Category: NBA

Sports Headlines with Tony Renteria: The late Tyler Hilinski’s brother, Ryan, to play at South Carolina; Giants come back to rattle M’s 10-1; A’s attendance can only improve in time

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Photo credit: @ryan_hilinski

On the Sports Headlines podcast with Tony:

#1 Tyler Hilinski, the late Washington State quarterback who committed suicide last season in his dorm, has a brother named Ryan, who just committed to play at South Carolina’s football program. Knowing about Tyler’s suicide, should brother Ryan be concerned about CTE issues when playing at South Carolina?

#2 The San Francisco Giants, who lost 6-4 to the Seattle Mariners on opening day on Tuesday, and who were also expected to have pitching issues, showed up the next day Wednesday and got both hitting and pitching to take the second game of the two-game series from Seattle with a 10-1 win. The Giants got quality pitching from pitcher Johnny Cueto and lots of hitting in the laugher.

#3 The Oakland A’s, who drew only 7,000 on Monday night and then on 9,000 on Tuesday, night never have seen low attendance numbers like this in years. The numbers will improve as the week goes on, but Mondays and Tuesdays at the Coliseum will be brutal for the A’s on nights that fans tend to stay away from.

#4  The Sacramento Kings season comes to an end next week. If there was one memorable moment this season, it was the two games where Kings fans couldn’t get in because of the Black Lives Matter protest. The Kings made it clear that they support the protest, but they need to conduct business and had barricades around the arena that allowed only ticketed fans into the Golden 1 Center.

#5 The Golden State Warriors are slowly coming out of their hibernation after having shelved their big four players, who are all of them except for Stephen Curry, should be ready their next game

Tony Renteria does the Sports Headlines podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Golden State Warriors Tuesday game wrap: Golden State bench primarily responsible for shutting down OKC 111-107

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photo from nba.com: The Oklahoma Thunder’s Carmelo Anthony (7) looks to move past the Golden State Warriors Nick Young (6) in Tuesday night’s contest at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City

By Eric He

A shorthanded Warriors team defeated the Thunder on the road on Tuesday night, claiming a 111-107 win without Stephen Curry and a number of reserves.

The Warriors did not have Andre Iguodala, Kevon Looney, Omri Casspi or Pat McCaw, yet managed to squeak out a tight win against a playoff team that they could potentially see in the first or second rounds.

Kevin Durant led the way with 34 points and 10 rebounds. Amidst boos from the crowd, Durant again delivered against his former team to give the Warriors a big momentum boost.

He was helped by Klay Thompson’s 20 points and Quinn Cook’s 12 points.

The Warriors opened up a double-digit lead at halftime behind hot shooting by Durant. They carried a 3-point lead into the fourth quarter, and got some strong play from their younger players to seal the victory. Damian Jones had his best game with the Warriors, scoring 8 points and finishing lobs inside. Jordan Bell also had a strong showing.

The Thunder came up short despite 44 points from Russell Westbrook and 20 points from Paul George. Oklahoma City struggled down the stretch with shooting, which has been an Achilles’ heel this season.

In the end, both Quinn Cook and Draymond Green knocked down a pair of clutch foul shots to put the Warriors ahead by four with 10 seconds to play. A couple of missed threes by the Thunder would end the game.

The Warriors will head to Indiana next to face the Pacers on Thursday.

Suns hold off late Kings rally for rare 97-94 victory

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Photo credit: @NBA

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Despite a late rally by the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns held on and picked up their 20th win of the season by edging the Kings 97-94 Tuesday at the Talking Stick Resort Arena.

The rare victory snapped a franchise-worst 15-game losing streak for the Suns, who possess the NBA’s worst record at 20-59. It was the Suns’ first victory overall since Feb. 28 and their first win at home since defeating Dallas on Jan. 31.

Phoenix will finish with its second-lowest single-season win total ever in the team’s 50-year history unless it wins all three remaining games. The Suns won 16 games as a 1968-69 expansion team.

Josh Jackson led the Suns with 28 points – 18 in the first half. Alex Len contributed 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Tyler Ulis added 13 points and nine assists, as Phoenix held the Kings to 37 percent shooting from the field.

