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Kings grind out a win in Memphis 96-92

Published on December 16, 2016December 16, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Sacramento Kings v Memphis Grizzlies — Cousins takes the shot in Memphis photo: NBAE

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings went into Memphis seeking a win in a city where they had not recorded a victory since 2009 but have posted 12 straight losses. The Kings were also taking their new head coach Dave Joerger back to the city where he was the head man for three years and an assistant coach for six years before they went their separate ways after last season.

If that was not enough motivation, the Kings also needed to bounce back the demoralizing loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night 132-98.

The Kings did respond to all of those motivating factors and beat the Grizzlies on the road 96-92. It was not a pretty win. Both teams played very physical basketball and packed the paint rather than depending on the 3-point shot to win as the Rockets did in Houston. Ironically in a game that was not about 3-pointers, the Grizzlies Troy Daniels made it a 3-point game with 55.3-seconds remaining in the game with a “trey” from 26-feet away from the basket.

The Kings were able to hold on following Ty Lawson hitting 1-of-2 free throws to win the game 96-92.

Kings coach Dave Joerger sounded a bit conflicted after the game

“Kind of a crazy game. A lot of fouls – a lot of free throws, but from a personal stand point a very difficult day for me. You know … to come in here having spent as much of my love and time and family in this community and we love it. It was not an enjoyable game to coach from that aspect. But, now I’m here and these are my guys now. I’m really proud of them. I congratulated them. We’ve had some great efforts … or performances I should say. Kosta Koufos was fantastic tonight. I thought Garrett Temple had a nice game. I thought Darren (Collison) got us in and out of stuff,” said Joerger after the win.

NBA: Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies — Marc Gasol talks with his former coach Dave Joerger before the game in Memphis photo: Justin Ford USA Today Sports

Koufos and Temple step up big for Sacramento in the win

The Kings were without two key players on Friday as Rudy Gay – a former Grizzly – did not dress due to a right hip flexor strain and Omri Casspi sat out due to illness
Garrett Temple started at shooting guard and responded by scoring 17 points, grabbing six rebound, adding four assists and two steals in 37-minutes of playing time. Temple shot 4-for-11 but went 3-for-6 from long range was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. He may be playing himself into the role of starting shooting guard
Kosta Koufos – another former Grizzly – may have played his best game of the year to date. He scored a season-high 16 points and made it a double-double by hauling in 13 rebounds. Seven of his rebounds were offensive boards that kept possessions alive. Koufos got his running baby hook shot going the way he likes for the first time this season in the game as well. The downside in his night was he hit just 2-of-6 from the foul line
DeMarcus Cousins had some struggles with the physical play of the Grizzlies particularly in the first half. He shot just 2-for-10 and scored only nine points in the first 24 minutes. In the second half, the big man shot 5-for-10 and scored 13 points to bring his total points to a game-high 22. Cousins did get into foul trouble picking up his fifth personal with 6:02 to go in the game. He fouled out of the game with 1:27 remaining which gave hope to a surging Memphis team
Darren Collison scored 11 points and dished out six assists in 37-minutes at point guard in the victory
Other contributions: Matt Barnes seven points and 10 rebounds; Anthony Tolliver nine points; Ben McLemore – who started at forward – scored eight and Ty Lawson added six points

Kings (10-16) team numbers were not great but were good enough for the win

Shooting: 31-for-80 (38.8- percent) – you do not record a win shooting under 40-percent very often
3-point shooting 7-for-24 (29.2-percent)
Free throw shooting 27-for-37 (73-percent) missed free throws could have cost the Kings this game
45 rebounds including 13 offensive boards
Turnovers 12 which led to nine Memphis points
Points off turnovers – Sacramento score 17 points off 13 Memphis turnovers
18 assists, six blocked shot and five steals

Memphis (18-10) played their typical “grind house” game

The Grizzlies are not a team that is going to outshoot you from 3-point land or overwhelm the opposition with their overall shooting percentage. They are a defense first team that is most comfortable scoring in the paint
Memphis matched the Kings scoring 36 points in the paint
The Grizzlies just edged out the Kings in second chance points 15-13
Memphis out-rebounded Sacramento 47-45
The Grizzlies shot 37.7-percent (29-for-77) from the field and 5-for-20 (20-percent) for 3-pointers and Troy Daniels hit four of those shots.
Memphis tried to take advantage of their free throw opportunities going 29-for-36 (80.6-percent) from the line
Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies scoring attack with 20 points. Tony Allen added 16, Troy Daniels put in 13 while Andrew Harrison recorded 11 to go with Zach Randolph’s 10

Coming up on the schedule

The Kings move on to Dallas where they will face the Mavericks on Sunday. The game time has been changed because the Cowboys game has been moved to Sunday Night Football. The game will now tipoff at 1 p.m. PST. The Mavericks lost a heartbreaker to the Jazz in Utah on Friday night 103-100 on a last second 3-point basket.

