Oakland- The Golden State Warriors defeated the Phoenix Suns 139-108 in front of the 199th consecutive sellout at Oracle Arena Saturday night. The Warriors rebounded from the double-overtime loss to the Houston Rockets Thursday night. The Warriors increased their streak to 106 games without two losses in a row. The last time that happened was April 5-7, 2015.
The young Suns, coached by Earl Watson, were competitive with the Warriors in the first quarter. They took an early lead, fell behind, stayed even with the Warriors but the Dubs offense behind Steph Curry’s nine and JaVale McGee’s seven gave the Warriors a seven-point lead 37-30 after one-quarter. The Warriors went on a 16-0 run to start the second quarter and led by twenty-one 61-40. They turned the ball over four times late in the period and the Suns behind a 17-5 surge closed the gap to just nine 66-57 at the half.
The third quarter belonged to Steph Curry. Curry scored twenty points and the Warriors blew open the game. They scored forty-two points in the stanza to lead by twenty-four 108-84. Steph and Draymond Green sat on the bench for the final twelve minutes. Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant played about six minutes and the bench finished up the game. The Dubs win 138-109.
Game Notes- The Dubs had five players in double figures. Steph Curry led them with 31. Klay Thompson had twenty-six and Durant finished the night with 20. The Dubs had thirty-seven assists. Durant had 8 and Green finished with 13 in just three-quarters of play. The bench was terrific. David West scored ten and JaVale McGee had 11. Leading scorers for Phoenix were Eric Bledsoe with 27 and Devin Booker had 21.
After the game, Steve Kerr said the team” had some good moments.” He also said ‘the most disappointing moment was the last two to three minutes of the second quarter.” That was when the Suns went on a 17-5 run that not only quieted the crowd but produced a little sweat on Kerr’s brow. Kerr, when talking about Kevin Durant, remarked that Durant “doesn’t care if he shoots.” Durant had taken just five shots in the first three-quarters of play. He finished the night with twenty and took just seven shots in the entire game. Durant had eight assists and blocked three shots.
The Dubs finish the homestand Monday night against the Indiana Pacers at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm. The Dubs then start a six-game road trip in Los Angeles against the Clippers Wednesday night. The Clippers are 16-5 and trail the Dubs by 1 1/2 games in the standings. Golden State’s record improved to 17-3 and the Suns fell to 6-14.
Cousins and Horford battle under the basket Photo NBAE
The Kings and Celtics went to war on the basketball court on Friday night in Boston. The game featured 23 lead changes and 12 ties. As those stats would imply, both teams had the opportunity to win the game. In the end, Boston led by Al Horford was able to put the “W” in the books because of their tough play late in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics won their 11th game of the season as they downed the Kings 97-92. Sacramento now drops to 7-12 on the season and 1-2 on what is now a five-game road trip.
The Kings started slow and finished sluggish
Sacramento went with the “the big” starting lineup in this game – Koufos, Cousins, Gay, Afflalo and Collison. Boston began running away from this starting five immediately. By the 4:26 mark in the first quarter, the Celtics held a 13-point lead 24-11. Dave Joerger pulled all of his starters except Cousins and the second unit erased the deficit tying the game at 29-29 at the end of the first period.
That set up a real battle between the teams that played out in second, third and part of the fourth quarters.
With 7:54 to go in the game, Al Horford hit a hook shot that tied the game and the Celtics eventually went on a 10-0 run that created a major uphill battle for the Kings. Sacramento led by Cousins tried to fight their way back into the game and did cut the Celtics lead to three points with 39 seconds remaining in the game. The Kings were unable to score again in those final seconds and lost the game.
The Kings lost Cousins for medical treatment late in the 3rd and early in the 4th quarters
Late in the third quarter, Ty Lawson and DeMarcus Cousins were both going for a defensive rebound when Lawson’s left elbow hit Cousins above the left eye. The blow opened up a cut above Cousins’ left eye. He was taken to the locker room where they glued the cut shut and he returned to the game with under eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
Was that the turning point in the game? No, it was not. Read the next section and you will understand why it was not the key to the loss.
Missed shots in the paint – poor shot selection – turnovers all haunt the Kings
“We just shot ourselves in the foot. We turned the damned thing (the ball) over like I’ve never seen.We take bad shots sometimes and it just ticks me off. At bad times … stuff we know we have to get better at. We’re not a bunch of rookies. We can get better. We’ll keep plugging away and keep getting better, but we shot 47 shots in the paint and missed how many layups? Turnovers killed us. Shots come and go – we didn’t make shots,” said Kings head coach Dave Joerger after the game.