Sacramento (25-54) trailed by 12 points with 4:19 remaining in the fourth quarter after the Suns led by four after three quarters, but battled back with a chance to tie the game after forcing a turnover with 7 seconds to play. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Justin Jackson both misses potential game-tying 3-pointers before time expired.

Bogdanovic topped the Kings’ scoring column with 22 points, with Jackson adding 19 points and eight rebounds, as Sacramento has lost five of its last six contests.

Notes: Kings forward Skai Labissiere did not play due to an ankle sprain, and 20-year veteran Vince Carter sustained an undetermined injury trying to defend a drive to the basket in the second quarter, but later returned.

Up Next: The Kings’ road trip continues on Friday when they travel to Memphis to face the Grizzlies.

Golden State Warriors podcast wih David Zizmor: Despite 5-game losing streak, Warriors will be ready for playoffs

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photo from clutchpoints.com file: Golden State Warriors  Kevin Durant (35) is back in the line up following injuries that kept him out during the team’s recent skid

On the Golden State Warriors podcast with Dave:

After snapping a five game losing streak in last Sunday’s win against the Phoenix Suns in a ten point at Oracle Arena 117-107 which was one of the biggest reliefs for Golden State.

The Warriors are lying in wait as they will rest most of their starters you can look for Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson to get some minutes between now and the playoffs but head coach Steve Kerr is to gave some rest to his starters Draymond Green, Thompson and Durant who are back. Stephen Curry is slated to return after the first round of the playoffs.

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

Kings squeak past the Lakers 84-83 Sunday night at Staples

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Buddy vs Lakers
Kings leading scorer Buddy Hield to the hoop Photo: @SacramentoKings

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The odds were against the Kings on Sunday night in Los Angeles. Sacramento had played at home on Saturday and lost to the World Champion Golden State Warriors. The chances of winning the second game of a back-to-back set on the road drop significantly in “the Association”.

Evidently, the Kings did not read any of the oddsmaker’s sites before the game because they played like they were favorites to win the game on Sunday and win they did.

With the game tied at 80 all with 39.6-seconds remaining in the game, Buddy Hield stole the ball from Caldwell-Pope. Hield finished off the fastbreak opportunity with a dunk that gave the Kings an 82-80 lead.

On the next possession, Bogdanovic made another steal when the Lakers Alex made a bad pass. The Kings set up the offense and De’Aaron Fox drove the lane putting up a seven-foot floating jump shot that gave Sacramento a four-point lead. The Lakers called an immediate timeout stopping the clock with 9.7-seconds remaining to play.

Out of the timeout, Caldwell-Pope missed a 23-foot 3-point attempt that was rebounded by Josh Hart. The ball was passed to Brooke Lopez who hit a 26-foot jumper to cut the Kings lead to just one point. Lopez immediately committed a foul to stop the clock with two-tenths of a second to go in the game but the Lakers would never regain possession.

The Kings won the game 84-83.

Top Performances

Kings (25-53)

  • In what seems to an every game occurrence, Buddy Hield was the Kings leading scorer with 19 points. Hield shot 8-for-15 overall and hit 3-of-5 from downtown. He also collected four steals in the game.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 15 points by sinking 6-of-7 shots from the field. He was a perfect 2-for-2 from 3-point land.
  • De’Aaron Fox worked his way through a tough shooting night to score 14 points. He went 6-for-18 shooting (0-for-3 3-PT) but wound up hitting the winning bucket. Fox also led the Kings with six assists.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein recorded 11 points in less than 20-minutes on the floor. He hit 5-of-8 shots and grabbed seven rebounds. Cauley-Stein also dished out four assists.

Lakers (33-43)

Randle vs Kings
Julius Randle scored 19 points vs Kings Photo: @Lakers
  • Julius Randle led the way for Lakers against the Kings by scoring 19 points. He shot 5-for-8 from the floor and hit 9-of-14 chances from the free throw line.
  • It took 13 shots for Caldwell-Pope to score 16 points which is not the kind of ratio a coach is looking for from a starter. He went 0-6 from behind the 3-point arc.
  • Kyle Kuzma – (WARNING: EDITORIAL OPINION) the best rookie on the Lakers roster – posted 13 points hitting 5-of-16 shots from the floor and converting 3-of-9 chances from downtown. Kuzma played 39-minutes in the game.