Speaking of the Jazz, they travel to Memphis to play the Grizzlies on Sunday.

The Warriors return home, down the New York Knicks

Published on December 15, 2016December 16, 2016 by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Golden State Warriors returned home after a five-game road trip to play the visiting New York Knicks for the first time this season. The Knicks, with a record of 14-11, had to face the Dubs with two of their stars on the sideline. Derrick Rose was unavailable, and Carmelo Anthony did not play due to a sore shoulder. The Warriors were able to handle the rest of the Knicks and sent them down to defeat 103-90.

The Warriors trailed early 6-5 but took the lead for good when Draymond Green sank a three-point shot. The Dubs never looked back. They increased the lead to thirteen at the end of the first quarter. JaVale McGee, starting his second game in a row, was the high scorer for the Dubs with eight in the first quarter. McGee scored on a pass from Kevin Durant, he scored a layup on a pass from Steph Curry. He Made two dunks on lobs to account for his eight points. The Dubs increased the lead to fourteen at the half 59-45. The Dubs’ bench made contributions as the Knicks were able to keep Step nd KD in check. Klay Thompson led the Warrior attack with fourteen. KD had nine and Steph added six. The Dubs shot 52% from the floor and held the Knicks to 38.5% from the field. The Dubs were moving the ball well as the had 26 assists on 27 made baskets.

The Warriors put the game out of reach in the third quarter. About midway through the period, they went on a 14-0 run that sank the Knicks. JaVale McGee continued to play well. Ian Clark was effective coming off the bench as the Dubs increased the advantage to 22 as they owned the lead 88-66 after three-quarters of play. The Dubs played a lackadaisical fourth quarter. Most of the starters were removed from the game. They scored just fifteen points, and the Knicks were able to cut the deficit to twelve but the Dubs were able to run out the clock to preserve the win. Dubs win 103-90.

Game Notes- Klay Thompson was the player of the game for the Warriors. Klay scored twenty-five and had four assists and five boards. JaVale McGee, who played just fifteen minutes, had his best game of the season. He scored a season-high seventeen points. Kevin Durant had a double-double. He knocked down fifteen points to go along with eight assists and fourteen rebounds. Steph Curry scored just eight points, but he had eight assists and ten rebounds. Bench players Shaun Livingston, Ian Clark, Andre Iguodala, and Kevon Looney all made significant contributions to help the Dubs win. Former Warrior Justin Holiday led the Knicks with fifteen points. Brandon Jennings had ten: Courtney Lee nine, Ron Baker thirteen, and the big, big man 7 foot-3 inch Kristap Porzingis

The Warriors had 41 assists on 47 made basket. The team really moved the ball well and were able to find the open man. Steve Kerr said: “this was the lone bright spot of the game.” Kerr said this about the paly of the team during the game:”I didn’t think there was much purpose in the game. We looked tired and disinterested.”

The Warriors improve to 23-4 while the Knicks fall to 14-12.

Before the game, Steve Kerr asked both teams to join him at center court and the fans to stand the remember Craig Sager who passed away Thursday at the age of 65. Sager was a sideline reporter for many years and wore outrageous jackets and ties. He battled leukemia for three years until Thursday. Instead of a moment of silence, Kerr asked for a moment of joy and the teams and the fans responded with a loud and long round of applause for him. Also, before the game, Jerry West presented Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Carmelo Anthony with their Olympic championship rings.

The Warriors face the Portland Trailblazers Saturday night at Oracle Arens at 7:30 pm. The Blazers’ Damian Lillard, who is from Oakland, always plays his best against the Dubs. Should be an entertaining game.

Things change in the NBA today

Published on December 15, 2016December 15, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

If a NBA team signed a player as a free agent in the off season, most of those players are now eligible as of today to be traded. For example only, the following Kings players have just become trade eligible as of today: Arron Afflalo, Matt Barnes, Ty Lawson, Garrett Temple and Anthony Tolliver. Again, we are not saying these players are going to be traded, but where as yesterday they could not be moved – today they could be sent to another team.

