Category: NBA

Warriors cruise past Clippers 121-104 in Game 1; Curry passes Allen for most career threes

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers kicked off their first-round series. Game 1 was at Oracle Arena on Saturday night.

The Warriors’ starters were Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and DeMarcus Cousins.

The Oracle was Roaracle due to the loud cheers and chants from Dub Nation. The game went underway and Cousins scored the first bucket of the NBA playoffs at the 10:45 mark of the first quarter after trailing 3-0 at first. Durant dropped back-to-back dimes with 8:45 left in the first. Cousins continued shooting his shots and then Green contributed his shots. Green was a perfect 5-5 in field goals. The Warriors led 36-27 at the end of the first.

The Warriors turned offense into art in the second quarter. Curry played beautiful basketball. Durant scored a bucket, and with that bucket, Durant (3,665) passed Dirk Nowitzki (3,663) for 15th place on the NBA all-time career playoffs points scored list. Check out the bucket below.

Andre Iguodala threw it down late in the second, and the Warriors took a 69-56 lead to the locker room at halftime.
The Warriors gave a shoutout to Kaiser Permamente for providing Dub Nation with customized Gold and Royal Blue playoff shirts.

The Warriors returned to action in the third quarter. Curry got the crowd pumping with his three-pointers, some of which were long distance threes. Aside from Curry, who passed Ray Allen for most career threes, the Warriors turned defense into offense as Iguodala forced a turnover and threw down a dunk that could’ve broke the rim.

Curry proceeded to shoot threes in the fourth quarter, and the Warriors blew out the Clippers 121-104 for a 1-0 series lead. The Clippers are down 0-1.

Curry led the Warriors with 38 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and one block. Durant had 23 points, four rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal. Draymond Green had 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, one block and one steal. Klay Thompson had 12 points, two assists, two blocks, one rebound and one steal. DeMarcus Cousins had nine points, nine rebounds, four assists and one steal. Andre Iguodala had eight points, seven rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals. Kevon Looney had six points, five rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block. Andrew Bogut had three points, one rebound, one assist and one block. Alfonzo McKinnie had three points and one block. Quinn Cook had two points, one rebounds and one steal.

The Warriors and Clippers face off in Game 2 on Monday night at 7:30 pm PT. The game will be broadcast on NSBA, TNT and FSPT.

Help Wanted: Head Coach for Sacramento Kings – experience preferred

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
SAC vlade
Vlade Divac Photo: @NBCS

by Charlie O. Mallonee

On Thursday morning, the Sacramento Kings announced that the contract of General Manager Vlade Divac had been extended through the 2022-23 season. That certainly appeared to be good news as it means there will stability in the upper management of the Kings organization for the next four seasons.

Divac made some big moves quickly

First, he fired assistant general manager Brandon Williams. Williams had been the focus of controversy since last December when coach Dave Joerger threw him out of the Kings practice facility. Joerger believed that Williams was trying to have him fired for not using Marvin Bagley III and Harry Giles III properly in games.

The unresolved tension between Joerger and Williams hung in the background of the basketball operation all season long. No one really talked about the problem, but everyone knew it existed and was unresolved. That changed Thursday morning.

One down – one to go

SAC joerger
Ex-Sacramento head coach Dave Joerger Photo: @NBCS

After Divac sent Williams packing, there was some thought that Dave Joerger may have won the battle over Williams. Then the word came down, Joerger had been summoned to Divac’s office and the rumor leaked that Joerger was going to get a pink slip.

It did not take long for the news to be confirmed. Joerger had indeed been fired, and the Kings were in the market for a new head coach following their most successful season in a decade.

Divac tried to explain things in a press conference

Here are the highlights of his comments:

  • Divac thanked Joerger for being a “good teammate” and for a job well done over his three years as head coach.
  • Divac also expressed that he had been evaluating the team since the All-Star Break and how they could rise to the next level.
  • The Kings GM also expressed that he thought the team could have (reporters emphasis: should have) made the playoffs this season.
  • He was very clear that taking things to the next level meant going into the playoffs.
  • Divac made it very clear that the decision to fire Joerger was his and his alone. He did indicate that he had informed ownership of his decision.
  • The GM feels the Kings timing is good because they have plenty of time before the draft and free agency begins to get a new coach in place.
  • Divac – to no one’s surprise did not name any potential candidates for head coach. Most reporters and analyst believe that Luke Walton is the number one target on Kings’ list even though he is still employed by the Lakers as of today.
  • Divac also stated that Williams will not be replaced. His duties will be absorbed by Peja Stojakovic and Ken Catanella.
SAC Walton
Next head coach of the Kings? Photo: @NBCS

Joerger did not do much to save his job

In this reporter’s opinion, Dave Joerger did not make a full court press to keep his job as head coach of the Sacramento Kings. His team went a pitiful 3-7 in their final 10 games in their effort to finish 41-41. When he should have been angry and ready to tear someone’s head off, Joerger remained stoic and apologetic for his team.

