Category: NBA

Warriors best Bulls in neck and neck game at United Center 100-98

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photo from abcnews.go.com: Chicago Bulls’ Kris Dunn (32) goes up for a shot against Golden State Warriors’ Willie Cauley-Stein (2) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 6, 2019, in Chicago. Golden State won 100-98.

By Alexandra Evans

The Golden State Warriors (5-19) faced the Chicago Bulls (8-15) away on Friday, Dec. 6, taking home a close win (100-98). There was almost no shortage of being on the edge of one’s seat; the game remained very neck-in-neck throughout.

Bulls’ Tomas Satoransky made the first basket of the game nearly a minute in. The Dubs took their first lead when D’Angelo Russell made a three-pointer a minute later, holding the lead until halfway through the first quarter when Kris Dunn made a three-pointer for the Bulls (assisted by Satoransky). The Bulls held the lead for the remainder of the quarter, leading the Warriors 28-23.

Almost two minutes into the second quarter, Eric Paschall gave the Dubs the lead again after making a free throw. For three minutes the scores would increase but end up tied again. At the end of the second, the Bulls had a one-point lead (51-50).

Only once in the third quarter did the Dubs have the lead (by one point), which lasted under 30 seconds. Halfway through, they trailed the Bulls by eight points (62-70) and by six at the end (77-83).

The Bulls still exceeded the Dubs for half of the final period and the score was tied four different times. Bulls’ Zach LaVine tied the score 98-98 with 1:18 remaining in the game, and Dubs’ Glenn Robinson III made the game-winning shot with 1:03 left. The final score was 100-98, Dubs.

It’s heartbreak deep in the heart of Texas for the Kings losing in OT to the Spurs 105-104

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
spurs 2
Graphic: @NBC Sports CA

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings played game two of their four-game road trip on Friday night in San Antonio. The Kings lost game one on Wednesday night in Portland. It took 53 minutes to decide the winner of game two in the “Alamo City”, but when the final buzzer sounded, the Spurs had won the game 105-104 in overtime.

The Kings have now lost five of their last six games and have fallen five games under .500 with a record of 8-13. Not only are the men of SAC headed in the wrong direction in the standings but their immediate future prospects are not great. Their final two games of this road trip are with the Dallas Mavericks (15-5) and the Houston Rockets (14-7) – two of the hottest teams in the NBA.

When the Kings left on this road trip, we projected that they would win one game and lose three. We expected the one win to happen in Portland or San Antonio. Now that Sacramento has lost to both the Trail Blazers and the Spurs, our projection has changed to the team finishing the road trip 0-4. That would put the Kings nine games under .500 by the time they return to Sacramento.

The Kings could have won this game
The game was tied at 89-89 with 3:44 to go in the game. The Kings went on a 9-0 run to take what looked like a commanding lead with just 1:43 remaining in the contest, but this is the NBA and you can never assume anything.

The Spurs scored eight unanswered points in less than a minute. The Kings were stunned. San Antonio possessed the ball with 14.3 seconds to go in regulation time. The Spurs worked the ball to Marco Belinelli with 4.1 seconds on the clock. Belinelli let a 3-pointer fly from the right angle and put it through the hoop to tie the game at 100 apiece and force OT.

Overtime was not pretty
The first point in OT wasn’t scored until the 3:07 mark when DeMar DeRozan hit the first of three free throw attempts. There would be only a total of nine points scored in the entire five minutes of overtime. It was just plain ugly.

The Kings wound up with the final possession of the game when it was ruled that Spurs last touched the ball that went out of bounds after a jump ball.

Sacramento did their best putting up four shots in the final 17.4 seconds to try and take the lead. They fought ferociously to get rebounds to have the opportunity to take another shot but none of their four final attempts would fall. When time expired, the Spurs had won the game 105-104.

Leading scorers

  • Buddy Hield scored a game-high 23 points for the Kings.
  • LaMarcus Aldridge led Spurs scoring attack with 19 points.

The Glass Cleaners

  • Richaun Holmes pulled down 14 rebounds to go with 13 points for a double-double game.
  • LaMarcus Aldridge also had a double-double by grabbing 13 rebounds to go with his 19 points.

Tossing out the dimes

  • The Spurs DeMar DeRozan dropped nine dimes in the game.
  • Harrison Barnes – who also scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds – distributed 5 assists.

