Mavericks trounce the Warriors 142-94

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Dallas Mavericks overpowered the short-handed Warriors 142-94 Wednesday night in Dallas. The Warriors, down to eight healthy players, were not able to handle the Mavericks. They could not stop the Mavs’ offense, and they had trouble putting the ball in the basket while on offense.

The Mavs’ were led by the second-year star, Luka Doncic. Doncic outscored the W’s 22-16 in the first period. The Mavs finished the quarter leading 44-26. The game was over for all intents and purposes. The Mavs continued the onslaught in the second quarter and finished the first half with a 38-point advantage 74-36. The W’s were done, but they still had to play the second half.

Dallas did not let up. They won the second half 68-56 to hand the Warriors their worst loss since a playoff game in the 1973 season. The Warriors dropped to 3-13 while Dallas Improved to 9-5.

Game Notes- Luka Doncic led his team with 35 points. He had 10 rebounds and 11 assists for his second straight triple-double and seventh of the young season. He had help from Kristaps Porzingis with 14 points and 10 boards. Tim Hardaway, Jr had 20, and Jalen Brunson, a former teammate of Omari Spellman and Eric Paschall at Villanova, finished the night with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Mavs shot 57% from the floor and made 22 threes in 38 tries.

The Warriors were led by Eric Paschall’s 22 points and 7 rebounds. Ky Bowman had 16. Alec Burks, Omari Spellman, Marquis Chriss, and Kordan Poole all had 11 in a losing effort. All eight of the players Steve Kerr sent into the game were with the team last year. Draymond Green was not available due to soreness in his right heel. The W’s shot 39% from the floor, and they made 7 threes in 27 attempts.

The Warriors’ head coach, Steve Kerr, speaking about the devastating drubbing, said to “flush it down the toilet.” The Warriors are off on Thursday. They resume play Friday night in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz.

 

Bogi’s Big Night: Kings creep closer to .500, beat the Suns 120-116

By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO — The Suns have come down to earth. And the Kings–playing more deliberate while applying the D–are ascending.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a career-best 31 points and the Kings survived a furious, fourth quarter rally from the Suns in a 120-116 victory on Tuesday.

After an 0-5 start–including an embarrasing 29-point loss in Phoenix on opening night–the Kings have won six of eight, and their goal of ending the NBA’s longest playoff drought is back on the table.

With the Warriors, Thunder, Blazers and Spurs in various states of disrepair, Western Conference playoff spots are up for grabs.  Phoenix (last appearance: 2010) and Sacramento (2006) own the lengthiest postseason absences along with the most promise for putting an end to the droughts this season.

The Suns started the season fast with five wins and two one-point losses under the direction of new coach Monty Williams. But DeAndre Ayton’s suspension and some difficult opponents have slowed their momentum. Meanwhile, the Kings have turned it around with defense, and relying on their depth under the tutelage of Luke Walton.

Bogdanovic, getting increased playing time in place of injured point guard De’Aaron Fox, got hot in the second quarter, scoring 18 points as the Kings’ lead swelled to 26. But Phoenix finally responded in a 41-point, fourth quarter that pulled them within 116-113 with 14.2 seconds remaining.

Richaun Holmes and Yogi Ferrell both made a pair of free throws in the final seconds to keep the Kings from an embarrassing outcome.

“It felt like to me that we started to stat-hunt a little bit,” Walton said of the near collapse. “When we continued to run our plays we got wide open everything. When we got stagnant their zone stopped us.”

The Kings limited Phoenix to 26 percent shooting in the first quarter, and the possibility of them holding a fourth, consecutive opponent to less than 100 points seemed doable. They also blocked seven shots, and had seven steals, but this was an important ballgame for both clubs. The Suns’ furious rally, and offensive emergence confirmed that.

“We changed up our defenses a little bit but they hit tough shots after tough shots,” Williams said. “But I just loved the fight of our team.”

“We kind of were ‘OK, we got it,'” Bogdanovich said. “It’s the NBA. You have to be ready to lock in and finish the game.”

