Category: NBA

Kings go to Golden State University on Friday night losing to Warriors 114-100

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gswtoppix

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings educational tour continued on Friday as they traveled to the Bay Area to take on the Golden State Warriors for the final time this season. The Kings had a chance to split the season series at 2-2 with a victory. The Warriors won the game 114-100 and win the season series three games to one.

The Kings did not go with an all youngster starting lineup

Dave Joerger was not of a mind to just let his team be steamrolled for the sake of learning and falling back in the draft lottery standings. Joerger went with Afflalo, Koufos, Cauley-Stein, Hield and Lawson to open the game.

Sacramento did hold out Darren Collison, Tyreke Evans and Anthony Tolliver for “rest”. The bottom line on those decisions are designed to get the less experienced players more time on the court. With the playoffs out of reach, getting  playing time for younger players in order to evaluate their talent and value to the organization is the priority.

Buddy Hield led the way again for the Kings

gsw hield vs curry
Hield works against Curry Photo: NBAE

Hield had another big night for Sacramento as he finished the game as their leading scorer with 22 points. He shot 7-for-14 (50-percent) overall from the floor and hit 4-of-9 from behind the 3-point line. The rookie out of Oklahoma was perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. He played 33-minutes versus the Warriors.

Hield grabbed eight rebounds, dished out seven assists and had two steals in the game. He continues to show marked improvement in handling the basketball in traffic and passing the ball when open shots are not available.

WCS was efficient on offense

Sacramento Kings v Golden State Warriors
Willie Cauley-Stein works against Curry Photo: NBAE

Cauley-Stein scored 12 points as the starting center playing 27-minutes against Golden State rather than his usual 30-plus minutes of “PT” we have been seeing from him in recent games. He hit 5-of-6 shots from the floor and was a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. He also recorded four rebounds, two assists and one steal.

That other kid from Kentucky played 27-minutes as well

Rookie Skal Labissiere did not start the game but did play substantial minutes. Labissiere finished with a double-double scoring 10 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. He also distributed eight assists.

Labissiere just keeps doing things that amaze and prove that he deserves to be in a Kings uniform and on the floor playing in NBA games. The future is bright for this rookie and the fans in Sacramento.

“Papa G” spent some valuable time in class

Sacramento Kings v Golden State Warriors
Papa G tries to stop Curry Photo: NBAE

Kings rookie center Georgios Papagiannis received 26-minutes of classroom time on the floor versus the Warriors on Friday night. The big man had times when he looked confident and time when he looked lost. Just what you would expect from a 19-year rookie facing the best team in the NBA.

Papagiannis finished with seven points shooting 3-for-6 from the field and hitting 1-of-1 from the free throw line. He also posted four rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.

Other Kings contributors

Ty Lawson scored 20 points hitting 8-of-9 from the floor. Ben McLemore scored 11, Langston Galloway 8 (they need to find this guy more shots), Garrett Temple 5, Arron Afflalo 3 and Kosta Koufos 2 points.

Sacramento team numbers

The Kings shot an impressive 48.2-percent (40-for-83) from the floor. They had a better 3-point shooting percentage – 47.6-percent – than the Warriors. Both teams sank 10 3-point shots.

Two stats that killed the Kings:

  • Turnovers: Kings 21 that resulted in 36 GSW points; GSW 13 that created seven Kings points
  • Assists: Kings 27 ; Golden State 37 … let that sink in

Streaks

  • Kings: have lost four-in-a-row and are 2-8 in their last 10
  • Warriors: have won six-in-a-row and are 7-3 in their last 10

Up next for SAC

The Kings are back in action on Sunday at 12:30 PM PDT when they will face the LA Clippers at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

 

 

 

The Warriors cruise to their sixth win in a row, beat the Sacramento Kings 144-100

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 by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland – The Golden State Warriors won their sixth game in a row as they defeated the visiting Sacramento Kings 114-100 Friday night at Oracle Arena.

The Dubs were not as dominating as they had been in their last four games but they were able to handle the Kings easily.

There were four lead changes and two ties in the first quarter of play. Sacramento led by a point 18-17 but the Dubs went on a 10-2 run to finish the quarter with a seven-point lead 27-20. The Warriors looked as if they were going to leave the Kings in the dust as they led 51-39. Sacramento, however, matched the Dubs with 30 points in the quarter and trailed 57-50 at the half. Steph Curry led the Dubs with 10. Ty Lawson tallied 18 for the Kings.