I think Joerger knew he was “a dead man walking” and had moved into a role of caretaker until the end of the season. It really is a sad ending to what was three years of hard work by Joerger and his coaching staff.

What’s next

The search and interviews begin. The Kings hope that they will be able to wrap up their coaching search quickly and with positive results.

Headline Sports with Tony Renteria: Curry is expected back by game one of the playoffs; Kings fire Joerger, Walton most likely successor; plus more

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Photo credit: @theScore

On Headline Sports podcast with Tony:

#1 The Golden State Warriors say that Stephen Curry is day to day after he rolled his ankle in New Orleans on Tuesday night. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says that Curry should be back by the first game of the NBA playoffs.

#2 Sacramento Kings fired head coach Dave Joerger Thursday after three losing seasons. The firing most likely will be an open door for Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton to take over the coaching job in Sacramento. Wednesday was the last day of the regular season for the Sacramento Kings. They grew, they had won 12 more games than last season, and they have a core of players that are much improved over last season. Tony tells us what the Kings will do to get a viable shot at the playoffs for next season.

#3 It was kind of historical in Boston on Tuesday night when members of the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots made an appearance on the field before the Sox ball game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Both teams were showing their Championship trophies as both teams won Championships in the first year.

#4 Two players from Bay Area schools were drafted on Wednesday by the WNBA. From Cal, Kristine Anigwe, who was named Defensive Player of the Year, and from the Stanford Cardinal, Alanna Smith. It has to be a pretty big honor for these players to get to the next level and play in the WNBA.

#5 The A’s won another series this time over the Baltimore Orioles on this current road trip after getting swept in Houston by the Astros to start the trip. The A’s defeated the O’s in the four game series and head to Texas to open a three game series with the Rangers starting on Friday night.

Tony does the Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings miss 40 wins by just five points!

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
TB2
Photo/graphic: @NBCS

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings went to Portland on Wednesday night with the opportunity win their 40th game of the 2018-19 season which would have been the first time a Kings team had recorded 40 wins since 2005-06. Much to the chagrin of the multitude of Kings fans, the 40th win did not happen.

Portland decided to rest all of their starters and most of their key second team players. That gave the Kings a significant advantage in their quest to reach 40 wins.

A Record-Setting First Half

TB3
Buddy Hield hits his 600th 3-pointer in 3 seasons @ NBCS

The Kings started the game on fire. They scored a franchise record 87 points in the first half falling just three points short of tying the NBA record for the most points scored in the opening 24 minutes of an NBA game. They shot an incredible 66.7-percent (32/48) from the field. They hit 13-of-20 (65%) of their 3-point shots.

De’Aaron Fox scored 17 points. Rookie Marvin Bagley III scored 16 points in just over 14-minutes on the floor. Harrison Barnes, Nemanja Bjelica and Bogdan Bogdanovic all scored 10 points each in the first half.

The Kings went to the locker room at halftime with an 87-62 lead. It appeared that everything was going Sacramento’s way and that win number 40 was only 24 minutes away.

Coach Joerger’s Big Decision

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Maybe that wasn’t a good idea Photo: @NBCS

Head coach Dave Joerger decided that all of his starters would not play in the second half of the game on Wednesday night. That in part may have been a tribute to the job well done by the starters and giving a well-deserved opportunity to the second team and reserves. The problem is the plan did not work.

The Trail Blazers outscored the Kings 36-26 in the third quarter and cut the Kings lead to 15 points. As the Kings went to the fourth period, you might have expected Joerger to have reinserted Hield and Fox to reenergize his team’s scoring attack. He did not do that.

Joerger chose to stay with his reserves and that decision did not go well for the team.

The Final Quarter

Portland scored 38 points in the fourth quarter while the Kings only managed to put 18 points in the book. Anfernee Simons led the Trail Blazers scoring attack with 12 points. Frank Mason scored 10 for the Kings.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Trail Blazers had defeated the Kings 136-131.

Top Performers

Portland

  • Anfernee Simons led all scorers with 37 points.
  • Former Kings player Skal Labissiere put up 27 points against his old mates. Skal made it a double-double by grabbing 15 rebounds.
  • Jake Layman, Meyers Leonard, and Gary Trent, Jr. all scored 19 points each in the contest.

Kings

  • The Kings leading scorer was Marvin Bagley III with 20 points and nine rebounds. The rookie has had an incredible season.
  • De’Aaron Fox and Yogi Ferrell scored 17 points each.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic and Frank Mason III both scored 15 points in the game.

One Big Question to Ask

In his exit interview, this reporter thinks that head coach Dave Joerger needs to be asked why he did not do more to get win number 40 on Wednesday night. The psychological lift for the team and fans of crossing over into the 40 win plateau would have been huge. Joerger needs to be held accountable for letting that opportunity get away.