Up Next

Sacramento

The Kings second stop this final road trip of the season will be in Phoenix on Tuesday night. This will a battle of Draft Lottery Teams. The Suns lost to the Warriors on Easter Sunday 117-107 and have now lost 15 games in a row.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers will travel to Salt Lake City to face the playoff-bound Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

If the 2018 NBA Draft would be held today

Bamba
Possible Kings draft pick Mohamed Bamba of Texas Photo: @TexasMBB

Who would the Kings draft is they had to select today? According to Tankathon. com, Sacramento would have the number six selection and they would use it to take Freshman center Mohamed Bamba out of Texas. Bamba is a 7-footer who weighs 216 pounds. He will be 20 years old at the time of the draft.

Bamba played in 30 games averaging 12.9 points per game and 10.5 rebounds a game. He averaged blocking 3.6 shots per game. Bamba his known for being an excellent rebounder on both ends of the floor as well as an excellent shot blocker. He is also a strong defender against the 3-point shot.

Warriors get it going in second quarter and roll over Suns 117-107

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors started Sunday night slowly against the lowly Phoenix Suns.

The Suns, behind Marquisee Chriss and Dragen Bender, were able to build a 14-point lead about halfway through the second quarter.

The Warriors, led by Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Quinn Cook, went on a 14-5 run at the end of the quarter to finish the first half trailing 59-58.

In the third quarter, the Warriors’ defense shut down the Suns’ offense by holding them to just 18 points, and the offense came to life pouring in 36 points to finish the third quarter leading by 94-77. The Warriors were leading by 18 when Phoenix rallied and went on a 12-3 run to trail by nine.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr sent Kevin Durant back into the game, and the Warriors were able to build the lead back to 14 before Phoenix scored the last two buckets of the game. The Warriors win 117-110.

Game Notes and stats. The Warriors improved to 56-21 and Phoenix drops to 19-59. The Warriors have won fourteen straight against the Suns.

Game Notes and Stats: Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 29 points, eight assists, 11 rebounds, and two blocked shots.

The Warriors have three of the big four players back in action, and there is no question that Durant is the man.

“Kevin is going to be Kevin no matter what,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s got as much ability as anybody, pretty much anybody ever in the history of the game. Put him out there with Steph, great. Put him out there without Steph, great. He’s still going to get any shot he wants and dominate a game.”

Klay Thompson, in his second game back since injuring his thumb, showed that he is a very important cog in the Warrior offense as he tallied 23 points.

Draymond Green had another double-double. Green scored 13 to go along with 12 assists, six rebounds, and one blocked shot.

Quinn Cook finished the night with 19 points, six assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Cook has scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games, and he has shown that he can play with the big boys and will be a huge asset for the Warriors not only until the return of Steph Curry, but being able to come off the bench and give the Warriors some instant offense on the second unit.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. Game time will be at 5 pm PST.

Golden State too much for Kings to handle; Warriors win 112-96

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01d4386acfd9bbd7022f27d83076f8fd36d85fe546
Warriors vs Kings Photo: Sports Radio Service

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings dream of winning the 2017-18 season series versus the NBA World Champion Golden State Warriors will not be realized as they were soundly beaten by the Dubs 112-96 on Saturday night in Sacramento. The Kings will finish the four-game series with a very respectable 2-2 record. No one would have predicted that outcome back in October.

The Warriors had to play with this game without their superstar Steph Curry but unlike the last time the teams met in Oakland, Golden State had their other three All-Star players available to face the upstart Kings. Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson were all healthy and ready to go at the opening tip-off.

The Kings kept it close in opening 12-minutes as they trailed the Warriors by just three points – 28 to 25 – at the close of the quarter. Durant scored 15 for Golden State while De’Aaron Fox put up 10 for the Kings. Both teams were ice cold from 3-point land as the Warriors went 1-for-4 and Sacramento hit just 1-of-7 from long-range.

