds left and Dallas ball. In the last possession of regulation for the Mavs, they got the ball to Luka Doncic and he pulled up and missed a jumper. Kings rebounded and were immediately fouled with four seconds left. Kings head coach Luke Walton drew up a great play on the inbound to give Nemanja Bjelica a clear path to the basket and the dunk to seal the win. The Kings won 110-106.

The Kings finish up the Texas swing next with a game against the Houston Rockets on Monday at 5 PM PST.