Think about it

  • The Kings starters scored 69 points while their second unit added 35 points.
  • The Spurs starting five scored 52 points and their bench put 53 points. That’s called depth.

Up next

The Kings will have Saturday off and will play the Mavericks in Dallas on Sunday.

The Spurs go on vacation as they are off until next Thursday when they will host Cleveland.

Short-handed Kings battle, but fall to Trail Blazers 127-116

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Photo credit: @trailblazers

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings were coming off a tough loss to the Chicago Bulls. They arrived at the Moda Center to play the Portland Trail Blazers, who have struggled this year coming off a tough double-digit loss to the Clippers the night before. Both the Kings and the Blazers are banged up with starters and role players hurt. Namely, the Kings started the game having declared Bogdan Bogdanovic out with a knee contusion. So, the Kings needed big contributions from Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, and Richaun Holmes to compete with the Blazers.

In the first quarter, it was a tale of two stories. In the first six minutes, the Kings looked like a team lost in the Pacific Northwest as the Blazers jumped to an early 24-16 lead. From there, the Kings looked a different team. Struggling guard Buddy Hield started making shots and the Kings took off to finish the quarter up 35-30. Buddy finished the quarter with 14 points to lead the Kings.

In the second quarter, both teams continued their torrid pace. Thanks to both teams continuing to get the ball up and down the court, the game turned into a shootout. Buddy Hield and Richaun Holmes led the Kings on the offensive end scoring 17 and 11, respectively, in the first half. For Portland, a major portion of the offense was scored by CJ McCollum, who had 23 points while shooting better than 75% from the field. Headed into halftime, the Kings trailed the Blazers 66-64.

The first half treated fans to a shootout. In the third quarter, both teams continued to put up points. Kings center Richaun Holmes had a great quarter in which he scored 10 points. Buddy Hield and Nemenja Bjelica also continued to score to keep the Kings close. However, the Blazers were able to hit a few more shots and led the Kings 95-100 going into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings hoped to turn what had been a shootout into a win. If they hoped to accomplish this, they needed to tighten up their play on the defensive end and continue to hit shots on offense. Unfortunately, the Kings fell victim to what the NBA knows as “Dame Time” as Damian Lillard played extremely well in the fourth and made a series of difficult shots to lead the Blazers to a 127-116 victory. CJ McCollum led all scorers with 33 points and Richaun Holmes led the Kings with 28 points and 10 boards. The Kings fell to 8-12 on the season as the Blazers improved to 9-13.

The Blazers stay home to face the LA Lakers on Friday evening at 7:30 pm PST.

The Kings continue the road trip with a three-city Texas swing that starts in San Antonio on Friday evening at 7:30 pm CST.

Warriors lose to Hornets 106-91 in Charlotte

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors looked to snap a 3-game losing skid on Wednesday at the Spectrum Center against the Charlotte Hornets. Did it happen? Nope!

The Warriors’ starting five featured D’Angelo Russell, Glenn Robinson III, Eric Paschall, Draymond Green and Willie Cauley-Stein. Russell returned to the Warriors lineup after missing nine games with a sprained right thumb.

The Warriors had their game faces on to start the game, but soon enough, they found themselves in a 28-20 deficit at the end of the first quarter and never picked themselves up off of the ground. Though, Kevon Looney went straight to the rack with 21.4 seconds left in the first.

The Warriors flew down the floor, like, say, when D’Angelo Russell rose up and threw down a one-handed dunk in traffic with 3:51 left in the second quarter. The Warriors trailed the Hornets 58-54 at the halftime break. The Warriors’ four-point deficit made it look like a comeback was probable, but they were unable to rebound in the second half.

The Warriors’ ball movement was pretty in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. Marquese Chriss’ swish was the perfect way to describe prettiness in the third quarter. Also, De’Angelo Russell had 13 points in five minutes to close things out.

But the Warriors’ physical poetry in motion wasn’t enough. The Hornets outscored them 28 and 20, respectively. The Hornets won 106-91.

With the win, the Hornets improved to 9-14. With the loss, the Warriors fell to 4-19.

