Category: NBA

Sports Headlines podcast with Tony Renteria: Black Lives Matter protests expected to march in downtown and to Kings game tonight

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Photo credit: @latimes

On the Sports Headlines podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 The Black Lives Matter movement continues as the organization plans a march on downtown Sacramento tonight as well as protesting at the Indiana Pacers at Sacramento Kings game tonight at Golden 1 Center. Sacramento Police reportedly will be on had at the arena to prevent protesters from blocking protesters who succeeded in not allowing fans to enter games last Tuesday and Thursday.

#2 The lockdown of Golden 1 Center for last Thursday saw only small crowds estimated at 4,000 fans per game. Did the protesters make a point with their protests or has what they’be done so far been counter productive?

#3 Former Oakland quarterback David Humm who passed away on Wednesday at age 65 was in a wheelchair for the last few years and has had MS. Humm was a former Raiders broadcaster, and Tony takes a look at the life of Humm.

#4 Opening day for Major League Baseball as the San Francisco Giants are in Los Angeles to play the Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels are in Oakland for the A’s. First daytime opening day since 1994.

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

 

 

Kings fall to Mavs 103-97 as protests continue outside of Golden 1 Center

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By: Jordan Chapin

SACRAMENTO — As the season starts to wind down in the NBA, the protest are still in full swing here in Sacramento. For a second time, protesters stood outside of the Golden 1 Center and once again a lot of Kings faithful were not able to get in. Although there was a lot of action outside the arena, the same can not be said for what was going on inside as the Kings fell to the Mavericks 103-97.

Sacramento barely shot 40% from the field and a measly 26% from 3-point land. In a game the Kings trailed in for a majority of the time, there was one bright spot, Kosta Koufos. Kosta only played 14 minutes, but racked up 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting to go along with seven boards. The two point guards for Sacramento – Fox and Mason – combined for (3-for-23) from the field. The Dallas Mavericks led by as much as 16 points with heavy contributions from Harrison Barnes and Dennis Smith Jr..

For the fans that were able to get into the game, the Kings did make it interesting at the end as they cut a 15-point lead to a five-point lead in the last three minutes of the game, but they eventually lost the battle to the clock as they didn’t have enough time on it to squeak by the Mavs.

Sacramento has split the season series with Dallas, 2-2. The final attendance for tonight’s game was just over 4,000 people in an arena that holds over 17,000.

The Kings will return to the Golden 1 Center on Thursday, as they will see an old face in Darren Collison and face a playoff-bound Indiana Pacers.

The staff of Sports Radio Service is praying for and sends our condolences to the friends and family of Stephon Clark during this incredibly difficult time.

Stephon_Clark

 

Pacers outlast injury-ravaged Warriors 92-81

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors were missing their four All-Star starters for the second game in a row and played well for three quarters, but ran out of gas in the fourth quarter and lost to the Indiana Pacers 92-81 at the Oracle Arena Tuesday night.

However, the Warriors fans as well as their coaching staff appreciated the effort by their team. The team played well on defense, but they did not have anyone that could jump-start the offense.

Draymond Green was supposed to return to the lineup Tuesday, but didn’t feel right after practice earlier in the day. He is slated to return Thursday night against Milwaukee. Kevin Durant wanted to play, but the coaching staff held him out. Durant will also be available Thursday. Klay Thompson should be back soon as he recovers from a broken thumb. Steph Curry is out for at least four weeks.

The Warriors started Zaza Pachulia, Jordan Bell, Patrick McCaw, Quinn Cook, and Nick Young. The Warriors played very well in the first quarter. Nick Young paced the attack with 10 points, and the Warrior defense held the Pacers to just 18 points, and they were able to own the advantage 27-18 after one period of play. The Warriors were able to maintain the nine-point lead as each team scored 21 points and the score at the end of the first half was 48-39. Cook had seven, Bell had four, McCaw had six, and Kevon Looney had five. The Pacers were led by Thaddeus Young and Victor Oladipo. The Warriors shot 45% from the floor and held the Pacers to 40.5%.