The Warriors, as they have done so many times this season, broke the game open in the third quarter. Draymond Green made three three-point shots to help the Dubs gain control of the game. Andre Iguodala, David West, JaVale McGee, and Steph Curry put together a 28-17 run to give the Dubs the lead 92-72 after three periods of action. In the fourth quarter, Steph made three consecutive three-point shots to ice the victory for the Dubs. The Warriors finished the game 114-100.

Game Notes and stats. The Warriors, with the win, are now 58-14 for the year and have just 10 games left on the schedule They lead the San Antonio Spurs by 2 games for the best record in the Western Conference. They will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs if they finish first.

Steph Curry led the Dubs with a double-double. He knocked down 27 points, including 5 3-pointers, and had 12 assists to go along with 7 rebounds. Draymond Green had a season-high 23 points in the game. Klay Thompson had an off-night as he scored just 8 points. The story of the game was the play of the bench. Iguodala, McGee, West, Ian Clark, Shaun Livingston, and Matt Barnes all made contributions to help win the game. The Dubs defense was good, not as good as coach Kerr would have liked as he said “our defense was not very good tonight. We have to play better Sunday against Memphis.” However, the stat sheet show the Warriors outrebounded the Kings 44-37 and they had 14 steals and 8 blocked shots and forced 19 turnovers. The Dubs scored 36 points off the turnovers and scored 31 fast break points. The Warriors shot 49.4% from the floor.

The Warriors recorded 37 assists in the game and it was the 44th game this year with 30 or more assists. It was also the 37th game with 10 or more steals. They Dubs are first in the NBA in steals and blocked shots.

Scoring leaders for Sacramento were Buddy Hield with 22, Ty Lawson 20, Willie Cauley-Stein 12, Ben McLemore 11, and Skal Labissiere,10. Labissiere pulled down 10 boards to record a double-double.

The Warriors face the Memphis Grizzlies Sunday evening at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 5 pm. The Grizzlies have beaten the Dubs twice this year and the Warriors will be looking to even the series with a win.

 

 

Sacramento Kings Wednesday game wrap: Kings can’t catch up in the end continue free fall in loss to Bucks 116-98

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sacbee.com photo: Kings guard Darren Collison (7) drives to the basket as Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) defends Wednesday night at Golden One Center. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com

By London Marq

SACRAMENTO–The Kings season is all but over when you look at the standings. Since the trade of Demarcus Cousins, Sacramento has been in a free fall, winning only two of their last 13 games that free fall continued Wednesday night in a 116-98 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Golden One Center. In their 36th home game this season, the Sacramento Kings (27-43) host the Milwaukee Bucks (35-35). The upside is all of the young talent the team has acquired over the past two seasons is playing valuable minutes. With the likes of Skal Labissiere and others, the future looks bright for the Kings.

The great Pat Summit once said “you can’t win a game in the first half, but you can lose one.” Through two quarters Milwaukee shot 61% from the floor totaling 69 points, including 12 points off of seven turnovers. The Bucks also capitalized from deep, hitting nine of 18 three pointers. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a monster half against the Kings on both ends of the floor, with 22 points and eight defensive rebounds in the first half alone he finished the game with 32 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. The Kings were able score 50 points in those two quarters but their defensive deficiencies were too much to overcome.

As usual, the Kings played efficiently on offense, and dreadfully on defense. After giving up 44 points in the second quarter, they were in a hole too big to get out of. The Kings closed the gap to 11 with 5 minutes to go in the fourth quarter but failed to capitalize on the momentum they had gained.

Bucks def. Kings 116-98

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Long road trip, loss of KD, W’s are back on track after recent wins

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by David Zizmor

During that last long road swing the Golden State Warriors were on a very intertwined road trip they had some 13 games in the course of a few weeks, the Warriors were in multiple time zones. They had eight road games in 13 games, eight different cities it was a crazy schedule. February to March is kind of a dead zone in the NBA like the dog days when players really start getting tired. It’s a little worse for the Warriors their on the west coast they travel the most miles of any team in the league.

They clinched their playoff spot in February what are they playing for? That’s not to say there’s things they don’t want to achieve, they want to get that number one seed. They want to clear 60 wins they want clear even 70 if it’s possible it’s not likely at this stage but their going to try. They were burned out during that 13 game span and they need a little bit of motivation and they lost Durant and it absolutely hurt them a little bit.