D’Angelo Russell led the Warriors with 18 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Eric Paschall had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist. Alec Burks had 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Willie Cauley-Stein had 8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal. Glenn Robinson III had 8 points and 2 rebounds. Ky Bowman had 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. Kevon Looney had 7 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Draymond Green had 5 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Omari Spellman had 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. Marquese Chriss had 2 points and 4 rebounds. Jordan Poole added 1 assist.

The Warriors face the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Friday, December 6 at 5 pm PST.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings getting consistent scoring from Barnes and Hield

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Photo credit: aroyalpain.com

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Kings came back after a four-game road trip to defeat the Denver Nuggets on Saturday 100-97 and then played the Chicago Bulls on Monday night and lost it 113-106.

#2 Talk about the recent consistent scoring from the Kings’ Harrison Barnes.

#3 Buddy Hield has come into his own, consistently scoring in the Kings’ top three.

#4 Talk about the Kings defense. For example in their game against the Denver Nuggets last Saturday, they held them to just seven points in the fourth quarter and they closed in on the Bulls on Monday night.

#5 The Kings head to Portland to face the Blazers on Wednesday. Talk a little about what’s in store for the Kings.

Join Charlie O for the Kings basketball podcasts Tuesday nights at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings suffer frustrating loss to the Bulls, 113-106, when their comeback falls short

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO–The rope-a-dope strategy employed by the Kings that shocked the Nuggets on Saturday didn’t translate on Monday against the visiting Chicago Bulls.

The Kings again spotted their opponent a sizeable lead, but this time the comeback fell short. Behind 28 points from Laurie Markkanen, and 20 from Zach LaVine, the Bulls survived Sacramento’s fourth quarter rally to win 113-106.

The Kings failed to climb within one game of .500, falling to 8-11 on the season. The loss also dropped the Kings a game behind the Suns–who won in Charlotte Monday–for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Kings had won 8 of 13 coming in, including their unquestioned best win of the season to date over the Northwest Division-leading Nuggets, in which they trailed by 17 at the half, only to rally for an overtime win, 100-97. Against the Bulls, the Kings trailed by 11 at the half, and 10 after three, but could get no closer than 102-100 with 2:18 remaining.

Buddy Hield led the Kings with 26 points, despite missing 10 of his 13 3-point attempts. Afterwards, he pointed to the Kings’ slow start as the reason for the loss.

“When you give a team confidence, they come back and bite you quick,” Hield said of the Bulls, who had lost both of their previous stops on their current road trip, and seven of nine.

After a fast start, things unraveled for the Kings in the second quarter, when the Bulls surged to a double-digit lead behind their five reserves that saw action.

Rookie Coby White, Ryan Arcidiacono, Thaddeus Young and Denzel Valentine each hit a 3-pointer, and along with center Daniel Gafford combined to shoot 8 for 15 from the field. Meanwhile, the Kings’ reserves committed seven turnovers as the home team fell behind by as much as 16 points, 47-31 with 3:20 remaining before the break.

Hield and Harrison Barnes combined to miss 11 of their 15 shots attempts in the first half, as Sacramento was again without Marvin Bagley III, De’Aaron Fox and Harry Giles.

Bogdan Bodanovic, the Kings’ spark off the bench, admitted afterwards that his balky, left hamstring has forced coach Luke Walton to put him on a minutes restriction where he’s limited to five minutes on the floor in any stretch. Since missing the Kings’ road game in Brooklyn on November 22, Bogdanovic has logged fewer than 30 minutes a game, and failed to make at least half of his shots from the floor. On Monday, Bogdanovic finished with 11 points, on 4 of 9 shooting.

For the Bulls, the win marked the first time this season their two, young stars, LaVine and Markkanen have each reached 20 points in a game.

“We’re still encouraging him,” LaVine said of Markkanen. “He had a great game. He needs to play that way all the time.”

The Kings start a four-game road trip in Portland on Wednesday with stops in Dallas, San Antonio and Houston after that. The Kings are in the midst of a stretch where they play 12 of 16 games outside of Sacramento.

Hawks fly past the Warriors 104-79 in Atlanta

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors arrived in Atlanta with the hopes of snapping a 2-game losing skid with a win over the equally lowly Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.

The Warriors’ starting five featured Alex Burks, Glenn Robinson III, Eric Paschall, Kevon Looney, and Willie Cauley-Stein.

Golden State started things off with a Willie Cauley-Stein slam early in the first quarter. The Warriors made the game tough for the Hawks in the first, and on another note, Marquese Chriss flew high and knocked down a jumper. The Warriors led 23-20 at the end of the first.

