Category: NBA

Warriors bounce back to defeat the Pistons 121-114

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

One night after being embarrassed by the Dallas Mavericks, who handed the Golden State Warriors their worst loss in the Steve Kerr era, the Warriors able to down the Detroit Pistons 121-114 at Oracle Arena Sunday. Steph Curry, Andrew Bogut, and Shaun Livingston returned to action after having last night off. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr sat out DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Iguodala down for tonight’s game.

The teams played a very competitive first quarter. The Warriors won the quarter 29-28. The Warriors looked like the rather old Warriors as they outscored Detroit 34-21 to finish the first half 63-49. The fans knew things were going their way when Draymond Green hit a three-point shot at the buzzer.

The Warriors kept the momentum going in the third quarter, They owned the third quarter so many times this season, and it was no surprise that the scored another 34 points and increased the lead to 97-77 at the end of the period.

Usually, a 20-point lead heading into the final period means that the team with the advantage will win. The Pistons didn’t see things that way, and they rallied to come within a single-digit deficit. Curry displayed his Most Valuable Player on the Warriors’ status when he knocked down a three and blunted the Pistons’ momentum. The Pistons won the fourth quarter 37-24. The Warriors won 121-114.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, and coupled with the Denver Nuggets loss to the Indiana Pacers, the Warriors are back in first place in the Western Conference. With the win, the Warriors improve to 50-23. It was the sixth year in a row that the team has won 50 games, and that set a new franchise record.

The Pistons’ record fell to 37-36, and they are now in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

Before the game, the Warriors welcomed back Zaza Pachulia to Oracle Arena. Pachulia won two championships with the Warriors, and the fans gave him very warm reception as he was a fan favorite at Oracle. Klay Thompson presented him his championship ring. The team selected Thompson to do the honors as he is a close friend.

Steph Curry led the Warriors with 26 points. Thompson, who had a tough night against Dallas, bounced back with 24 points. Kevin Durant had a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists. Draymond Green had 14 points and 8 assists. Kevon Looney, coming off the bench, had 11. Shaun Livingston added 8. Quinn Cook finished with 7.

Blake Griffin led the Pistons with 24. Andre Drummond was the only other Piston starter in double figures with 12. Drummond also had 11 rebounds. Four Piston bench players were in double figures. Luke Kennard had 20, Ish Smith, 14, Thon Maker 12, and Langston Galloway 12. Pachulia, in his return to Oracle, had 4.

The Warriors made 46 buckets on 74 tries for a 62.2% shooting percentage. The Pistons were 39-for-84. The Warriors outrebounded the Pistons 37-39 and recorded 31 assists.

Up Next: The Warriors travel to Memphis to face the Grizzlies Wednesday night. Game time will be at 5 pm.

Kings fall to Lakers 111-106 in LA

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Photo credit: @Lakers

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

LOS ANGELES–The Sacramento Kings came into LA coming off a 3-1 homestand. They beat the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, and Chicago Bulls while only dropping one game. A heartbreaker in which they were up 25 going into the fourth quarter and lost by two points. All in all, the Kings were happy with what they were able to accomplish during the homestand. They were looking forward to attempting revenge on the Lakers as they have had the Kings’ number this year. The tip-off was set for 6:30 PM PST.

In the first quarter, the Kings were off to another slow start. Remembering back to a day earlier on Saturday where the Kings were only able to score 20 in the first quarter. Sunday was not much different. The Kings continued to struggle through the early minutes of the game. They were only able to put 20 points on the board on Sunday while allowing 22. The Lakers weren’t playing great either as both teams were struggling to put the ball in the bottom of the hoop. The leading scorer in the game was Marvin Bagley, who had seven points through the first.

In the second quarter, it looked like more of the same for the Kings. They were struggling to find their shot and looked to be falling further behind. However, the Kings were able to battle and put up 29 points to outscore the Lakers. The Lakers managed to score 26 in the second. The leading scorer in the second quarter was Lance Stephenson, who put up eight points in the second. If the Kings wanted to keep pace, they had to start knocking down some shots in the third.

In the third quarter, it didn’t look pretty as the Lakers started off the quarter with a 14-0 run to start the second half. Kyle Kuzma led the Lakers’ charge with 21 points in the third. Lebron James also made an impact in the third, scoring eight points to help rack up a 39-point third for the Lakers. On the other hand, the Kings scored 28, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace. Nemanja Bjelica and Marvin Bagley led the Kings with six and five points, respectively. The third ended with the Lakers leading 87-77. The Kings needed a big late-game push to have a chance.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings kept with tradition and made things interesting. To give the credit where credit is due, the Kings battled in the final minutes; however, the deficit they created in the previous minutes proved too large to overcome. The Kings fell to the Lakers in LA 111-106.