The Warriors opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run that really set the tone for the rest of the game. Golden State maintained a lead of nine to 11 points for most the period. SAC was able to cut the Warriors lead to eight points at the half when Buddy Hield hit a 25-foot jump shot at the buzzer. At the half, Golden State held a 57-49 lead over the Kings.

Frankly, there really is not that much more to talk about in what became a runaway game. The Warriors held a 93-69 lead at the end of the third quarter and the Kings second unit played hard in the final period to outscore Golden State 27-19 for the quarter.

The Warriors won the game 112-96. Golden State’s record improves to 55-21 while the Kings drop to 24-53 for the season.

A Dark Cloud Over the Game

McCaw
Teams huddle in prayer for McCaw Photo: @SacramentoKings

With less than 50-seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Warriors Patrick McCaw cut across the lane to attempt a layup. Vince Carter stepped in front of McCaw to defend against him. McCaw’s leg came down on Carter’s shoulder and McCaw free-fell to the floor landing on his tailbone.

McCaw was not allowed to stand up and was eventually removed from the court by a stretcher. He was taken to the hospital where he will undergo testing.

The Warriors and Kings huddled together in prayer for McCaw before continuing the game.

Top Performances

Kings

  • Buddy Hield was the Kings leading scorer with 19-points. He shot 6-for-11 from the field and hit 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
  • De’Aaron Fox added 15 points of his own for SAC. He also led the team in assists with eight.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein and Bogdan Bogdanovic each scored 12 points in the game.
  • Bruno Caboclo played 15-plus minutes in the game and scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter.

Warriors

  • Kevin Durant put up a double-double scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in just over 30-minutes on the court. He was their leading scorer.
  • Klay Thompson returned after missing eight games to score 25 points against the Kings.
  • Draymond Green scored eight points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished out seven assists.

Up Next

Kings

The Kings get to celebrate Easter in Los Angeles by playing the Lakers at the Staples Center. The game is scheduled to get underway at 6:30 PM PDT.

Warriors

Golden State will also have to work on Easter Sunday as they will host the Phoenix Suns for a 5:30 PM PDT tip.

 

 

Patrick McCaw’s injury overshadows Warriors’ 112-96 win over Kings

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors had three of their All-Stars back in the lineup Saturday night, and they looked like they were the defending champions. They won the game 112-94 over Sacramento, but all the air went out of the Golden 1 Arena with just 41 seconds left in the third quarter. Patrick McCaw, who had recently returned from a wrist injury, was seriously hurt going in for a layup. While he was in the air, he was brushed by the veteran player, Vince Carter. The force of Carter’s action caused McCaw to fly into the air, and he landed on his backside and was in immense pain. He rolled over on the floor twice, and everyone in the arena knew that McCaw was seriously hurt. The EMT people had to immobilize McCaw, and he was taken on a stretcher to UC Davis Medical Center for examination and tests. A member of the Warriors’ training staff went with him. Nothing was known about his condition after the game. Neither Steve Kerr nor any of the Warrior players felt that Carter’s foul was intentional. Carter apologized to McCaw and Carter participated in a team prayer with the Warrior players before play resumed. Steve Kerr spoke to the media about McCaw after the game. He made some comments about the injury, but did not discuss the game as he felt that was rather inappropriate.

However, a game was played, and the Warriors had Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green back in the lineup. Steph Curry was not able to play, and he will miss the last six games of the season. The Warriors were looking to snap a three-game losing streak, and they accomplished their goal. Thompson looked sharp. He wore a protective guard around his right thumb, and that did not appear to affect his shooting. He tallied 25 points and made three 3-point shots. Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 27 points, five assists, and 10 rebounds. Draymond Green was a force on the court and flirted with a triple-double. He recorded eight points, seven assists, and nine rebounds. Quinn Cook added 10 points.

The Warriors won the first half 57-49. They went on a 19-2 run midway through the first quarter to regain the lead and were never headed after that. As they have done so many times this year, they owned the third quarter. They outscored Sacramento, 36-20, in the period and had a 24-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. If the game could have been stopped at this point, the Warriors would have gladly ended the game. The Kings won the fourth quarter, but they couldn’t catch the Warriors.