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

The Warriors win another blowout, send the Mavericks down to defeat 112-87

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Dallas- The Golden State Warriors continue to roll as they overwhelmed the Dallas Mavericks 112-87 Tuesday night. The Warriors won their 28th road game and by doing so set an NBA record as they have won 28 or more road games in three consecutive seasons and no other team in NBA history has ever achieved that feat.

The Mavericks wanted to win this game. They were 8-4 in their last 12 games and were just 2 1/2 games behind Denver for the final playoff berth in the Western Conference. Former Warrior Harrison Barnes entered the game averaging 19.8 points per game. The ageless Dirk Nowitzki averages 14.4 and Steph Curry’s younger brother, Seth, who found a home in Dallas, averages 12.9 points per game.

The two teams played a very competitive first quarter. There were seven lead changes and two ties in the first 12 minutes of action. Dallas led by seven 27-20, but the Dubs stormed back and finished the quarter leading 30-28. The Warriors, as they have done so often this year, owned the second quarter. They outscored Dallas 34-20 to end the half with a 12-point advantage. Klay Thompson led the Dubs with 13. Ian Clark and Patrick McCaw each had ten. Steph Curry was ‘held’ to just seven. The Dubs again were superb on defense as they held Dallas to 20 points. Draymond Green put the clamps on his former teammate Harrison Barnes and held him to just two points in the half.

The Warriors were relentless in the third period. Klay Thompson and Steph Curry led the attack and outscored Dallas 29-21 to lead by twenty heading into the fourth quarter. The Mavericks were toast. They did not score a point in the first four minutes and 38 seconds of the fourth quarter. Steph Curry was on the bench. Klay Thompson and Ian Clark sparked the Dubs to a 26-point lead 97-73. At this point, Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr sent in the bench players to finish the game.

Game Notes and stats. The Warriors improved their record to 57-14 while Dallas falls to 30-40. Klay Thompson led the Dubs with 23. Steph had 17, McCaw ten, Clark 18. Draymond Green scored seven points with eight assists and seven rebounds.

Shaun Livingston, David West, Zaza Pachulia, Matt Barnes all scored six.Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 16. Yogi Ferrell had 12, Seth Curry ten, Nerlens Noel 14, and Harrison Barnes tallied just five.

The Warriors shot 55.1% from the floor and held Dallas to 35.9%. The Dubs made 13 3-pointers. They outrebounded Dallas 46-39 and had ten steals and two blocked shots. The Dubs recorded 34 assists, and it was the 43rd game this year that they have made 30 or more assists in a game.

Steph Curry remarked after the game that the win was an “all-around effort.” He talked about playing against his brother Seth and noted that “it’s amazing to see what he’s done in Dallas.” Steph also commented about some of the reports that the team was in a slump and that the wheels were about to come off the Warrior Express. Steph said this about the team: we ” never panic and never lose confidence.”

Steve Kerr, when asked about the play of rookie Patrick McCaw, had this to say: “Patrick was great- tremendous first half.” When questioned about the new NBA road record, Kerr said: ” it just means we’re a good team.”

The Warriors return home to face the Sacramento Kings Friday night at Oracle Arena at 7:30 pm. It will be the first game against the Kings since the trade of DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans.

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings prepare to host Milwaukee Wednesday; Kings taking a look at draft picks this week

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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Victor Oladipo (5) reaches for the ball held by Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Saturday, March 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Charlie O on the Sacramento Kings podcast:

1) The Sacramento Kings have a busy week ahead of them.

2) NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is saying something has to be done about resting star players- what do you think the league will do?

3) Who are this weeks projected draft picks for Sacramento?

Join Charlie O each week for the Kings podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings host Milwaukee Wednesday night look to draft picks this week

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On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

1) The Sacramento Kings have a busy week ahead of them tell us what is on tap

2) NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is saying something has to be done about resting star players- what do you think the league will do?

3) Who are this weeks projected draft picks for Sacramento?
Charlie O does the Kings podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The Warriors wallop the Thunder 111-95, sweep the season series

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Oklahoma City- The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Monday night’s game against the Warriors on a roll. The Thunder had won five in a row. OKC coach Billy Donovan has them playing better defense. They held their last five opponents to an average of just 99 points per game, and they improved their three-point shot defense holding teams to just 21 attempts per game. The Warrior, on the other hand, were also playing well. The Dubs had to deal with the loss of Kevin Durant and a brutal stretch of 8 games in 13 days and an 11,000-mile journey. The Dubs lost five of the eight games and looked tired. However, they won the last three games at home and looked like the Dubs of old. OKC, with MVP-Candidate Russell Westbrook, wanted to make Monday’s game a statement game. That did not happen as the Warriors routed the Thunder 111-95 to win their 4th in a row and their 7th straight against the Thunder.