Up Next: The Kings travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks at 5:30 PM PST on Tuesday.

Kings make it two wins in a row with 112-103 win over Suns

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Photo credit: @NBCSKings

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings came into Saturday night’s game feeling good. After defeating the Dallas Mavericks two days ago, the Kings were looking to make it two in a row. The Pheonix Suns, who aren’t having a good season, have been playing better as of late and were looking to be a formidable opponent for the Kings. Tip-off was set for 7 PM Saturday night in Sacramento.

In the first quarter, it was all Suns. More specifically, it was all Devin Booker. Booker went on an absolute terror in the first quarter. He was 6-for-10 from the floor, scoring 15 points in the quarter. The next closest scorers were Nemanja Bjelica and Deandre Ayton with six points apiece. The Kings struggled to score all quarter, only putting up 19 points on 25 tries. On the other hand, the Suns scored 32 points on 24 attempts. The Kings didn’t seem to have much energy in the opening minutes of the game. In order to stay close, the Kings needed to pick up the energy going into the second quarter

In the early minutes of the second quarter, it appeared the Kings were headed for another disastrous quarter. However, with some key contributions from Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes, the Kings were able to lead by three with 1:33 remaining in the half with the Suns on top 48-45 Suns. At this point, the Kings looked to get greedy and grab the lead before going into halftime. Unfortunately, the Kings were unable to do so. A couple of baskets from the Suns led to a 53-47 lead going into halftime.

The Kings had to play with more energy in the second half if they wanted to come back and win at home. The Kings did just that in the third quarter. They came out of the locker room looking energized. The Kings scored 32 points in the quarter compared to the Suns’ 22. The Kings appeared to have put their first-half woes behind them and were ready to battle the game to the end with the Suns. Going into the final quarter, the Kings were ahead 79-75.

In the fourth quarter, both teams seemed determined to come away with the win. The Kings and Suns went back-and-forth in the early minutes of the quarter. It was so close that it was 110-97 in favor of the Kings with only 2:40 remaining in the game. The Kings were less than happy with the referees in the final quarter. Notably, Marvin Bagley, who hacked on a layup attempt, but it was a no call. The Kings regrouped with roughly 90 seconds left and went back to work. The play that sent the crowd into a frenzy was De’Aaron Fox’s dunk in transition after he stole the ball on a pass attempt. The Kings won 112-103.

Up Next: The Kings travel to LA to take on the Lakers on Sunday at 7 PM PST.

Mavericks pound the Warriors 126-91

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Dallas Mavericks, who have the second-worst record (28-44) in the Western Conference, started strong and wiped the floor with the Golden State Warriors. The Mavericks led from start to finish as they beat the Warriors on both ends of the court. They dominated on offense and dominated on defense. They made 21 three-point shots, one shy of the franchise record 22, and held the Warriors to four. That was the game in a nutshell. The Mavs’ 63-12 point advantage won the game for them.

To be fair, the Warriors were without Steph Curry, Andrew Bogut, and Shaun Livingston. The Warriors needed someone to step up and fill the void left by Curry not playing. That did not happen as Klay Thompson had a terrible shooting night and exited the contest with eight points.

The Mavs pounded the Warriors in the first 24 minutes of playing time. They led the Warriors 74-46. Kevin Durant with 18 and DeMarcus Cousins with 14 were the only Warrior players in double figures. Klay had 4, Draymond Green, and Quinn Cook each had 3. Jonas Jerebko, Alfonzo McKinnie, and Andre Iguodala failed to put a single point on the board. The Mavs’ 40-year old wonder, Dirk Nowitzki, who is retiring at the end of the season, tallied 10. Luka Doncic, who will be named Rookie of the Year at the end of the season, knocked down 15, and Maxi Kleber had 16. The Mavs shot 59% from the floor, and they were 13-for-27 from three-point range. The Warriors made two threes in 17 tries, and shot 36.7% from the field. Those numbers will not win games for a team.

It was a horrible first half for Golden State. As mentioned above, they had no offense, no defense, and players that needed to step up their game, failed to do so.