The main reason the availability of these players becomes so important is the requirement in the NBA for trades to have salary balance. If a team is over the salary cap – which the Kings are over the cap, they cannot take back anymore than 125-percent plus $100,000 in salary in any trade. So, if they trade a player who has a salary of $10-million per year the Kings could not take back a player(s) with contract(s) totaling more than $12.6-million. Confused? Now you know why every team has a salary cap expert on staff.

The big key is the ability to put together combinations of salaries and contract expiration dates that make player exchanges work for both (or more ) teams involved in the trade.

Now … let the games begin. The trade deadline is Thursday, February 23, 2017.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Simply put the Kings have to stop operating in that old traditional way of doing business

Published on December 14, 2016 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

wallcoo.net photo: Former player and now team president Vlade Divak and the front office of the Sacramento Kings are trying to figure out how to make the Kings a first round playoff team

The problem with the Sacramento Kings are trying thinking in the old traditional way to figure how to turn this team around like back in the days when their team president Vlade Divak was playing when Peja Stojakovic was playing, when Chris Weber was here. Those were all great players and I was around here when that was happening. What exciting times these were this town was abuzz with the Sacramento Kings.

The league was abuzz about the Kings, the problem was that was ten, 12, 13, years ago. That was 2000-2003 this is 2016-17 we are almost about to celebrate the new year going into 2017. The game has changed so dramatically over those last few years. You cannot at this point and time take a team that is so down and this team is down in so many ways but not at the fault of owner Vivek Ranadive, not a the fault of Vlade Divak, but you lay a lot of the mess of what the team is at the feet of the former owners the Maloof’s because they were more concerned about moving the team someplace where they could salvage the team.

Charlie O does the Sacramento Kings podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The Warriors and Pelicans play a thriller, Golden State prevails

Published on December 13, 2016December 13, 2016 by rxslugger1 Comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

New Orleans- The Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans played one of the best games of the season Tuesday night at the Smoothie King Arena in the Crescent City. Both teams played well on offense as well as on defense, but the Dubs were just a little bit better as they outlasted the Pelicans 113-109.

The first half belonged to the Pelicans. The Pelicans, coached by former Dubs assistant coach Alvin Gentry, played just like the Warriors. The Pelicans had great ball movement as they recorded 17 assists in the first half. They made ten 3-point shots and had six steals on defense. The Pelicans started the first quarter well. They had an early 13-5 lead as they went on an 8-0 run. The Dubs came back and led 25-22 after Steph Curry made his second 3-point shot of the quarter. New Orleans regained the lead and finished the quarter with a six-point lead 35-29. The Pelicans kept the lead for the rest of the half. They never got too far ahead, but the Dubs just couldn’t catch them, and they increased the lead to seven 65-58. Anthony Davis led the Pelican scorers with 18. Langston Galloway and Tim Frazier, both coming off the bench, scored 12 and 7 respectively. Steph Curry with 15, Klay Thompson 13, and Kevin Durant ten led the Dubs. The Pelican shot 52.3% from the floor and made ten 3-point shots. The Warriors shot a respectable 48.9% and made eight 3-pointers.

The Warriors, as they have done so many times in the past, outscored the opposition. The Dubs scored 37 and held the Pelicans to 29 to take a one-point lead at the end of three-quarters. The Dubs went on a 15-1 run to lead 74-68, but the Pelicans did not panic and kept the pressure on the Warriors. Steph made two 3-point shots, and Draymond Green added one. Kevin Durant made a sensational block late in the quarter to thwart an easy Pelican layup for a bucket. The Warriors were cold to start the final quarter of the game. The Pelicans scored the first six points to lead 100-95. The Dubs scored the next seven points to regain the advantage 102-100. The lead changed hands a couple of times until the teams tied the game at 107. The Dubs took the lead on a Steph Curry shot from the corner 109-108. On the next play, Draymond made a huge steal and Steph made another bucket to increase the lead to 111-108. Green made a big rebound, but the Dubs couldn’t score and then fouled Jrue Holiday with just 14.9 seconds left in the game fouled Holiday made the first free throw. Holiday intentionally missed the second freebie, and the rebound went to the Pelicans. However, Draymond Green made another huge steal as he knocked the ball out of Anthony Davis’hands as Davis was attempting to move in for a two-point shot. Green sealed the win as he was fouled with about three seconds left to play. Green made the two free throws to seal the win. 113-109.