The Pacers picked up the intensity in the third quarter. They went on a 22-6 run to take the lead 57-54. They increased the lead to five, 68-63, but the Warriors scored the last seven points of the quarter to lead 70-68. However, in the fourth quarter, the Warriors ran out of gas and were outscored 24-11. The Pacers’ Victor Oladipo, Thaddeus Young, and Bojan Bogdanovic could not be stopped.

Game notes and Stats: Kevon Looney had one of his best games as a Warrior. The third-year player out of UCLA tallied eight points and had a career-high 11 rebounds as well as two blocked shots. Nick Young, who scored 10 points in the first half, scored just two in the last 24 minutes of play. Quinn Cook and Andre Iguodala each had 11. JaVale McGee finished with nine and Shaun Livingston and David West each added eight. The Pacers were led by Oladipo’s 24, Thaddeus Young’s 17, and Bogdanovic’s 17.

The Pacers improved to 44-31 and are in a dogfight with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers for the third spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Warriors are now 54-20 and need just one win or one Portland Trail Blazers loss to clinch the second seed in the Western Conference.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday night at Oracle Arena. The Bucks are led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, and they will be looking for a win over the depleted Warriors Thursday.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors get tamed at home 92-81 by Pacers as Big Four continues to rest

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Photo credit: sports.yahoo.com

By David Zizmor

The Warriors without their big four are still trying to get their bearing, they struggled against the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz at home and likewise with the game tonight against the Indiana Pacers. When the Warriors played against Utah on Sunday, they were not an easy team to beat when Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. The Jazz for the last two or three seasons this year’s team is different because Gordon Hayward is now on the Boston Celtics. Utah is a really well coached team head coach Quin Synder is one of the top coaches in the NBA which answers the question why the Jazz are having such a good year.

In the fourth quarter in the final minutes of the game of the Pacers-Warriors match, the Pacers maintained the lead even as the Warriors tried to battle back in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t catch the Pacers as Indiana pretty much dominated the fourth quarter by a good 10 points over Golden State.

David Zizmor does the Warrior podcasts each Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Short-Handed Warriors Lack Firepower, Lose to Jazz 110-91

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

It is amazing how injuries to several key players can send a season spiraling south. The Warriors were without the four All-Star players Sunday night, and they were slammed by a very young, hungry, and torrid Utah Jazz squad as they fell 110-91. The Jazz are now 23-4 in their last 27 games.

The Warriors were the first NBA team to have four starters named as All-Stars, and it appears that they may also be the first team to have all four All-Stars injured and unable to play at the same time.

The Warriors’ two-time NBA MVP, Steph Curry, injured his medial collateral ligament in his left knee in last Friday’s game against Atlanta. He will be reevaluated by the team’s doctors in three weeks on April 14th. It does not mean he will return to action in the first playoff series as the injury normally takes four to six weeks to heal.

The Warriors need Klay Thompson (broken thumb), Kevin Durant (injured rib cartilage), and Draymond Green (bruised groin and the flu) to return as soon as possible. The Warriors may be facing Utah in the first round, and they will need every able-bodied player to be at full strength to be able to handle Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell and company.

The Warriors, coached by Steve Kerr, and the Jazz, coached by Quin Snyder, played a fairly low-scoring first period. The Warriors started five players that had never played together as a unit. All five players had been relegated to the bench during the season.

Nick Young, JaVale McGee, Patrick McCaw, Kevon Looney, and Quinn Cook took the floor for Steve Kerr’s club. They played excellent defense and held the Jazz to just 18 points, while scoring 22 in the first 12 minutes of action.

The Jazz–behind Gobert, Mitchell, and Ingles–outscored the Warriors 35-25 in the second quarter and finished the half leading 53-47. Andre Iguodala led the Warrior offense with nine points. Andre mad all three-point shots he attempted in the first half. Quinn Cook and JaVale McGee each had eight.