The Mavs kept their mojo going in the third period. The Warriors fell behind 102-65 when Warriors head coach Steve Kerr raised the white flag of surrender. It reminded me of the time many years ago when Roberto Duran stopped his fight by yelling to the referee “No Mas.” There were two minutes and 29 seconds left in the third period. The bench players finished the game, and they didn’t do much except run out the clock. The Mavs won 126-91.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the Warriors fall 1/2 game behind the Denver Nuggets for the best record in the Western Conference and home-court advantage. The Warriors have played better on the road than at home, and it may not be a problem. The Houston Rockets had the advantage last season, but the Warriors were able to beat the Rockets twice in Houston after trailing in the series 3 games to 2.

The Mavs had five players in double figures. Doncic led the onslaught with a triple-double. He had 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. He made four threes. Nowitzki finished with 21, and with the Basketball Hall of Fame in his future, made 5 threes. Kleber had 16, Ryan Broekhoff 17, and Try Burke 13. The Warriors’ Kevin Durant had 25, and Marcus Cousins was second with 19. Draymond Green 6, Quinn Cook 7 and Kevon Looney 12. The rest of the bench added just 14, and most of the points came in garbage time.

The Warriors, winners of four of the last five and playing superior defense, looked like a team from the era when the Warriors were so bad and barely won 18 or 19 games in a season. They did not look like a championship team Saturday night. They have lost to two teams that they should have beaten. They lost to the worst team in the conference, the Phoenix Suns, on March 10th. It was by four points, but it still was a shocking loss. They lost to the team with the second-worst record, but this time it was by 35 points.

Up Next: The Warriors have to regroup as they play the Detroit Pistons Sunday night. The Pistons beat the Warriors in Detroit earlier in the season. The Pistons currently hold the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference. They are led by Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin. Game time will be at 5:30 pm.

Warriors, behind a strong defense, blow out the Pacers 112-89

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors blew out the visiting Indiana Pacers 112-89 at Oracle Arena Thursday night in Oakland. The Warriors, who played great defense on the 3-1 road trip, continued that trend Thursday. The Pacers came into the game with the fourth best record in the Eastern Conference. They needed a win to maintain the home-court advantage over the fifth place Boston Celtics. The two teams will meet in the first round of the playoffs.

The Pacers played great defense. They held opposing teams to 104 points a game. They can shoot, too. They are in the top five in scoring and making three-point shots. The Warriors would need their “A” game on defense if they hoped to win.

The teams struggled to put points on the board in the first quarter. Both sides concentrated on stopping the other’s offense. The first period was a low-scoring affair, and it ended tied at 19-19.

The Warriors moved the ball well on offense. They outscored the Pacers 34-24 in the period and finished leading 53-43. DeMarcus Cousins, back in action after missing two games with a sore ankle, led the Warriors with 13 points. Kevin Durant had 11, and Klay Thompson had 8. Steph Curry made just one three and finished the half with 3 points. Thaddeus Young led the Pacers with 11, and Bojan Bogdanovich was second with 8.

The Warriors put the offense into gear in the third quarter. They outscored the Pacers 35-19, and the defense put the clamps on the Pacer offense. Steph made four threes in the period to lead the way. The Warriors kept Curry on the bench the entire fourth quarter, but that didn’t slow them down one bit. They increased the lead to 30 103-73, and the reserves coasted to the win 112-89.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors improve to 49-22 and remain 1/2 game ahead of the Denver Broncos in the race for the Western Division crown. The Pacers fall to 44-29.

All five Warrior starters were in double figures. DeMarcus Cousins led the way with a double-double. He put 19 points on the board and pulled down 11 boards. Steph Curry made 5 threes and finished with 15. Kevin Durant had 15, and Klay Thompson had 18. Draymond Green’s line was 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Three of the Pacers’ bench players were in double figures: Tyreke Evans 20, Aaron Holiday 13, and Doug McDermott 11. The only Pacers starter in double digits was Thaddeus Young with 18.

The Warriors recorded 32 assists on 44 baskets. They moved the ball well and found the open man to take the three-point shot. The Warriors had to work hard to get their shots off as the Pacers’ defense tried to blanket Curry and Thompson to force the other players to do the scoring. Their theory worked for a while, but the Warriors broke down their defense and won the game.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 5:30 pm. The Detroit Pistons face the Warriors on Sunday at Oracle. Game time is also at 5:30 pm.