Game Notes- The Warriors played superb defense in the fourth quarter. They outscored the Pelicans 18-15 but did not allow the Pelicans to score a field goal in the last 4 minutes and forty-four seconds of the fourth quarter. The Defense was led by Draymond Green. Green was, without question, the player of the game. He had a triple-double with twelve points, ten assists, twelve rebounds, two blocks and at least two huge steals in the fourth quarter. Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry all were excellent on defense, too. Steph led the Dubs with 30points to go with seven assists and four boards. Durant added twenty-seven, nd he had 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Klay Thompson finished with seventeen points, 3 assists,s rebounds, and two blocked shots. The Pelicans led by Anthony Davis, Langston Galloway, Tim Frazier, Solomon Hill, and Jrue Holiday all scored in double figures. Davis was a force with 28 points,3 assists,8 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.The Warriors improve to 22-4 and the Pelicans fall to 8-18.

After the game, Steve Kerr said this about Draymond Green’s play on defense:”he loves to be in that position.He relishes it.” Kerr also said this about the team’s play in the fourth quarter:”the defense was great the last five minutes, the offense not.” He praised Kevin Durant’s work on defense this way:”KD is so capable defensively.”

The Warriors finished the five-game road trip with a record of 4-1. The Dubs played six games in the last nine days and won five out of six. They played two back-to-back series on the trip. The Dubs return home to face the New York Knicks Thursday night at Oracle Arena at 7:30 pm.

Sacramento Kings Monday game wrap: Kings use 3-ball to get even with Lakers 116-92

Published on December 13, 2016December 13, 2016 by jeremy2878Leave a comment

AP photo: Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton (left) gets the heave ho after getting hit with his second technical in the first quarter after Sacramento Kings DeMarcus Cousins threw down the Lakers Julius Randle to the floor on a non call is guided by Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson (right)

By Jeremy Harness

SACRAMENTO – The last time these two teams got together in this building, the Kings got out to a big lead and carried it well into the second half, only to watch as it slowly disappeared in a painful loss.

They made sure that didn’t happen Monday night.

Using a suddenly-deft touch from behind the 3-point line and a more prominent presence inside, the Kings snapped a two-game losing streak in emphatic fashion with a 116-92 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Golden 1 Center.

The Kings trailed by nine points at halftime, but they quickly turned things around and never looked back. The Kings finished the game by hitting 10 of their 24 3-point shots, but most of the damage was done in the second half, particularly in the third quarter.

The Lakers started out fast in the first quarter and quickly got out to an eight-point lead as the Kings scuffled on offense. Sacramento, however, narrowed the gap, and at one point in the second quarter, Sacramento led by 10 before getting sloppy with the basketball and allowing the Lakers to re-take the lead midway through the quarter and take a 58-49 lead into halftime.

The Kings also did not defend the 3-ball very well in the first half, as the Lakers knocked down eight of their 13 shots from behind the arc.

The Kings, however, turned the tables on the Lakers in the second half, using the 3-ball quite effectively to tie the game back up at 60-60 early in the third quarter and extending their lead to as many as 19 points.

Sacramento continued to build on the lead in the fourth quarter, as they seized command inside as well as outside.

DeMarcus Cousins had a relatively-quiet first half but showed all of his skills almost immediately after the intermission, scoring 16 points in the third quarter alone. He hit both of his 3-point attempts in the quarter as well as driving more consistently to the basket and even feeding teammates for open layups.

Cousins finished the game with 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting to go along with 15 rebounds and five assists.

Darren Collison was also solid, adding 20 points on seven-of-11 shooting, including knocking down four of his seven attempts from behind the 3-point line. Garrett Temple, meanwhile, continues to show his effectiveness off the bench with 16 points while knocking down seven of his eight shots.

Sacramento also had composure on its side, while the Lakers seemed to start losing theirs early on, and it just continued to build throughout the game. Head coach Luke Walton was the first one to get heated, as he got thrown out of Monday’s game with 4:14 left in the first quarter after drawing two technical fouls in a row.

Meanwhile, Julius Randle also drew a technical on the same play, and after Rudy Gay knocked down all three free throws, the Kings tied the game and ratcheted up their defense to take the lead.

In all, the Lakers were slapped with six technicals while the Kings only had one, when Cousins and assistant coach Brian Shaw drew double technical toward the end of the third quarter.

NOTES: Ben McLemore appeared to bang knees with Lakers big man Timofey Mozgov while trying to fight through a screen midway through the first quarter. He stayed on the ground for a few minutes before walking to the bench with some assistance.

He was later diagnosed with a contusion to his left quadriceps and did not return to the game.