Holmes finished with 20 points and a career-best 15 rebounds. Bodganovich hit 7 3-pointers for the first time in his career, but missed the final minutes with a hamstring issue. Cory Joseph dished out 14 assists, also a career-high.

Phoenix’s Aaron Baynes, the journeyman center turned 3-point sensation missed the game with a hip injury. Ricky Rubio was available after missing the previous night’s game in Phoenix against Boston, but couldn’t provide much help. Rubio played just 18 minutes and missed all seven of his shots from the floor.

Devin Booker started slow, drew a technical foul, but finished fast with 30 points to lead the Suns. Kelly Oubre and Mikal Bridges had 20 points each.

Warriors cruise past the Grizzlies 114-95 in Memphis

Photo credit: @warriors

By Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors looked to snap a 7-game losing skid and they did just that on Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum.

The Warriors’ starting five featured Alec Burks, Draymond Green, Glenn Robinson III, Eric Paschall and Willie Cauley-Stein. The Warriors were ready to rock as they took the floor.

The Warriors’ defense got off to a good start. Draymond Green went out of the group and ran with Robinson III to hammer down an alley-oop to extend the Warriors’ lead to 12-5 with 8:41 left in the first quarter. Moreover, with two blocks Tuesday, Green (583) passed Andris Biedrins (580) for fifth on the Warriors’ all-time blocks list.

Despite the Warriors’ positives, Memphis barely led 30-28 at the end of the first.

But the Warriors stormed back scoring 33 points in the second quarter. The Warriors took a 61-46 lead to the locker room at the end of the first half.

Willie Cauley-Stein made some sweet shots to open the second half. Also, Golden State made some 3-pointers the hard way with slips and falls in the process. In addition, Eric Paschall made a baseline jump for the step back with 8:17 left in the fourth quarter. Paschall, in my opinion, could take Green’s place in the future, but we’ll see what happens. Green reportedly believes Paschall doesn’t know his NBA game yet. Yet, it’s debatable because Paschall has been averaging 16.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

The Warriors’ largest lead of the night occurred in the fourth with 5:44 left in regulation, thanks to Robinson III and Cauley-Stein.

The Warriors scored 31 points in the fourth to put the game out of reach for the Grizzlies. Golden State won by a final score of 114-95. With the win, Golden State is now 3-2, while Memphis falls to 5-9.

Alec Burk led the Warriors with 29 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Glenn Robinson III had 20 points, 2 assists and 1 rebound. Marquese Chriss scored 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocks. Eric Paschall added 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block.

The Warriors meet the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 4:30 pm PST.

Headline Sports with Barbara Mason: 49ers will have to step it up against Green Bay on Sunday; Raiders squeeze by winless Bengals; plus more

sfgate photo: San Francisco 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo looks to pass in 4th quarter of Niners’ 36-26 win over Arizona Cardinals in NFL game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, November 17, 2019.

On Headline Sports with Barbara:

#1 The San Francisco 49ers cut it close in their last two games vs. Seattle and Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals in a last minute comeback touchdown to squeak it out.

#2 The Oakland Raiders just got by the Cincinnati Bengals in a 17-10 win. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr threw 25-29, 292 yards, one touchdown, and an interception.

#3 A tough loss in New Orleans as the Golden State Warriors dropped a 108-100 contest to the Pelicans Sunday but tonight they finally pulled off a win against the Memphis Grizzlies 114-95 ending a seven game loss streak.

#4 The Sacramento Kings just got by the Boston Celtics 100-99. The Kings have to thank Buddy Hield, who scored 35 points on Sunday at Golden 1 Center.

#5 The #3 Stanford women came up with a huge victory over Gonzaga 76-70 in overtime. Lexie Hull scored 20 points of 22 after halftime.

Join Barbara for Headline Sports each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings win 5 of 7, look to keep it going tonight against the Suns

Photo credit: skysports.com

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Kings have won five of their last seven games. What has been the difference for the Kings — coaching, accurate shooting, or great defense?

#2 The Kings just got by the Celtics on Sunday 100-99. How stunning was that?