Kings hammer Mavs 116-110

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Photo credit: @NBA

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kings fans were not in the best of spirits coming into Thursday night’s game. This game was just two nights removed from the Kings blowing a 25-point lead with only 12 minutes to play. That, my friends, wouldn’t sit well with many of the Sacramento faithful. Yet, the Kings were ready to shake it off and face Dirk Nowitzki for possibly the final time at 7 PM PST.

The first half of the game was fairly routine for both teams. In the first quarter, the Kings managed to score 27 points vs the Mavs’ 29 points. Marvin Bagley and De’Aaron Fox scored the most for the Kings with six points apiece. Former King, Justin Jackson led all scorers with 11 first quarter points. The Kings came out a little sluggish in the first, but were able to pick it up and keep up with the Mavericks.

In the second quarter, the Kings and Mavs remained close. However, the Kings gained a slight advantage over the Mavs in the second quarter by scoring 26 points. Fox and Buddy Hield had 10 points apiece at this point and the Kings appeared to gain momentum. For the Mavs, they managed to score 22 points in the second. When the second quarter was said and done, the Mavs had three players with 11 points apiece before halftime. They were Dwight Powell, Luka Doncic, and Justin Jackson. At halftime, the Kings led the Mavericks 53-51.

In the third quarter, the Kings started to take control of the game. Led by Hield and Harrison Barnes, the Kings scored 31 points in the third compared to the Mavericks 25. So, at the end of the third, the Mavs trailed the Kings 84-76. Yes, that’s not a large margin, but the rest of the game was all Kings.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings dropped 32 points compared to the Mavericks 24. This sealed the deal for the Kings. Unlike the Kings performance on Tuesday night against the Nets, the Kings were able to put this one to rest. Notably in the game for the Kings was Bagley, who hit three shots from downtown to polish off a spectacular performance with 22 points. Fox also put on a show with a couple of highlight-worthy dunks. Fox finished the game with 15 points. Also, Hield who did Hield things. Hield finished the game with seven 3’s and 29 points in all. The final score for the game was 116-110 in favor of the Kings.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to face the Suns on Saturday, March 23rd at 7 PM PST.

The term “ugly loss” was redefined as Nets come back to beat Kings 123-121

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IMG_2984
Bogi goes to the hoop Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento — At the end of three quarters on Wednesday night, the Sacramento Kings held a 25 point lead over the visiting Brooklyn Nets, 103-78. The Kings largest lead of the night had been 28 points. All of the fans in the Golden 1 Center were settling in and getting ready for some “Showtime” basketball in the final period. Things did not go as planned.

The Nets – behind an incredible 27-point scoring barrage by D’Angelo Russell – outscored the Kings 45-18 the fourth quarter to end a three-game losing streak and defeat Sacramento 123-121. The stunned sellout crowd left the arena trying to figure out how the Kings allowed what appeared to be a sure victory to become such agonizing defeat.

This was just the fourth time in the NBA shot clock era that a team has come back to win after trailing by 25 points through three quarters. That is not the kind of stain you want to have on your season if you are the Kings.

Why Did the Kings Lose?

  1. The took their foot off the gas in the fourth quarter. The looked at the scoreboard, saw a 25 point lead and relaxed. After all, there was no chance the Nets were going to mount a comeback down by that many points.
  2. Sacramento did not hustle back on defense. D’Angelo Russell and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made them pay for that as the two Nets combined for 39 points in the final quarter. Russell hit 10-of-15 shots including four 3-point baskets. Hollis-Jefferson was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the fourth quarter.
  3. The Kings also shot horribly in the final stanza. They connected on just 5-of-22 attempts (22.7%) and went 0-for-8 from behind the 3-point line. They also turned the ball over seven times which resulted in six Brooklyn points.
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Fox takes the shot from the key Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

KINGS

Top Performers

  • Marvin Bagley III was the Kings top scorer with 28 points. He shot 12-for-15 in the game and went 2-for-2 from 3-point range. Bagley has been working on adding the 3-point shot to allow him to become a true “stretch four”. Bagley also played just over 29 minutes. That is the most playing time he has seen since returning from his knee sprain.
  • De’Aaron Fox added 27 points as he hit 10-of-20 shots from the field. Fox went 2-for-5 from downtown. The point guard dished out nine assists and made four rebounds in almost 35 minutes of playing time.
  • Harrison Barnes put up 17 points, added seven rebounds and played just over 38 minutes in the loss.
  • Buddy Hield did not have a “Buddy Buckets” type game. He scored just eight points shooting 4-for-13 overall while going 0-for-8 from beyond the arc. His off night was not the cause of the Kings loss.