Sacramento outscored Boston 42-34 in the paint but went 21-for-47 in the high percentage shooting area. The Kings shot just 37.9-percent (33-for-87) for the game. It is almost impossible to win a game in the NBA and shoot under 40-percent. Sacramento turned the ball over 15 times and those TOVs created 21 points for Boston.
Cousins was the Kings scoring leader but it was not his best night – Barnes was big
DeMarcus Cousins was the game’s leading scorer with 28 points but he had to take 26 shots to tally those points. He was 2-for-7 from long range. Cousins had nine rebounds so he did not record a double-double
Matt Barnes did have a double-double for the Kings on Friday night. He scored 12 points, grabbed 16 rebounds (game-high) and added five assists. Barnes also provided some much needed energy on defense several times in the game
Rudy Gay and Darren Collison each scored 12 points for Sacramento. Gay had eight rebounds but went 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Collison had three assists
Omri Casspi played almost 27 minutes off the bench and scored seven points. Casspi brought some much needed energy late in the first quarter
Willie Cauley-Stein had some strong minutes of playing time in the first half and scored six points in the game
Matt Barnes moves with the ball in Boston Photo NBAE
Al Horford was the star for Boston in the game
Horford had a complete game for the Celtics on Friday night against the Kings. The Boston center played 35-minutes scoring 26 points, recorded eight rebounds, dished out three assists, had two steals and six -yes you are reading correctly – six blocked shots. He shot 10-for-18 from the floor and 4-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was even more impressed with Horford’s defense. Stevens talked about how his center is always at the ready on defense. Horford did make a key defensive play on Cousins in the final seconds of the game to deny the Kings big man a 3-point shot opportunity.
Other Celtic contributors
Former Kings player Isaiah Thomas put up 20 points and handed out seven assists on a night when he did not shoot his best. Thomas shot 6-for-21 from the floor and 0-for-5 from 3-point land
Jae Crowder added 16 points and Avery Bradley scored 15 for Boston
One of the big weaknesses for the Celtics is the lack of bench scoring. The Celtics reserves scored just 12 points in the contest. The Kings bench scored 33 points in the game
Isaiah Thomas goes to the basket against his old team on Friday night Photo NBAE
Up next on the schedule
The Kings have the day off in New York City on Saturday and then will face the New York Knicks in “the Garden” on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. PST in game four of the five-game road trip.
The Celtics kick off a road trip on Saturday night in Philadelphia with the Sixers assuming the floor is dry enough for play. The NBA will make sure the floor is game-ready for the Celtics and Sixers … take that to the bank.
AP photo:Montezl Harrell of the Houston Rockets (right) loses the ball as Kevin Durant (left) of the Golden State Warriors defends in the first half as the Warriors drop an double overtime performance to the Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night
by Jerry Feitelberg
Oakland-The Houston Rockets snapped the Golden State Warriors twelve-game winning streak Thursday night at Oracle Arena in double overtime by a score of 132-27. The game was fiecely contested by both teams all night. Neither team would give an inch. The Rockets had seven players finish the night in double figures. The Dubs had five. There were five technical fouls called in the game. Draymond Green played his heart out, but he was called for a flagrant foul one in the second overtime period that, unfortunately, turned out to be the key play that doomed the Dubs. Green was going up for a layup when he was fouled by James Harden. As Draymond was going down backward to the floor, his right leg came up and hit Harden in the face. To many, it appeared to be inadvertent, but after a long review, the refs charged him with the foul.Draymond was awarded two free throws, and he made one. Harden made both, and the Rockets retained possession. The Rockets went up by four 128-124. They increased the lead to six, and that was the ballgame.
The game went back and forth all night. The Rockets biggest lead of the night came in the first period when they had a 13-4 lead. The game was tied at four when the Rockets went on a 9-0 run. The Dubs came back and tied the game at twenty. The Dubst hen took the lead by four 24-20, but it didn’t last long. The Rockets tied it at twenty-five Houston then went ahead and finished the first quarter with a 32-30 lead.