In the meantime, the NBA Draft is 72 days away.

Warriors wrap up regular season with 132-117 loss to Grizzlies

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors closed out the 2019 regular season on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum on Wednesday night. Warrior fans were in attendance to get some autographs from the players, including Andrew Bogut, and of course, watch some pregame hoops before the tipoff.

The Warriors were locked in and ready to take on the Grizzlies in game 82. The Warriors’ starting five featured Quinn Cook, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jordan Bell, and Andrew Bogut.

The Warriors started things off with a fiery play that had Warrior fans talking amongst themselves. Andrew Bogut passed the ball to Kevin Durant, who passed the ball over to Jordan Bell, who tossed a two-point bucket on a no-look at the 11-minute mark of the first quarter.

Quinn Cook drew attention to himself as he hit a three-pointer with 7:52 left in the first. With the three, Cook upped his point total to 500 and counting.

Klay Thompson also drew attention to himself. Thompson appeared in his 615th career game and passed Purvis Short (614) for the 10th most regular season games played in Warriors’ history. Thompson’s the Warriors’ all-time leader in postseason games played with 102.

Speaking of Thompson, the big man hit back-to-back threes to put the Warriors up with 5:23 left in the first. Thompson then added a bucket.

Thompson hit another three to make it a one-point game with 2:11 left in the first. With the three, the Warriors knocked down a total of 1,078 threes this season for a new franchise record.

Despite all the highlight reel worthy moments, the Warriors trailed 86-68 at the end of the first half.

Things didn’t get any better for the Warriors, who trailed 114-90 at the end of the third quarter. But at least there was a silver lining when Jonas Jerebko rose up for a two-handed flush with 1:21 left in the third.

The Warriors outscored the Grizzlies 27-18 in the fourth quarter, but put a wrap on the regular season with a 132-117 loss.

The Warriors finish with a 57-25 record, while the Grizzlies finish with a 33-29 record.

Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 21 points, six rebounds, and one steal. Klay Thompson had 19 points, three assists, one steal, and one block. Jordan Bell had 15 points, eight rebounds, and one block. Marcus Derrickson had 13 points and two rebounds. Damion Lee had 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Quinn Cook had 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Jacob Evans had eight points, four assists, and three rebounds. Jonas Jerebko had six points, three rebounds, three assists, and one block. Kevon Looney had six points, three rebounds, and three assists. Andre Iguodala had five points and five assists. Alfonso McKinnie had four points and three rebounds. Andrew Bogut added six rebounds, two blocks, and one steal.

The Warriors get ready for the postseason as they await their first round opponent.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: Do the Giants have a shot at being viable this season?; Puig tries to take on the whole Pirates team in brawl; plus more

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Photo credit: @BruceBochy

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi Gonzalez:

#1 It’s early in the season, but do the San Francisco Giants (4-8) have the players it takes to get out of the cellar and make this a viable season?

#2 The Cincinnati Reds’ Yasiel Puig wasted no time making things happen between himself and the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. After Chris Archer Pirates pitcher hit the Reds’ Derek Dietrich in the backside, Dietrich took exception to getting hit and started jawing at Archer at that point both benches emptied and Reds star Yasiel Puig tried to take on the entire Pirates team.

#3 Talk about the Kyrie Irving-Kevin Durant paring at the New York Knicks for next season. How will this important would a tandem like this be for the Knicks and how will it impact Golden State?

#4 The Oakland A’s, who won three of four from the Boston Red Sox, went out on the road and got swept in three games from the Houston Astros. The A’s still made the third game competitive with a one run loss. The Astros played catch up ball in order to win. The A’s lost the first game 12-4 of the four game series in Baltimore. In game two the A’s got a 13-2 win on Tuesday night.

#5 Oracle Arena is the home of many memories for fans, reporters, players and coaches Sunday. Was the last regular season game for Golden State what did you take away from 47 years of sports events at the arena in Oakland?

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi Gonzalez, who does News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Team effort a factor in Warriors’ 112-103 win over Pelicans

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors had hoped to make it six wins in a row just moments before their game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday night. They did just that.

The Warriors’ starting five featured Stephen Curry, Jacob Evans, Draymond Green, Alfonzo McKinnie, and DeMarcus Cousins. The Warriors were well-aware that it was go time in the Big Easy.

It was a low scoring first quarter. The Pelicans were up 6-5 with 5:50 left in the first. However, DeMarcus Cousins threw down a dunk to score two points and lift the Warriors to a 7-5 lead with 5:47 left in the first. Both teams battled it out in the first, but New Orleans held a 19-18 lead at the end of the first. Meanwhile, Golden State received bad news as Steph Curry suffered a mild right foot sprain and didn’t return to the hardwood Tuesday.