Team Stats

  • SAC shot 51.6-percent (49/95) for the contest. They sank 9-of-25 (36.0%) of their 3-point attempts.
  • The Kings went 14-for-20 (70%) from the free throw line. Both the percentage and number of attempts are a little low.
  • The turnover to assists ratio was awful. The Kings made 25 assists but they turned the ball over 21 times. That missed the desired 2:1 ratio by a “country mile”.
  • Sacramento was outscored in the paint 68-64. The Kings usually own the paint when they win.
  • The Kings are now 34-36 for the season. They are 7.0 games out of the eighth-place and the final playoff slot in the Western Conference with 12 games to play.

BROOKLYN

Spotlight Players

  • D’Angelo Russell was the games leading scorer with 44 points. He shot 17-for-33 from the floor and connected on 6-of-15 from downtown. Russell made it a double-double by distributing 12 “dimes”. He made four steals. Hey Lakers, Mr. Russell is a Restricted Free Agent in the off-season. Maybe you should make a play for the one you traded away.
  • Rondae Hollis-Jefferson came off the bench when it looked like it was going to be “mop-up” time and wound up scoring the winning bucket. He scored 14 points in just under 17 minutes on the floor. Hollis-Jefferson went 6-for-7 shooting from the field.
  • Jared Dudley scored six points in the contest. Why is that significant? All six points came in the fourth quarter when all the points were scored by three players – Russell, Hollis-Jefferson, and Dudley.

Team Stats

  • The Nets shot 50.0-percent (47/94) from the floor and hit 12-of-35 (34.3%) attempts from 3-point land.
  • Brooklyn hit 17-of-23 (73.9%) of their shots from the charity stripe.
  • BKN recorded 28 assists and committed 18 turnovers. The TOV’s were too high but they made it work.
  • They made 16 steals versus 13 for SAC.
  • The Nets blocked four Kings shots. The Kings recorded only one blocked shot.
  • The Nets are now 37-36 on the season and one-half game back of sixth-place Detroit in the Eastern Conference.

Up Next

The Kings will return to action on Thursday when the Dallas Mavericks come to Sacramento for a 7:00 PM tipoff. This will be a chance for Sacramento fans to see rookie Luka Doncic and possibly see Dirk Nowitzki for the final time.

Brooklyn will continue their seven-game road trip on Friday night in Los Angeles when they will take on the Lakers.

 

 

 

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Can Bogut make a difference for Golden State?

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Photo credit: @NBCSWarriors

On the Warriors podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 The Warriors brought back Andrew Bogut and he’s in the lineup. How crucial is Bogut for Golden State in the home stretch?

#2 Bogut came back to Golden State after having lunch with the Warriors assistant general manager Larry Harris. Harris was so impressed by Bogut’s analysis on the Warriors’ last four games and how detailed he was about how he could help the team if he was to return.

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

Splash Brothers lead the way to a Warriors win over the Timberwolves 117-106

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors finished the four-game road trip with a 3-1 record. They lost to the Spurs Monday night when Steph Curry and Klay Thompson could not buy a bucket. It was a different story at the Target Center Tuesday night as Curry and Thompson combined for 64 points and led the Warriors to their 48th win of the year. DeMarcus Cousins was out again with a sore ankle and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr gave Shaun Livingston the night off. Andre Iguodala, who did not play Monday, returned to action against the Timberwolves.

The Warriors wanted to get off to a good start. They did not want to be trailing at halftime by more than 10 points as they have done several times lately. They took an early 7-2 lead. The young Timberwolves, led by Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, went on a 20-2 run to put the Warriors in a 22-9 hole. The Warriors did not lose their composure as they regrouped and finished the first quarter on a 21-5 run to take a 30-27 lead after the first 12 minutes of play. Thompson, who did not score a point in the first half against the Spurs, tallied 15 in the first quarter.

The Warriors won the second quarter 29-20 to end the first half leading 59-47. The Warriors finally had someone come off the bench and put some points on the board. Jonas Jerebko was that player as he sparked the team with 14 points in eight minutes of playing time. Thompson led the team with 17, Curry 11, Jerebko 14, and Kevin Durant 5. For the Timberwolves, Towns put 16, Dario Saric and Wiggins had 7 each. The Warriors shot 45.7% from the floor, and the defense held the Timberwolves to just 37.8%. The Warriors were prolific from 3-point range as they connected 11 times. The Timberwolves mad four threes in 16 attempts.