The Warriors rally in the fourth quarter to subdue the Timberwolves

Published on December 11, 2016December 12, 2016 by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

Minneapolis- The Golden State Warriors, playing the fourth game in the last five nights, fell behind by ten points after three-quarters of play but behind excellent defense outscored the Timberwolves by eighteen in the fourth quarter to beat them 116-108.

The Warriors probably played the worst game of the year the night before in Memphis. Nothing went well for them. They didn’t shoot well, were outrebounded and mad too many turnovers. It was an ugly loss. No, they had to travel to Minneapolis where the weather was cold and snowy. The Dubs were facing the Timberwolves for the second time this year. The Wolves feature three young and talented stars Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Karl-Anthony Towns.The Dubs beat them 115-102 at the Oracle Arena on November 21st, but it wasn’t easy. The Wolves big three give the Dubs fits as they are big and can score as well as rebound. The Warriors entered the game hoping to put the loss to Memphis in the rear view mirror. The Wolves, for some reason, do not look like a team with a record of 6-17 especially when they play the Warriors. Tonight’s game was no exception.

The Warriors did not have Zaza Pachulia available for the second game in a row. Steve Kerr started Kevon Looney in his place. The teams played a very even first quarter. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green led the Dubs in scoring. The score seesawed back and forth. The Wolves led by four 15-11 but the Dubs regained it when Draymond made a layup on a feed from Steph Curry to give the Warriors a 22-18 advantage. The Wolves went ahead 27-24, but Steph and Kevin Durant scored the last six points of the quarter to Put Golden State up by three 30-27 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was also very close. The Dubs took an eight-point lead 48-40 after Draymond Green made two consecutive three-point shots. The Wolves refused to allow the game get out of hand. They tied the score at 58, but Steph made a bucket at the end of the half to make it 60-58. The Dubs shot 47.6% from the floor. So did the Wolves. The Dubs mad six 3-point shots. So did the Wolves. The Wolves held the edge in rebounds 32-19. The Dubs made just three turnovers and were able to capitalize on eight Wolves’ turnovers to the tune of eleven points. The Wolves had just one point off a turnover.

The third quarter belonged to Minnesota. The Wolves did everything right, and things went south for the Dubs. The Wolves behind Towns, Wiggins, and LaVine outscored Golden State 30-18 to take a ten point lead at the end of three-quarters of play. The game was close for the first seven minutes of action. However, the Dubs went ice cold. They did not have a field goal in the last five minutes of the quarter. The Wolves were licking their chops as they sensed they were going to send the Dubs down to their second loss in a row, something that hasn’t happened in the 110 games.

The Dubs went on a 17-4 run to start the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson was scorching hot. He scored twelve points in the run, and the Dubs took the lead 101-92. The Warriors excelled on defense and kept Minnesota from getting back in the game. The Warriors played most of the period without Steph and Draymond. Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, David West, Shaun Livingstone and Andre Iguodala carried the Dubs into the lead. Steph and Draymond entered the game with just 3:36 left to play. The Wolves were toast. The final score for Golden State 116-108.

Game Notes- Klay Thompson led the team in scoring with thirty points. Kevin Durant scored twenty-two to go along with five assists and eight rebounds. Steph had twenty-two, nine assists, and four boards. Draymond added eighteen. Green had four assists and five rebounds. The Warriors used Kevon Looney, JaVale McGee, and David West at center. Looney and McGee ran into foul trouble early in the game but didn’t foul out. David West played well, especially in the fourth quarter. Shaun Livingstone and Andre Iguodala gave the Dubs some help offensively and both played well on defense. The Warriors recored improves to 21-4 and Minnesota drops to 6-18.

Andrew Wiggins scored twenty-five for Minnesota. Towns and LaVine added twenty-five and twenty-three respectively.The Dubs ended the game shooting 45.8% from the floor. Both teams made twenty-seven free throws. The Timberwolves outrebounded the Warriors 52-36. The Warriors had just five offensive rebounds while the big men on the Wolves snagged seventeen offensive boards.The Dubs moved the ball well as they recorded thirty assists. On defense, they had nine steals and four blocked shots. The Warriors took better care of the ball as they turned the ball over just eight times.

The Warriors travel to the Big Easy (New Orleans) to end the five-game road trip as they face the Pelicans and Anthony Davis Tuesday night. Game time will be at 5.00 pm.