The Jazz increased the lead to 23 at the end of the third quarter. They scored 36, and their defense held the Warriors to just 18 points. The Warriors took the fourth quarter, 26-21, but they could not come back from a 23-point deficit.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors had just two players that scored double-digit points. Cook led the Warriors with 17 and Iguodala finished with 12. Nick Young and David West had nine apiece while JaVale McGee and Patrick McCaw had eight.

The Jazz had a balanced attack as they had seven players in double figures. Donovan Mitchell had 21, Rudy Gobert 17, Jae Crowder 14, Joe Ingles 14, Dante Exum 13, Ricky Rubio 11, and Derrick Favors 10. The Jazz shot 48.3% from the floor and made 12 3-point shots. The Warriors were held to 41.8% from the floor, and they made six treys in 20 attempts.

Up Next: The Warriors need one more win or one Portland loss to sew up the second seed in the NBA Western Conference. They play the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday night and the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento Saturday night.

Kings fall to Celtics 104-93 in first game after Black Lives Matter protests

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: Ana Kieu

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Boston Celtics came into Sacramento on Sunday. The last time the Sacramento Kings played here at Golden 1 Center, it was locked down due to protests.

On Sunday, however, the doors opened without any incidents as fans funneled in to see the Kings take on the Celtics.

These two teams could not be having different seasons. The Kings came into Sunday’s matchup at 24-49. Meanwhile, the Celtics are in second place in the Eastern Conference and have a record of 49-23. Sunday’s matchup was set for tip-off at 3:00 pm PST.

The Celtics won the tipoff and they were underway at 3:10 pm. The first four minutes were not very crisp basketball. Both the Kings and the Celtics tried to keep a handle on the ball. Willie Cauley-Stein was fouled with 6:29 to play in the first quarter and gave the Kings a 10-9 lead.

With 3:23 to go in the quarter, De’Aaron Fox slammed a dunk home with absolute authority. That followed by a three ball from Skal Labissiere put the Kings up 21-17. Both teams ended the first quarter with the Kings leading 27-24.

In the second quarter, the Celtics and Kings duked it out on the court. Not to mention that Duke and Kansas were also going at it during March Madness. Nearly at the halfway point in the second, the Kings had a 38-33 lead. Cauley-Stein and Bogdan Bogdanovic teamed up for a flashy alley-oop to give the Kings a 50-43 lead with 2:58 to go in the first half. The Kings added 10 more points before the end of the half to make it a 60-52 lead going into halftime.

The third quarter was when the Celtics retook the lead. Before they had even reached the halfway point in the third, the Celtics stormed back to snatch the lead. They continued to put up points, and at the 2:46 mark, the Celtics had a 74-68 lead. Buddy Hield was fouled with 1:01 to play in the third, and pulled the Kings within two, 78-76. At the conclusion of the third, the Celtics led 80-78.

In the fourth quarter, both teams would struggle to score with only 6:45 to play the game as the Celtics were on top 88-84 Celtics. Mason got a layup to fall to pull the Kings within two, 88-86. Though, the Celtics started to pull away, making the game a 97-86 match with 3:47 to play. The Celtics extended that lead to make it 104-91 with one minute to play.

At that point, the Kings conceded the game and the final was 104-93 Celtics over the Kings.

What’s Next?
The Kings stay home to host the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday at 7:00 pm PST.

The Celtics continue their road trip and head to Phoenix to face the Suns on Monday at 7:00 pm PST.