The first quarter was fairly even. There were just a couple of lead changes in the first quarter. The Dubs took the lead for good after the refs charged the Thunder with goaltending. The Warriors led 15-14 at that point. They increased the lead to 25-20, but OKC made at bucket to end the quarter just 3 points behind 25-22. Steph Curry led the Warriors with 11, and Klay Thompson had 6.

The Dubs owned the second quarter. They outscored the Thunder 34-17 to end the first half with a 20-point lead. The Dubs excelled on defense as Draymond Green and Company held Westbrook to just 7 points in the half. None of the Thunder starters were in double figures. Klay finished the quarter with 18 and Steph was right behind with 17. The score after two quarters of play was 59-39. The players on both teams were, at this point, doing a lot of trash talking and the contest had become quite physical. Steph and the Thunder’s Semaj Christon got into a pushing and shoving contest. Tempers were high and Draymond and Westbrook got involved. The refs assessed two technical fouls on each team. Steph and Draymond received technicals for the Warriors and Christon, and Westbrook took the technicals for OKC. Draymond committed his 13th of the year, and Westbrook notched his 15th. The best shot of the night came when Steph hit a three as the buzzer sounded and he sprinted down the tunnel to the locker room with a lot of spring in his step.

The Warriors increased to 26 at the end of the third quarter. They outscored OKC 33-27, and the game was just about over. Steph hit a three again with just 0.4 seconds left on the clock in the quarter to ice the win. Steph did not play in the fourth period. Coach Steve Kerr started the quarter with Klay, David West, Ian Clark, Matt Barnes, and Shaun Livingston. The Thunder could not get back into the game, and with 6 minutes left, Kerr sent in the guys at the end of the bench to finish the game.

 

 

Spurs take the Kings to school as they break a two game losing streak

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Sacramento Kings v San Antonio Spurs

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Coach Gregg Popovich is notorious for resting players whenever he decides it is necessary. He does not care what the league, broadcast executives or fans have to say about the practice. A team in the Kings situation is praying that “Pop” will rest a few stars against them.

Unfortunately for the Kings, San Antonio had lost two games in row coming into Sunday’s game, and there was no chance that the Spurs were going to rest anyone unless they had opened up an unbeatable lead. All the Kings could do was suck it up, give it their all and hope to keep the game close to have a chance at the end.

Sacramento came out of the gate starting quickly – something they have not always done this season – and put up 27 points in the first quarter. The Kings held a six point lead after the first 12-minutes.

Coach Pop got his team’s attention in the second quarter and they outscored the Kings 37-22 in the second 12-minutes. The Spurs took a 58-49 lead to the locker room at halftime and they would never look back after that.

The Spurs did not let up after halftime as they put up 41 points to the Kings 25 in the third quarter. After 36 minutes, it was a chance for the Spurs to rest the starters and for the Kings to go to school against a championship team.

Ultimately the Spurs (53-16) won the game 118-102 to drop the Kings record to 27-43 and to 1-2 on this three-game road trip.

Buddy Hield got back on track

Hield did not have the game he wanted to have in OKC on Saturday. On Sunday in the Alamo City, Hield put up 18 points. He shot 8-for-14 from the floor and went hit 2-of-3 from beyond the 3-point line. Hield also grabbed five rebounds, dished out five assists and made one steal. He played 32-minutes in his start versus the Spurs.

Look out here come those Kentucky guys

Willie Cauley-Stein got the start at forward and took advantage of that opportunity. He scored 18 points to tie Buddy Hield for the team high. WCS also pulled down four rebounds, distributed five assists and had a blocked shot. He shot 5-for-11 from the field and converted 8-of-11 from the free throw line.

Skal Labissiere did not start but he added 14 points. The rookie big man hit 7-of-9 from the floor to go with seven rebounds. Labissiere did all of that in just 23-minutes on the floor.

Papa G grabbed some serious rebounds

Georgios Papagiannis spent 24-minutes in the game versus the Spurs. The big rookie scored just six points going 2-for-7 from the field, but he grabbed 10 rebounds – including four offensive rebounds – in the contest. “Papa G” is getting the opportunity to learn on the job against some of the best players in the NBA.