Kings suffer 4th quarter collapse and lose to the Jazz 104-84

Published on December 11, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento Kings v Utah Jazz — Casspi to the hoop in Utah photo:NBAE

The Sacramento Kings forgot to play by the old adage of “it’s not how you start the game but how you finish the game that counts”. Sacramento started the game in Utah on Saturday night with an 11-0 run. The Kings finished the game scoring just eight points in the fourth quarter versus the Jazz and lost their second consecutive contest 104-84.

Yes, it was the second game of a back-to-back set on the road for Sacramento. Every NBA fan knows that means the deck is stacked against your team in second game of a back-to-back set on the road, but the deck is also stacked against a home team that is without three of its regular starters due to injuries. That is exactly what the Jazz had to deal with on Saturday night. Three of their regular starters are missing due to injury, and they could easily use that as an excuse anytime to explain away a loss. Instead, they played hard and won their 15th game of the season.

The Kings played hard for 36 minutes

Sacramento trailed the Jazz by just two points after three quarters of play were in the book on Saturday night. It appeared that it was anybody’s game as the teams headed into the final 12 minutes of play.

The Kings did not show up on either end of the floor. On offense, Sacramento shot just 13.6-percent (3-for-22) from floor with one 3-point basket in seven attempts. They went just 1-for-4 from the free throw line. The Kings used 12 players in the fourth period and only four scored points for the team.

On defense, the Kings allowed the Jazz to score 26 points in the final quarter while shooting 50-percent (10-for-20) from the floor. Utah hit 4-of-9 from beyond the 3-point line. Trey Lyles led the Jazz with eight points in the fourth quarter and Gordon Hayward added seven points as well.

The Jazz dominated the fourth quarter of the game as they sent the Kings home with their 15th loss of the year.

Utah dominated the numbers in this game

The Jazz topped the Kings in all of the important numbers as a team on Saturday night. Utah shot 48.1-percent (37-for-77) from the floor while Sacramento shot just 37.8-percent for the game. This was the second straight game that Kings shot under 40-percent for the game. You cannot win in the NBA shooting under 40-percent.

Utah hit 13-of-29 shots from beyond the 3-point arc (44.8-percent). A NBA team cannot allow their opponents to shoot above 40-percent from 3-point land and expect to win. The defense has to put a body on those shooters and put pressure on that offense to stop taking those long range shots if they are going to win the game.

The Jazz shot 94.4-percent (17-for-18) from the free throw line. Teams are not going to shoot that well from the stripe on most nights in “the Association”. The biggest problem for Sacramento was the fact they only went to the free throw line 13 times in the entire game. This is a team that usually dominates the paint. To have only 13 opportunities from the charity stripe in a game is totally unacceptable for the Kings.

For the second game in a row, the Kings were dominated on the boards. The Jazz outrebounded the Kings 54-34. Utah pulled down 44 defensive rebounds to Sacramento’s 22 defensive boards. The Knicks also outrebounded the Kings in their win on Friday night.

utah-utah — Jazz dominates Kings in Utah photo: NBAE

Gobert had a monster game for the Jazz

Rudy Gobert has been tasked with being the leader of his team on the floor with the other three starters missing in action. Saturday night, Gobert recorded a double-double in the game. He posted 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. He also had six – yes you are reading correctly – six blocked shots in the game. Gobert is becoming a force to be dealt with in the NBA.

Four Jazz players scored in double figures

Gordon Hayward was the high-scorer in the game with 26 points for Utah. Hayward hit three 3-point baskets and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

Trey Lyles added 14 points off the bench for the Jazz. Joe Ingles put up 11 points in his 38-minutes of playing time, and Gobert posted his 17 points.

Kings scoring numbers

Rudy Gay led the scoring attack for the Kings on Saturday night. He put up 20 points shooting 7-for-15 from the floor and going 3-for-4 from 3-point range. That is one of his best shooting performances in some time for the Kings.

Point guard Darren Collison added 17 points shooting 50-percent from the field and hitting 3-of-5 from 3-point land.

DeMarcus Cousins posted a double-double putting up 16 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. He also had a tough night shooting going just 7-for-22 from the floor. He was just 1-for-6 from 3-point range.

Omri Casspi continues to make the most of every minute of playing time he given. In this game, Casspi played 27-minutes and scored 12 points. He hit 5-of-9 shots from the floor and was 2-for-3 from long distance. Casspi also had two assists and two steals.

Up next on the schedule

The Kings have Sunday off and then return to action on Monday hosting the Los Angeles Lakers at the Golden 1 Center. The Kings lost to the Lakers in November 101-91 in Sacramento. The last thing Sacramento wants to do is to be swept by the Lakers on their home court.