 

Curry returns and helps Warriors in 106-94 win; leaves ball game early with knee injury

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photo from sfgate.com: Golden State’s Stephen Curry bent over with pain from his injured left knee after receiving a right elbow to the knee from teammate JaVale McGee in Friday night’s contest at Oracle Arena against the Atlanta Hawks

By Jerry Feitelberg

There was good news and bad news at Oracle Arena Friday night as Curry returned to action and the Warriors downed the Atlanta Hawks 106-94. Curry started slowly but heated up and tallied 29 points before he injured his left knee with 3:09 to play in the third quarter. The injury occurred when JaVale McGee’s right elbow landed on Curry’s left knee when McGee was falling down. Curry was not able to continue, and the fans and the Warriors could not believe what happened.

Curry sprained his medial collateral ligament and was scheduled for an MRI on Saturday. The Warriors said: “We’ll see what the MRI says tomorrow, there’s not a whole lot we can do or predict keep your fingers crossed.” said head coach Steve Kerr. “We’re hoping for the best after everything he’s gone through, that was tough to see him go down like that” said Warrior point guard Quinn Cook.

“Kind of a strange, cruel twist of fate,” Kerr said. “He rehabs his ankle for the last couple weeks, he gets that strong and then the knee goes. So we’ll see what happens and we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

Atlanta won the first half 51-43. The Warriors scored just 16 points in the first quarter. They played a little better in the second quarter, but the Hawks outscored the by six to finish the half with an 8-point lead. The Warriors continued to own the third quarter as they poured in 36 points and the defense held the Hawks to 23. The Warriors won the fourth quarter outscoring the Hawks 27-20.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors were without the services of Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green. As mentioned earlier, the extent of Curry’s injury is unknown, and the Warriors are holding their collective breaths until the results of the MRI are known.

Patrick McCaw returned to action after missing substantial playing time due to a broken wrist. Jordan Bell started in place of Draymond Green, and he finished the night with 12 points, four assists, seven rebounds, and one blocked shot. Nick Young started in place of Klay Thompson, and he added 24 points to the winning effort. Quinn Cook, who had played so well in Curry’s absence and now coming off the bench, kicked in with 13.

The Hawks were led by strong forward Taurean Prince 20, Dennis Schroder 16, Damion Lee 10, Tyler Dorsey 13, and Mike Muscala 11.

The Warriors improve to 54-18 and Atlanta falls to 21-52.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Utah Jazz Sunday afternoon at 5:30 pm PST.

Protestors knock on arena doors, but Kings down Hawks 105-90

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Photo credit: nba.com/kings

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —  It was a very interesting turn of events going into the game against the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks on Thursday evening. Instead of Kings basketball being center stage on Thursday, the Black Lives Matter movement in conjunction with the recent death of Stephan Clark was at the forefront. Clark, who was shot at with 20 bullets last Sunday outside his grandparents home, was featured on countless signs and banners being tended to by protesters. Clark was fatally shot after police believed the cell phone he was holding was a firearm. Chants of “Cell phones, don’t shoot!” and “Justice for Stephan Clark!” filled the concourse around all of the Golden 1 Center entrances.

In light of these protests, the Golden 1 Center was on lockdown. Therefore, only a few fans were able to attend the game inside since they entered before the arena entered lockdown status. Nonetheless, the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks played basketball.

So, after the turn of events preceding game time, the Kings took the floor. Sacramento jumped out to a quick lead early on in this game. Following a foul that sent De’Aaron Fox to the free throw line, the Kings were up 5-0 with 10:37 to play.

However, the Hawks responded by jumping out to a lead of their own. The Hawks took the lead by a 18-11 margin with 5:22 to go in the first quarter. The first quarter would continue to be a dogfight with the Kings ultimately pulling within three with a 28-25 disadvantage.

Going into the second, the Kings knew that they had some work to do. With the help of Vince Carter, Skal Labissiere, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Frank Mason, the Kings took a 41-38 lead with 3:25 left to play in the first half. The Kings added eight more points, and the Hawks added six to send the Kings to halftime with a 49-45 lead.

The Kings entered the third quarter up by five. Justin Jackson put the first points on the board in the third for the Kings by sinking a two-pointer to make it a 51-46 Kings lead. Jackson had a total of 11 points with 11:20 to play in the third quarter.