#3 The Kings’ Buddy Hield responded with 35 points. He was the deal breaker in the Kings’ win on Sunday.

#4 In the first quarter, the Kings’ Buddy Hield and Nemanja Bjelica had nine and seven points and the Kings had a 30-18 lead coming out of the first quarter on Sunday on the Celtics.

#5 The Kings host the Phoenix Suns tonight night at Golden 1 Center. Charlie O sets this one up for us.

Sacramento Kings podcasts with Charlie O are heard each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Despite nine healthy players, Warriors fall to the Pelicans 108-100

Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors’ miseries continued Sunday night as the team, who has just nine players available, lost to the New Orleans Pelicans 108-100 at Smoothie King Center.

Warriors starting point guard, D’Angelo Russell, suffered a sprained right thumb Friday night in the loss to Boston. Russell will be out for the next two weeks. As a result, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had to redo his starting lineup. He had Draymond Green start at the point guard position. He was joined in the backcourt by Alec Burks. Eric Paschall and Glenn Robinson III started at forward, and Willie Cauley-Stein was at the center position.

The Warriors were competitive in the first quarter. They trailed 26-23. The Pelicans’ JJ Redick led the Pelicans to the three-point advantage. The Pelicans outscored the Warriors 29-26 in the second period to finish the first half of play leading 55-49.

The Pelicans continued to control the game as they built a 17-point lead. The Warriors got things going as they cut the deficit to three 77-74 early in the fourth quarter. The Warriors did not have enough firepower in the lineup to overtake the Pelicans down the stretch. The Pelicans held on to win 108-100.

Game Notes and Stats: The star of the night for Golden State was rookie Eric Paschall. The young man, who played college basketball at Vilanova, continued to impress as he tallied 30 points and had 7 rebounds. The backup point guard, Ky Bowman, knocked down 19. He was 3 for 7 from 3-point range. Bowman had 4 assists in the game. Marquese Chriss, coming off the bench, had 10 points and 7 boards. Glenn Robinson had 14 points and 6 rebounds. Draymond Green had a tough night as a point guard. Green scored seven, had 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. He was also charged with his fourth technical foul of the season.

The Pelicans had six players in double figures. JJ Redick led his team with 26 points. Redick connected on six three-pointers. The other guard, Jrue Holiday, had trouble scoring throughout most of the game. Holiday caught fire late and ended with 22 for the night. Nickeil Alexander-Walker knocked down 19. He made 5 threes. Nicolo Melli had 16. E’Tuan Moore had 10. Six-foot-11 inch Jaxson Hayes, making his first start in the NBA, had a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. He also blocked three shots.

After the game, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had this to say:

“There are some funky lineups that are out there because of our injuries, and we’re short on shooting … If you can’t spread the floor shooting, you’ve got to be able to play with pace and make all the cuts. You’ve got to play faster. You have to get stops defensively so you can run.”

“I didn’t think we did a very good job of making New Orleans guard,” Kerr added. “We just kind of took quick shots.”

With the loss, the Warriors fell to 2-12. The Pelicans improved to 4-9.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Memphis Grizzlies Tuesday night. Game time will be at 5 pm PST.

Kings stun the Celtics 100-99 at home

Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — Sunday was going to be a test for the Sacramento Kings. Their Sunday opponent was the Boston Celtics. The Celtics have started out the season 10-1 and were on a 10-game win streak. It has been well-documented how the Kings started their season. However, the Kings have played much better as of late. The Kings were 4-7 on the year and looking for an upset at home. The tip-off was set for 12:30 PM PST in Sacramento.

The Kings played one of the best quarters of the season to open up the game. Led by Buddy Hield and Nemanja Bjeilica, who had 9 and 7 points, respectively, the Kings would jump out to an early lead 30-18. Leading the way for the Celtics was Jaylen Brown, who had a Celtics-leading 6 points heading into the second quarter. The Kings played really well throughout the opening quarter. The key for the Kings has been the defensive play. When the Kings play good defense, the rest seems to fall into place.