The Jazz are off until Wednesday night when they will host the Oklahoma City Thunder in Salt Lake City.

Golden State Warriors Saturday game wrap: The Grizzlies maul the Warriors 110-89

Published on December 10, 2016December 10, 2016 by rxsluggerLeave a comment

AP photo: Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randoph (50) drives on Golden State Warrior Ian Clark (2) as the Grizzlies won their sixth straight on Saturday night in Memphis

by Jerry Feitelberg

Memphis- The Memphis Grizzlies shut down the vaunted Golden State Warrior offense Saturday night in Memphis 110-89. The Grizzlies, under first-year head coach Dave Fizdale, won their sixth game in a row and improved to 17-8 for the season. The Warriors effort in the first half was the worst half of basketball so far this year. They scored just 38 points in the half. The Grizzlies, not a great offensive team, tallied 61 in the first 24 minutes of play and led by twenty-three. The Warriors only lead of the game early in the first quarter when Kevin Durant hit a three-point shot to put the Dubs ahead 3-2. Memphis outscored the Dubs 31-16 in the first quarter. The Warriors were obviously out of sync. Nothing worked for them. They couldn’t make shots, they couldn’t rebound, they kept turning the ball over, and they committed too many fouls.

The second quarter was more of the same. Memphis continued to benefit from the free throw line and the Dubs continued to turn the ball over. They trailed by twenty-three at the half 61-38. The Dubs shot a miserable 34% from the floor. Memphis shot 40.5%. The Grizzlies had twenty-seven free throw shots and made twenty-four of them. They scored seventeen points off turnovers, The Dubs had one point off a turnover in the half.

The Warriors tried to regroup to start the second half, but Memphis scored the first seven points and had the Dubs down by thirty. The Warriors did outscore Memphis in the third quarter by just one point and could not get back into the game. The best the Warriors could do was trail by seventeen, but it was evident that Memphis owned the game. Final score 110-89.

Game Notes- Three of the Warrior players were not available for action on Saturday. Starting center Zaza Pachulia had a wrist injury and was replaced by Anderson Varejao in the lineup. Super sub Andre Iguodala was given the night off by coach Kerr. Shaun Livingston, who did not play Thursday in Utah, was back in action. Kevon Looney had a sprained ankle.

Kevin Durant led the Dubs offense with twenty-one. Steph Curry had seventeen. No one else was in double figures for the Dubs. Klay Thomson had eight and Draymond Green added seven. The Dubs’ bench contributed twenty-five. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, had seven players in double figures. Marc Gasol, JaMychal Green, Trey Williams and Zach Randolph were the key playmakers for the Grizzlies. They outrebounded the Dubs they had more assists than Golden State and committed just ten turnovers in the game. The Warriors turned the ball over an astounding twenty-three times. The Warriors lost for the fourth time this year and drop to 20-4. They have to regroup and play better Sunday

The Warriors will play for the fourth time in five days Sunday night in Minnesota against the Timberwolves. Game time will be at 5 pm.

Knicks sneak past the Kings 103-100

Published on December 10, 2016December 10, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

New York Knicks v Sacramento Kings — Cousins shoots against the Knicks photo: NBA.com

Sacramento – The Kings trailed the New York Knicks 103-100 with 2.6-seconds remaining in the game. New York had to inbound the ball in the frontcourt after calling a timeout. The inbound pass came to Carmelo Anthony who was immediately fouled by Rudy Gay before any time could come off the clock. The only problem with the plan was the fact that Anthony was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line in game up to that point.

Incredibly, Anthony stepped up to the line and promptly missed the first first free throw and the sellout crowd began to buzz. Anthony shot the second free throw and unbelievably missed again.

DeMarcus Cousins grabbed the rebound and ran as close to midcourt as he dared. The giant of a man then heaved a what was estimated to be a 52-foot desperation shot at his basket that hit the rim and then rolled out. For a few micro-seconds the thousands of Kings fans in attendance thought they were going to witness a miracle, then reality hit and the big crowd began to exit the Golden 1 Center knowing their team had lost the game.

Each team was missing a key player in the game

The Kings played the game without Matt Barnes who was held out of the game for what was called “rest”. Barnes of course has been at the center of a controversial story about a fight that allegedly took place in a New York City night club early last Monday morning. Rumors have been swirling that Barnes would be arrested by NYPD for his involvement in the incident. Barnes has also been named in a lawsuit that has been filed by two of the alleged victims of the brawl.