Temple played well against Kawhi Leonard

Garrett Temple played tough on defense helping to hold Leonard to just 12 points in the game. At the same time, Temple scored 15 points hitting 3-0f-3 from 3-point land. Temple continues to be a solid leader for the Kings.

Kings had some solid team numbers

Sacramento shot a respectable 49.4-percent (41-for-83) from the floor. They shot 7-for-10 (70-percent) from beyond the 3-point line. The Kings had a very acceptable 29 assists to 11 turnovers posting for the game.

Why did the Spurs win

San Antonio scored more points in the paint, had more second chance points and had more fast break points than the Kings. That pretty much guarantees a win for your opposition. In this case, it did.

Up next

The Kings are off until Wednesday when they will host the Milwaukee Bucks at the Golden 1 Center. The Bucks are battling to hold on for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference of the NBA.

 

The Warriors, after a slow start, gets rolling in the second quarter, and blowout the Milwaukee Bucks

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland-The Golden State Warriors played the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday night at Oracle Arena. The Bucks entered the game as one of the hottest teams in the NBA. They had won 8 of the last nine games played and 12 of the last 16 to even their record at 34-34 and would be in the playoffs as the 8th seed if the playoffs were to start now. They led the Detroit Pistons by one game for the final berth in the Eastern Conference.The Dubs, coming off a blowout win over Orlando Thursday night, wanted to get off to a good start as they did Thursday. The Bucks, however, had other thoughts as they raced out to a 27-14 lead about 2/3rds of the way through the first quarter. They were moving the ball well and were able to get easy baskets.The Dubs started to play defense with Draymond Green Andre Iguodala, and JaVale McGee leading the way. The Dubs went on a 13-2 run to end the quarter trailing by just two points 29-27. Steph Curry made a deuce and a trey to finish the quarter.

The Dubs started the second quarter on a 7-0 run to take the lead for the first time in the game. The Warriors outscored the Bucks 36-15 to lead by 19 63-44 at the end of the first half. Steph Curry made four 3-point shots as the Dubs got back on track. Steph led the team with 18 points. Klay Thompson had 9, JaVale McGee 8, Draymond shut down the Bucks big Man, Giannis Antetokounpo, holding him to just 5 points in the half. Greg Monroe had ten off the bench for Milwaukee.
The Warriors continued to play well and refused to allow the Bucks to get back in the game. They outscored Milwaukee 31-26 behind the stellar play of Andre Iguodala and Steph Curry. Curry. The Dubs led 94-70 and Steph was done for the night. Klay Thompson scored 12 points in the second half, and the Warriors coasted to victory by a score of 117-92.
Game Notes and Stats- The Warriors started to roll late in the first quarter. They stayed hot the rest of the way. They attempted 75 shots and made 45 which was 60% from the floor. They made 12 3s. They held Milwaukee to just 40.4% from the floor. The Bucks made just 36 shots in 89 tries. The Dubs outrebounded them 44-35. The Warriors recorded 30 assists for the 42nd time this year that they made 30 or more assists in a game. They had five steals, six blocked shots and played great on defense. They scored 24 fast break points and outscored the Bucks 56-40 in the paint. The Dubs bench recorded 47 points that must have pleased the coaching staff.
Steph led the Dubs with 28. Klay had 21. Andre Iguodala 15, Draymond 8 points, ten assists, and eight boards. JaVale McGee had 8, Ian Clark 9 and Matt Barnes 7.
Malcolm Bogdon led the Bucks with 18. Tony Snell 12, Khris Middleton, 11, and Greg Monroe 12. Matthew Delavedove, the former Cleveland Cavalier, and Steph Curry stalker was booed every time he touched the ball. Delavedova finished the night with just 5 points. Antetokounmpo, who is averaging over 21 points a game, was held to just 9.
Head coach Steve Kerr said that Milwaukee ” is an athletic, long (team) that really bothered us the first 5 minutes of the game.” He said that (JaVale) McGee really gave us a lift.” We “closed the first quarter well and turned the tide in the second.”
The Warriors improve to 55-14 and now lead the San Antonio Spurs by 2 1/2 games. The Spurs lost to the Memphis Grizzlies Saturday night. and are 52-16
The Warriors hit the road as they head to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder on Monday. Game time will be at 5 pm. They then go to Dallas to face the Mavericks Tuesday night. Game time will be at 5 pm, too.