In the second quarter, the Kings didn’t play as well but part of that has to be contributed to the Celtics hitting their shots. Leading the way for the Celtics in the second was Semi Ojeleye. Semi had 8 points in the second to help bring the Celtics closer to the Kings. Going into halftime, the Kings remained in the lead at 50-46. Buddy Hield continued his good play finishing the half at 16 points. Headed into the second half the Kings were looking to keep the game under their control and not let the Celtics flip the script.

In the second half, the Kings were looking to stay on track. It would turn out to be a fairly competitive back and forth third quarter. The Kings didn’t melt down, which has been an issue in the third this year. However, they were unable to maintain the lead. The Celtics managed to put up 29 points in the third compared to the Kings’ 21 to take a 75-71. Buddy Hield continued his torrid stretch from the field, adding 11 points to his total in the third.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Kings had a shot to win the game against one of the best teams in the NBA. Both teams would trade baskets and keep even through the quarter. The game would come down to the final few minutes of action. With 36 seconds left in the game, the Kings’ Buddy Hield threw the ball out of bounds to make it 99-98 Celtics with the ball. The Celtics were unable to score and Marcus Smart had a foul on the Kings’ Holmes. He made both his free throws and the Celtics failed to score on the other end for a Kings win.

It was a great victory for the Kings, who snapped the Celtics’ win streak and improved to 5-7 on the year. The next game for the Kings will be Tuesday against the Suns at home. Game time set for 7:00 PM PST.

Kings come up two points short, lose to the Lakers 99-97

LAK 2
Graphic: @NBCS

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings trailed the LA Lakers 99-97 with 5.5 seconds to go in the game on Friday night at Staples Center. After designing a play during a timeout, most of the crowd expected the ball to go to Bogdan Bogdanovic in order for “Bogi” to attempt a game-winning 3-point shot. Instead, the inbounds pass went to Harrison Barnes who slipped or was tripped on his way to the bucket.

Barnes went up in the air and was met head-on by Anthony Davis who blocked his potential layup. There was a lot of body contact, but because Barnes was out of control from the slip (or trip) no foul was called. Time expired and the Kings (4-7) had lost the game by two points.

I am now going to interject an editorial opinion. If the play had been the other way around with Davis driving on the hoop, slipping and Barnes making contact, a foul would have been called and Davis would have gone to the line to shoot two free throws. That is the inequity of officiating in the NBA. If you are a superstar and playing on your home court, the calls will always go your way. It is a major flaw that needs to be fixed but don’t hold your breath. No changes are coming anytime soon.

Spotlight on the Lakers (10-2)

  • LeBron James scored a game-high 29 points and made it a double-double game by dishing out 11 assists. He also played a game-high 38 minutes and 40 seconds. Not bad for an old guy.
  • Anthony Davis added 17 points and blocked four shots. His most important blocked shot came at the end of the game.
  • Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 16 points in just over 24 minutes of playing time. He went 3-for-5 from 3-point range.
  • Kyle Kuzma came off the bench to put up 13 points and hauling in five rebounds.
  • The Lakers outscored the Kings in the paint 42-36.
  • LA also won the battle of 2nd Chance Points 15-5.

Focus on the Kings

  • Buddy Hield led the Kings scoring attack with 21 points. Hield shot 6-for-15 from the floor. All six of his baskets were 3-pointers.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic played almost 37 minutes on Friday night. He scored 18 points shooting 7-for-13 from the floor.
  • Richaun Holmes had a big game on offense and defense. Holmes scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds against the Lakers.

Up Next

The Kings will host the Boston Celtics at the Golden 1 Center on Sunday at 12:30 PM.

The Lakers host the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

Warriors lose a hard-fought game to the Celtics, 105-100

Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO — The young Warriors, with six players not available due to injury, gave the Boston Celtics all they could handle Friday night. The game wasn’t decided until the last few seconds of the fourth quarter. The Celtics went on a late 11-0 run en route to a 105-100 win.