The Hawks battled through, and at one point, got within two points of the Kings, thanks to a triple. The third quarter had 8:48 to go and the game was 59-57 Kings.  Justin Jackson continued his hot shooting to compile 19 points with 2:13 left to play in the third and also gave the Kings a 70-67 lead. The third quarter ended with the Kings on top 80-71.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Kings looked as if they were unstoppable. The game bounced around for a good six minutes in the fourth with the Kings leading 93-82 with six minutes to play.

Neither team, up to this point, made any significant ground on the other. Kosta Koufos, Buddy Hield, and Frank Mason all had 12 points at this point in the game. From this point on in the game, the Kings were unable to commit wrongdoing. Some of the players were able to pad the stats, and the Kings came out victorious with a 105-90 win. It was a nice win for the Kings as the city and its fans has had to face some adversity in the last week.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to face the Boston Celtics on Sunday at 3 pm PST. The Hawks take a trip to the Bay Area to face the Warriors Friday at 7:30 pm PST.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Golden One Center remained locked down throughout Kings and Hawks game due to Black Lives Matter protest

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@SeanCunningham photo: Sacramento Kings attendee Sean Cunningham took this photo of the fans who were able to get into the building before Golden One Center was locked down due to safety concerns on Thursday night. Cunningham tweeted that the upper deck of the arena was empty

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The NBA Commissioner’s office decided with Sacramento Police to keep the doors at Golden One Center on lockdown meaning that anyone who needed to go to work would be excused for the night and anyone trying to leave the arena would not be permitted to leave the building because of strict security regarding the Black Lives Matter protest over the shooting of Stephen Clark, who was shot at least 20 times, after neighbors reported that he had been breaking windows into cars in the 29th Street neighborhood in Sacramento.

Protesters who arrived between 6:00 pm and 6:30 pm in the thousands with Kings fans waiting to get into the building were outside of the building as late as 8:30 pm on Thursday night. After the release of the video of Clark’s shooting by police that aired on Sacramento TV station KCRA TV 3 Black Lives Matters put their plans of a protest into action outside the most visible and high profile spot in Sacramento the Golden One Center one hour before a game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Kings.

Rather than cancel the game the NBA decided to play the game while the doors of the arena remained on lockdown. SWAT officers were on the Golden One Concourse as protesters and police exchanged words outside. The game is expected to end at 10 pm when fans who got there early before the lockdown will try to leave.

Jeremiah Salmonson is a Sacramento Kings reporter for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sacramento Kings podcast report: Black Lives Matter protest locks down Golden One Center; Swat units present after gun threat; protest over black suspect shot over 20 times by cops

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@largesteve on twitter photo: Black Lives Matter protesters locked arms at Golden One Center entrances preventing the remaining fans who wanted to see the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings contest on Thursday night from entering the building. It was reported two fights broke out on the arena concourse.

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The game between the Sacramento Kings and the Atlanta Hawks had been delayed since 6:00PM when protesters from Black Lives Matters arrived at Golden One Center as of 7:30pm thousands of protesters and Kings fans are on the concourse of Golden Center. The protest is over Sacramento cops killing Stephen Clark who was breaking into windows in the neighborhood of 29th Street.

KCRA TV 3 obtained video of the shooting of cops chasing Clark and told him to stop several times and yelled “gun, gun, gun, gun, gun” and then shooting Clark over 20 times. Protesters showed up at the arena between 6:00PM anad 6:30PM one hour before Atlanta and Sacramento were to tip off. Once protesters were on property SWAT was called in because of “a threat of gun violence” according to sources at the arena.

This is part one of coverage from Golden One Center of the Black Lives Matter protesters we have part two posted.

Jeremiah Salmonson is a Sacramento Kings reporter and was on scene at Golden One Center on Thursday night for http://www.sportsradioservice.com