Both teams proceeded to battle it out in the second quarter. Jacob Evans made a notable steal and ran down the court to make a layup, but it was unsuccessful. Though, Jonas Jerebko was at the right place at the right time and finished around the basket for a sweet layup with 7:33 left in the second. The Warriors outscored the Pelicans 38-37 in the second and tied the game 56-56 at the end of the first half.

The game shifted in favor of the Warriors in the third quarter. Jacob Evans went coast to coast in his first career start as a shooting guard. Evans was drafted 28th overall by the Warriors in the 2018 NBA Draft. Evans played college basketball at Cincinnati from 2015-18.

Anyways, DeMarcus Cousins scored his 12,000th career point. Cousins made a two-point bucket to help the Warriors get out of a tie and move ahead 71-69 with 5:47 left in the third. Cousins has been playing pro basketball since 2010.

The Warriors got their first double digit lead of the game 95-85 with 9:50 left in the fourth quarter. Also, Damion Lee hit a three-pointer and upped his season point total to 17 with 8:25 left in the fourth.

Quinn Cook caught the attention of a lot of folks when he threw a shot that went off the window. Cook expanded the Warriors’ lead to 107-94 with 4:12 left in the fourth.

Both teams scored 24 points apiece in the fourth, but the Warriors came out on top for the 112-103 win.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Warrriors with 21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block. Damion Lee had 20 points, seven rebounds, and one steal. Quinn Cook had 19 points, three assists, and two rebounds. Jacob Evans had 11 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists, and two blocks. Alfonzo McKinnie had 10 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. Jordan Bell had 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Jonas Jerebko had seven points, three assists, and two rebounds. Marcus Derrickson had five points and three rebounds. Steph Curry had five points. Kevon Looney had four points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Draymond Green had six rebounds and two assists. Shaun Livingston added 3 rebounds.

The Warriors wrap up the regular season against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 5:00 pm PT.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Will Joerger return to Kings next season?; Kings have improved over last season

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Photo credit: @James_HamNBCS

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie, what’s your biggest takeaway from this season as the Kings finish below .500 (39-42)?

#2 The Kings head coach Dave Joerger had been the subject of discussion. There had been talk that he will be back next season and also talk that the Minnesota Timberwolves are interested in his handy work as well. After Sunday’s game, Joerger said that while he’s a Minnesota kid, his focus is with the Kings.

#3 There is that great feel the Kings had taking 12 more wins than what they finished with from last season. Although the playoffs alluded them, they are a couple players away from the postseason next year.

#4  The Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and team general manager Vlade Divak are noted friends with Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton would he be a possibility.

#5 The Kings De’Aaron Fox finished Sunday’s game with 24 points, six rebounds and 11 assists. Charlie talks about the kind of season that Fox had.

Charlie O did the Kings podcasts each week throughout the 2018-19 season join for the Oakland A’s podcasts each Tuesday starting next week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors sow up the top seed throughout playoffs; Also, a virtual audio review of Dave’s Oracle experiences

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 With the win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, the Golden State Warriors assured themselves the number one seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.

#2 Dave talks about his own personal experience attending games at the Oracle Arena. Oracle was the site of the Warriors home from 1967-2019. The Warriors open up at their new arena Chase Center next season, where the cheapest ticket for a walk up is said to be $300.

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings fall to Pelicans 133-129

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: London Marq

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It has been a unique season this year for the Sacramento Kings. For the first time in a long time, there is the sense that the Kings have taken a major step forward. Going into the last home game of the season, the Kings have 12 more wins than last year and a great group of young developing talent. Although the playoffs elude the team, again, there is confidence that the Kings will get back to the postseason.

Th Kings had the New Orleans Pelicans on tap for the final game of the season. Opening the game, the Kings came out with a strong first quarter that ended with the Kings leading 39-32. De’Aaron Fox made a impact early, including an impact steal for the breakaway score, Fox would end the game with a hearty 24 points, 6 rebounds and 11 assists.

The second quarter was where the Kings had some defensive woes. The Pelicans were able to capitalize and outscore the Kings 34-29 in the second, but the Kings still held a 2-point advantage going into halftime.

Unfortunately for the Kings, the defense failed to improve and they would be outscored in the both second half quarters as well. Pelicans guard Ian Clark led all scorers with 31 points. Harrison Barnes was the Kings’ leading scorer with 29 points.

The Kings wrapped up the final home game with a 4-point 133-129 loss, which was indicative of their competitive season that came up just short of the playoffs.

The Kings are looking forward to the future. They missed the playoffs this year, but next season, we will hopefully see the franchise end their playoff drought and bring the Kings back to relevance.

Final: New Orleans defeated Sacramento 133-129.

Up Next: Sacramento wraps up the 2019 season at Portland on Wednesday, April 10. Game time set for 7:30 pm PT.