The Warriors lost their best scorer, D’Angelo Russell, in the third quarter when he sustained a sprained right thumb. He went to the locker room and did not return. Rookie Eric Paschall suffered a right hand injury, but he was able to stay in the game.

The Celtics entered Chase Center with the best record in the NBA 10-1. They were facing the team with the worst record, the Warriors (2-10). The way the game went, one wouldn’t have known which team had the best record. The Warriors scrapped all the way. They played defense, and every Warrior on the floor gave his all in the losing effort. Their effort likely pleased head coach Steve Kerr. They suffered a blowout loss Wednesday night against the Lakers in LA. They bounced back Friday night and put everything they had on the floor on Friday.

The Warriors played a very exciting first quarter. They outscored Boston 32-23. They led by 15 points 25-10 midway through the quarter. The Celtics bounced back, but weren’t able to catch the Warriors as they trailed by nine at the end of the period. The tide turned in Boston’s favor in the second quarter. The Celtics’ defense held the Warriors to 19 points. The Celtics scored 29 and finished the first half with a one-point advantage 52-51. Jayson Tatum led the Celtic attack with 17 points. Marcus Smart had nine. Jaylen Brown 8, and Kemba Walker, the team’s leading scorer, had 6. The Warriors were led by Eric Paschall’s 11, D’Angelo Russell 10, and Alec Burks 9.

The Celtics held the Warriors to 20 points in the third quarter. They scored 24 to increase the lead to 76-71 at the end of the period.

The Warriors refused to roll over. They played hard, and players such as Ky Bowman, Omari Spellman, Alec Burks, and Eric Paschall made vital buckets to keep the Warriors in the game. They tied the game at 80 and again at 88. The Warriors owned a five-point advantage 97-92 with  two minutes and 29 seconds left to play. It was at this point that the Celtics went on an 11-0 run to lead 103-97. Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker were the key Celtics making plays during the 11-0 run. The Warriors made a three to trail 1-3-100 with 3.5 seconds left. Boston made two free throws to ice the win.

Game Notes: Alec Burks led the Warriors with 20 points. Eric Paschall had 16 points and 8 boards. Draymond Green had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. D’Angelo Russell finished with 12 points, Willie Cauley-Stein had 10 points and 8 boards. Omari Spellman had 8, Ky Bowman had 6, and Jordan Poole had 4.

Boston was led by Jayson Tatum’s 24 points, Kemba Walker found his game in the fourth quarter, and he finished with 20 points. Jaylen Brown had 22 points, and Marcus Smart had 15 points.

The Warriors lost their sixth in a row and are now 2-11 for the year. The Celtics won their 10th in a row and are now 10-1.

Up Next: The Warriors travel to New Orleans to face the Pelicans Sunday at 4 pm PT.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Washington sending scout to watch Kaepernick practice; 49ers look to get back in win column Sunday against Arizona; plus more

photo from tmz: Seeking work in the NFL Colin Kaepernick will be trying out his handwork this week in his quest for an NFL job.

On Headlines with Tony Renteria:

#1 Washington is one of the NFL teams that will be taking a look at quarterback Colin Kaepernick for his tryouts to get back on an NFL team. It was mentioned that Washington might not be interested in Kaepernick because they have rookie Dwayne Haskins as a team starter.

#2 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals next. It’s just one day less to rest as the 49ers are coming off that tough loss on Monday Night Football to the Seattle Seahawks. After a loss like that, how quick do you see the 49ers regrouping?

#3 The Oakland Raiders just edged out the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football last week 26-24. The Raiders’ Derek Carr threw for 218 yards and went 21 for 31 with one touchdown.

#4 The Sacramento Kings are believing in themselves. They have won four of their last five games and are getting great offensive production from Bogdan Boganovic, Buddy Heild, Nemanja Bjelica, and Harrison Barnes.

#5 After former Houston Astros pitcher Mike Fiers said that the Astros were stealing signs during the 2017 season and 2017 World Series, how far down does the Astros’ credibility go down from here?

Tony Renteria does Headline Sports each Thursday for http://www.sportsradioservice.com