Atlanta, however, stormed back in the second quarter. The Hawks outscored the Warriors 29-17 in the second, thanks to some key plays such as the De’Andre Hunter bucket, which was perfection. The Warriors trailed 49-40 at the halftime break.

Both the Warriors and the Hawks turned defense into offense in the third quarter, but it was Atlanta who made things happen at home. De’Andre Hunter continued to make it with buckets on his 22nd birthday. The Hawks then took a 20-point lead, which likely shocked the Warriors, who entered the game with a similar record.

Atlanta put the game out of reach, but Golden State had something to be thankful for. Eric Paschall scored 20 points, which helped him have his seventh 20-point game of the season (7-of-9 from the field) along with 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

Atlanta showed no signs of slowing down, and frankly, didn’t play much in the final minute of the fourth quarter. The Hawks won 104-79.

With the win, Atlanta improved to 5-16. With the loss, Golden State fell to 4-18.

Eric Paschall led the Warriors with 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Alec Burks scored 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Ky Bowman had 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Omari Spellman had 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 assist. Marquese Chriss had 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist. Glenn Robinson III had 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist. Willie Cauley-Stein had 4 points and 4 rebounds. Kevon Looney added 2 points and 2 rebounds.

The Warriors visit the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday, December 4 at 4 pm PST.

Warriors come close, but still lose to the Magic 100-96

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors met the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center in Orlando Sunday evening. The Warriors, with nine healthy players, gave the Magic a tussle, but still lost 100-96. The game was not decided until the final 10 seconds. The Magic’s Evan Fournier made a layup to clinch the win for Orlando.

The teams played a very competitive first half. The Magic won the first quarter 26-22. The Warriors won the second 29-25. The first half ended with the score tied at 51. Eric Paschall tallied 14, and Glenn Robinson kicked in with 13 to lead the Warriors. Evan Fournier had 15, and Terrence Ross, coming off the bench, had 12 for Orlando.

The teams continued to play nip and tuck basketball. Neither team could gain any separation from the other. The Magic finished the third quarter with a one-point advantage 72-71. It was more of the same in the fourth quarter. The game was in doubt until Fournier put it away with a layup with 9.3 seconds left in the game. The Magic led by four, and that was curtains for Golden State. Orlando won 100-96.

Game Notes and Stats: All five Warrior starters were in double-figures. Draymond had 11, Eric Paschall 17, Glenn Robinson 19, Will Cauley-Stein had 11 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double, and Alec Burks pitched in with 12. Backup point guard Ky Bowman finished with 12. The team shot 39.6% from the floor and connected on six threes in 23 attempts.

Evan Fournier tied a career-high with 32 points. He made six threes in 10 attempts. Terrence Ross had 19, Markell Fultz 14, and Jonathan Isaac added 14. The Magic shot 42.5% from the floor and made 11 threes in 33 attempts.

The Warriors lost for the fifth time in the last six games and are now 4-17 for the year. The Magic improved to 8-11.

Up Next: The Warriors play a back-to-back game Monday night in Atlanta against the Hawks. The game will start at 5 pm PST.

Kings come back to beat Denver 100-97 in OT

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — Saturday marked the return home for the Sacramento Kings after a long road trip. The trip took the Kings through the cities of New York, Washington D.C., Boston, and Philadelphia. It was a tough trip for the Kings who went 1-3 beating the Washington Wizards. The Kings were looking to continue their climb back to .500 against a formidable opponent in the Denver Nuggets on Saturday afternoon. The tip-off was set for 2 PM PST.

In the first quarter, the Kings struggled early. No one on the Kings could seem to hit a shot and Denver began knocking down their’s after struggling in the opening minutes as well. With 2:00 minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Kings were already down 27-13. The rest of the quarter the Kings were able to put up a few more points to cut the deficit to 27-17 going into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, Yogi Ferrell ran the point, the Kings offense seemed to show life in the early minutes for the second. In the opening 2 minutes of time, the Kings managed to cut the lead to 5 points. However, the Nuggets starting piling on again after that. The Nuggets would put up a total of 57 first-half points compared to the Kings’ 40. This obviously wasn’t what Luke Walton and Co. planned for the first half. The King’s fans let out a subtle chorus of boos as the team headed into the locker room. Garry Harris led all scorers in the first half putting up 20 points. The leading scorer for the Kings was Harrison Barnes, who had 8 points for the Kings. If the Kings hoped to come back they needed to shoot better. Specifically, be better from long range.