In his postgame press conference, Kings head coach Dave Joerger indicated that he believed Barnes would be available to play against the Jazz in Utah on Saturday night. Barnes was on the bench in street clothes for the game Friday night.

The Knicks were without Derrick Rose who is suffering from lower back pain. Rose had to miss the game on Wednesday night in New York City versus the Cavaliers due to the same problem.

NYK head coach Jeff Hornacek said before the game he was hopeful Rose would be available for the game on Sunday when his team faces the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Sacramento struggles shooting again against the Knicks

The Kings (8-13) shot much better in the first half against the Knicks on Friday night than did last Sunday in the Garden when they shot under 30-percent. However, the Kings shot under 40-percent in both the third and fourth quarters of this game which helped lead to their demise.

Sacramento shot 40.2-percent (35-for-87) from the floor and were a dismal 7-of-28 (25-percent) from 3-point range. The Kings went 23-for-27 (85.2-percent) from the free throw line.

Cousins led the way for the Kings

Cousins scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to post the double-double. He also struggled shooting going 9-for-25 from the field and 0-for-6 for 3-point opportunities. Cousins did dish out six assists in the contest
Darren Collison had a strong game against the Knicks. He scored 14 points shooting 5-for-11 in the game. He also had three assists and two steals
Rudy Gay recorded 15 points, five rebounds and a steal. He also had a tough night shooting going 4-for-15 from the floor and 0-for-5 from beyond the 3-point line
Omri Casspi keeps taking advantage of every playing opportunity he is given by Dave Joerger. Casspi put 12 points up on the board hitting 4-of-5 shots from the floor including one 3-pointer. He was a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe and he had two steals in the game
Ben McLemore started his second consecutive game and scored 10 points. He hit 2-of-2 from long range
Other Kings scorers: Anthony Tolliver 10, Garrett Temple 5, Kosta Koufos 4, Ty Lawson 4

Kings Dave Joerger on problems at the end of quarters in the game

“That was definitely a good basketball game. A couple of things came back and bit us. We gave up eight points at the end of the first, second and third quarter on last possession plays. In a close game, those things add up. We struggled to struggled to score the basketball tonight. We turned them over 17 times and scored 25 points off of that but outside of that we just didn’t make a lot of shots. Especially from the perimeter, we did not gain a lot of shots from the perimeter so it may jam up the paint on us. Good basketball game.”

joerger-nyk — Dave Joerger faces the press photo: SRS.com

Surprising stat of the night

The Kings are not a team that is outrebounded by their opponents on a regular basis. If the other team does record more rebounds, the difference is usually not dramatic.

On Friday night, the Knicks outrebounded the Kings 54-39. Kings head Dave Joerger felt their length and the fact the Kings played “small” much of the game is what allowed New York to establish such a margin.

NYK did not have a great shooting night but lived in “Melo’s” world

The Knicks shot just 42.9-percent (36-for-84) on Friday against the Kings. They shot slightly better from long range hitting on 10-of-29 (34.5-percent) of their 3-point shots.

New York (13-10) rode the hot hand of Carmelo Anthony in the first half and then relied on efforts of Kristaps Porzingis and their bench in the second half.

Melo put 33 points in the book on Friday night. He shot 9-for-22 from field, 3-for-10 from long distance and was an impressive 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Anthony scored 23 points in the first half
Porzingis scored 17 after shooting a pitiful 1-for-9 in the first half. He did wind up with a double-double by hauling in 10 rebounds
Brandon Jennings did a nice job filling in for Rose on the point scoring 13 points and distributing seven assists
Kyle O’Quinn had a nice game off the bench for the Knicks scoring eight points, pulling down 11 rebounds, dishing five assists and blocking two shots in 20-minutes of playing time

carmelo-kings — Melo fires away versus the Kings photo: NBA.com

Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek had nothing but praise but praise for Carmelo

“He had a great game. When he’s scoring, he’s getting the ball in a good position from our guys where he can drive it. We put him in some trouble later on in the game, giving him the with like four seconds to go, not a good thing to do. We talked about having to get to the offense a little bit quicker. Late in the game, we kind of walked to our spots. Carmelo, when we go to him, he can pump fake, he can drive, he’s making passes. He’s playing an all-around game, like a star does.”

Up next for the teams

The Kings go right back into action on Saturday night as they play the back end of a back-to-back set on the road in Utah against the Jazz.

The Knicks are off until Sunday when they will play game two of their five-game road trip in Los Angeles versus the Lakers.