The Timberwolves started the third quarter on a tear as they went on a 14-2 run to tie the game at 61. Curry and Thompson led the team on a 10-1 run, and the Timberwolves never came close. Curry was on fire as he scored the last 14 points of the third quarter and his total for the entire quarter was 22. The Warriors outscored Minnesota 32-28 and led 91-75.

With Curry on the bench at the start of the fourth quarter, the unit led by Thompson, Durant, Jerebko, Cook, and Draymond Green increased the lead to 20, 101-81. The Timberwolves went on a 19-9 run to cut the lead to nine 112-103. Curry came back into the game and knocked down a three. Each time he made a bucket before the final buzzer and the Warriors won 117-106

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors are now 47-22 for the year. They will be making their seventh consecutive playoff appearance, which is a franchise record.

The Timberwolves dropped to 32-39 and will not make the playoffs this season.

Curry led the Warriors with 36. He made eight three-pointers. Klay had 28, and he knocked down 4 threes. Jerebko had 18 and Durant finished with 17. Draymond Green recorded 5 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. He also blocked 4 shots. Alfonzo McKinnie did not score, but he recorded 9 rebounds. The Warriors had 39 assists on 44 baskets. They were moving the ball well. They shot 48.8% from the floor and held Minnesota to 40.4%. The only reason the game wasn’t a blowout was the fact that the Timberwolves had 18 more free throws and made 16 more than the Warriors.

Up Next: The Warriors return home to face the Indiana Pacers Thursday night at Oracle Arena. The Pacers have the fourth best record in the Eastern Conference, and the W’s will have to be at their best if they hope to send them down to defeat. Game time is at 7:30 pm.

Spurs stay hot as they defeat the Warriors 111-105

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Photo credit: @warriors

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors, without DeMarcus Cousins, fell to the red-hot Spurs at the AT&T Center Monday night. The Warriors started Andrew Bogut in place of Cousins, who sat out with a sore ankle. Bogut, who flew in from Australia (and was probably suffering from jet lag), played well in the first half. He scored 7 points and had 7 rebounds in his first NBA game since January 2018 when he was a member of the Lakers. Andre Iguodala was not available either.

The Warriors’ backcourt duo of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were ice cold in the first half. Curry and Thompson were 0-for-13 from the floor until Curry made a bucket with 1:07 left in the period. Despite the lack of production from the two, the Warriors stayed close, and Curry hit a 75-footer as the buzzer sounded to end the first period tied at 25.

The Warriors held the lead 36-33 with 7:38 left in the half From this point on, they scored just 11 points. The Spurs knocked down 33, and they led 58-47 at the halfway point. Curry and Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 11 each. Bogut had 7. The most shocking stat of the first half was the fact that Thompson had not scored a single point.

The Warriors played better ball in the third quarter. They went on a 16-5 run to tie the game at 75. The Spurs battled back and regained the lead 82-78 to end the third period. The Warriors just couldn’t get over the hump in the fourth quarter. The Spurs outscored them 29-27 to win 111-105.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors are now 47-22 and are tied with Denver for the best record in the Western Conference. Denver beat Boston 114-105 to move into the first place tie with Golden State. These teams meet for the final time April 2nd at Oracle Arena. The Warriors are 2-1 against Denver this year.

Steph Curry led the Warriors with 25 points, He was 9-for-25 from the floor and made 6 threes in 18 tries. Durant had 24. Klay Thompson finished the night with 14. He was 5-for-18 from the field and made 4 threes. Alfonzo McKinnie led the bench with 8, and Kevon Looney with 6.

The Spurs had five players in double figures. DeMar DeRozan’s line was 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. LaMarcus Aldredge had a double-double with 23 points and 13 boards. Derrick White had 12. The Spurs had three players that came off the bench and made significant contributions: Rudy Gay 17, Paddy Mills 10, and Marco Belinelli 9.

The team stats show how close the game was. Each team was 41-for-88 from the floor. The Warriors made 13 threes. The Spurs made 10. The Spurs went to the line 10 more times than the Warriors and outscored them 19-10. The points from the free throw line won the game for San Antonio.

It was the ninth straight win and 11th straight home win for the Spurs.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday in Minneapolis. Game time is at 5:00 pm.