In the third quarter, the Kings played better than they had all game. That’s not to say there wasn’t room for improvement. The Kings outscored the Nuggets 27-18, which was a marked improvement on both ends of the floor. Led by Harrison Barnes (12 points in the 3rd), the Kings managed to cut the deficit 67-75. The Kings would need to make a big ground in the fourth quarter to have a chance.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings still struggled to hit open shots. Namely, Buddy Hield really struggled. Buddy had a considerable number of open shots that he was unable to knockdown. Regardless of the shooting struggles, the Kings managed to hang tough. With 3:20 left in the game, the score was 87-80 and the Kings had a chance to execute. The Kings managed to do just that. The Kings were able to come back and tie the game with a Buddy Hield layup with 22.9 seconds left. The Kings then got the defense stop with a Rashaan Holmes block and it sent the Kings to overtime. In overtime, the Kings and Nuggets would battle and trade baskets. The game would come down to the final 14 seconds with the score 98 to 97 Kings up. Buddy Hield would be fouled on the inbound and make both his free throws. From there, the Kings got a stop and would go on to win 100-97.

The Kings stay home to host the Chicago Bulls on Monday at 7 PM PST.

Heat burn the Warriors 122-105

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors traveled to South Florida to face the Miami Heat Friday night at the American Airlines Arena.

The Heat–with a rebuilt roster–started the season with a 12-5 record. Also, they were 7-0 at home this season. The Heat’s main rivals in the East are the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, and Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat acquired Jimmy Butler from the 76ers, and Meyers Leonard came to Miami from the Portland Trailblazers. Duncan Robinson, who was a teammate of the Warriors’ Jordan Poole at Michigan, was a two-way player last season. Kendrick Nunn played for the Santa Cruz Warriors last year.

The Heat’s bench listed Kelly Olynyk, Goran Dragic, and Tyler Herro. These were the players that led the Heat to an easy 122-105 win over the Warriors.

The Heat thoroughly outplayed the Warriors in the first quarter. They outscored the Warriors 41-21. They were led by Duncan Robinson’s 12 points. Robinson made four threes in four tries.  The Warriors trailed 21-6 with 6:06 left in the quarter. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr inserted Ky Bowman, Omari Spelman, and Marquese Chriss. The Warriors played better, but still finished the quarter trailing by 20 points. They knew that it would be difficult to overcome a 20-point deficit.

The second quarter was a showcase for Jordan Poole, Omari Spellman, Marquese Chriss, and Willie Cauley-Stein. Poole connected on three consecutive threes. These players won the quarter 37-30 and finished the half 71-58.

The Warriors continued to play well. At one point, they cut the deficit to seven. The Heat refused to let the Warriors back into the game. They won the quarter 24-21 to finish the third quarter with a 16-point advantage.

The Heat increased the lead to 27 early in the fourth quarter. The Warriors fought back, but they could not catch the Heat. They outscored them late in the period, but it was not enough.

Game Notes: With the loss, the Warriors drop to 4-16. The Heat improved to 13-5.

Jordan Poole had a career-high 30 points to lead the Warriors. Jordan made 5 threes in six tries. Eric Paschall, who scored just one point in the first half, finished with 17. Alec Burks had 16, Cauley-Stein had 14, Omari Spellman had 12, and Marquese Chriss had 10.

The Heat had six players in double figures. Goran Dragic led Miami with 20. Tyler Herro had 19, Duncan Robinson had 17, Jimmy Butler had 16, Kelly Olynyk had 15, and Kendrick Nunn had 15.

The Warriors shot 39% from the floor and were 10-for 28 from 3-point range. Miami shot 54% from the floor, and they made 13 threes. The Heat made 14 more buckets than the Warriors. The Warriors outscored the Heat 35-21 at the free-throw line.

The Warriors turned the ball over just nine tries.

Up Next: The Warriors play the Magic in Orlando Sunday afternoon. The game will start at 3 pm PST.

The Warriors meet the Atlanta Hawks Monday night in Atlanta. That game will begin at 4:30 pm PST.