Notes: Warriors chief operating officer Rick Welts was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, part of a 13-person class that also includes player development consultant and former MVP Steve Nash.

Up Next: The Warriors return home to Oracle Arena Sunday night to play the Phoenix Suns. Game time is at 5:30 pm PT.

 

Kings lose hard fought game to Pacers, 106-103

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Bogie vs Bogie
It was Bogdanovic vs Bogdanovic in this game! Photo: @Pacers

By: Jordan Chapin

SACRAMENTO- On one of the final home games of the season, the Kings put on quite a show against the playoff bound Indiana Pacers but didn’t have enough down the stretch as they fall to Indiana 106-103. After a sloppy game on Tuesday night against the Mavericks, Sacramento came out tonight, and really seemed like they were playing for their city. Led by the outstanding shooting nights of Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic, the Kings were in it for the entirety of the game, but ran into an all-star by the name of Victor Oladipo.

Kings starting 5 vs Ind
Kings starting five vs Pacers Photo @SacramentoKings

Sacramento looked as good as they have this season in the first half of the ballgame. Willie Cauley-Stien was doing everything out on the floor before heading into the locker-room, including scoring 17 of his 19 points and shooting (9-of-10) from the field. The Kings outscored the Pacers bench 48 to 22 led by a 20 point night from Buddy Hield and Frank Mason doing a little bit of everything.

The second half of the game, the Kings continued to shoot the ball well and played hard, but the all-star, Victor Oladipo, began to show why he has led his team to the 5th-seed in the East. He finished his night with 24 points, five boards, and two assists, including the dagger 3-pointer that sealed the win for Indiana. Even after two crazy made baskets in the final seconds of the game by Hield and Bogdanovic, the Kings luck ran out as they fell 106-103.

Indiana sweeps the season series with the Kings, although it took a hard fought game from the Pacers to seal the win. The Kings will finish their six-game homestand on Saturday as the World Champion Golden State Warriors come to town. Fans were able to get into the game tonight and it really seemed like the Kings were playing for the Sacramento faithful. With only seven games remaining, the Kings will not surpass their win total of 32 from last season, but it seems they are truly playing for what is to come in the future.

Warriors lose third straight game, fall to Bucks 116-107

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors lost their third straight game and the seventh in the last 10 as they were defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks 116-107 Thursday night at Oracle Arena. It was the first time in the Steve Kerr Era that the Warriors have lost three straight games.

The game marked the return of Kevin Durant, who was out with a rib injury, and Draymond Green, who suffered a groin injury and had to deal with a bout of the flu. The Warriors were competitive in the first half. They trailed the Bucks by just two at the end of the first quarter and fell behind by nine after the first 24 minutes of play.

Kevin Durant played 17 minutes in the first half and scored 10 points. Durant was hit with two technical fouls as he felt he was fouled while driving towards the basket. Durant also felt that referee Tre Maddox missed several calls and when he complained about getting mugged. Maddox called a technical and when Durant continued to gripe. Maddox ejected him for the game and that spelled doom for the Warriors.

Durant on his ejection: “I got fouled, and I told [the ref] how I felt, and he kicked me out.”

The Bucks outscored the Warriors 34-23 in the third quarter and had a 20-point lead after three periods of play. The Warriors rallied in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Bucks 35-24; but 20-point leads are so difficult to overcome so late in the game, and Milwaukee was able to hold on for the win.

Game Notes: The Warriors Quinn Cook scored a career-high 30 points in a losing effort. Draymond Green had 11, JaVale McGee and Patrick McCaw both had 12 and Kevon Looney and David West added 12 apiece, respectively.

Scoring leaders for Milwaukee were Giannis Antetokounpo with 32, Khris Middleton 23, Eric Bledsoe 20, and Jabari Parker 14.

With the loss, the Warriors fall one game behind the Toronto Raptors for the NBA’s second-best record.

The Warriors are now 54-21 for the season.

Up Next: The Warriors play the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center Saturday night.

Klay Thompson has not been cleared to play, and it is still not known when he will return.

The Warriors need one more win to clinch the second seed in the Western Conference.