The Dubs tied it at 32 on a Kevin Durant bucket. Houston regained the lead, but the Dubs came back and led by three 46-43. The Rockets continued to match the Dubs offensively and regained the lead 51-48. They finished the first half with a five -point lead 64-59. James Harden, Ryan Anderson, and Eric Gordon led the Rockets attack. Durant with nineteen, Draymond Green had ten points, six assists, and six rebounds. Andre Iguodala added nine. Steph Curry, saddled, with three fouls, had just five points in eleven plus minutes in the first half. Klay Thompson did not have a good shooting night, and he finished the first twenty-four minutes with seven points. The Rockets scored ten second-chance points while Golden State had zero. That was the most telling stat of the first half.
The Rockets continued to answer every Warrior challenge in the third quarter. Steph got it going as he made a couple of clutch three-point shots. Houston refused to bend. The Dubs outscored the Rockets by just one point and trailed by four 86-82 after three. The Dubs closed the gap to one 86-85 when KD hit a three to start the quarter. The Rockets increased the lead to seven 97-90.The Dubs started a comeback. They tied Houston at 97 behind two key buckets by Draymond. Neither team could get separation from the other. They tied the score four times before the buzzer ended the game tied at 113 in regulation.
Steph Curry scored the Warriors’first six points of the first overtime session. He made a reverse layup and was fouled on the play. He made the free throw. Houston came back with a 2-point bucket to make it 116-115. Steph hit a three. Harden countered with a three of his own to trail 119-118. KD responded to put the Dubs up by three. The Rockets scored the next five points to take the lead 123-121. The Dubs tied it again. The Rockets had the ball for the last twenty-five second but the Dubs defense held and the Rockets committed a 24-second violation and the first OT period ended with the score tied.
Steph Curry, saddled with five personal fouls, committed an offensive foul and had to leave the game early in the second OT. Harden made a three to put the Rockets up 126-123. It was at this point that Harden fouled Draymond as he was going in for a layup. Both players were called for a foul. Green made one but Harden made his two and Houston had pssossion of the ball. That was the game. The Dubs could not catch up and they lost by five 132-127.
Game notes- With the loss, the Dubs fall to 16-3 while Houston improves to 12-7. James Harden had his fourth triple-double of the season as he had 29 points, 13 assists, and 14 rebounds. Ryan Anderson had 29 and Eric Gordon added 23, coming off the bench. Four other rockets were in double figures. Kevin Durant had a double-double with 39 points and 13 boards. Draymond also had a double-double. He scored 20, had nine assists and 15 rebounds. Curry scored 28, Iguodala ten and Klay fifteen.There were 12ties in the game. The Rockets won the offensive rebound battle as they scored twenty-eigh second chance points.
The Warriors hope to get back on the winning track Saturday night againstthe Phoenix Suns. It won’t be easy as the Suns seem to match up well agains the Warriors and have played the Dubs hard in the two meeting so far this year. The game will be at the Oracle arena at 7:30 pm.
The Sacramento Kings and the Philadelphia 76ers were supposed to play a basketball game Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly. The game was not played due to unsafe conditions on the floor.
The Wells Fargo Center is a combination arena where they play basketball and hockey. The basketball floor is laid down over the ice which happens in a number of arenas around the country and is usually not a problem.
On Wednesday, it was unusually warm for Philadelphia with temperatures in the 60’s. Officials believe that some malfunction with the refrigeration system caused the the condensation to form on the basketball floor. When mopping up the water did not solve the problem, NBA officials had to step in and make a decision based on the safety of the players.
What should we do all great and powerful NBA?
The only logical decision was to postpone the game to a later date.
Why not play the game on Thursday?
The Wells Fargo Center was dark on Thursday night and the Kings would have been available, but the Sixers were already scheduled for a back-to-back home set on Friday with Orlando and on Saturday with Boston. Philly also has a back-to-back home/road set scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. A Thursday contest would have been just to much to ask of the players.
Has this ever happened before?
In October of 2015, a Lakers – Warriors preseason game at a casino in San Diego was canceled late in the third quarter due to wet floor conditions. In 2010, a preseason game between Orlando and Miami was canceled in St. Petersburg for the same problem.
There are reports that a similar problem that canceled an NBA game in the late 80’s cost the home team $1-million in fines. The Sixers or whoever controls the Wells Fargo Center had better get out the checkbook because the fines and lawsuits are coming.
The Sixers were already announcing to the crowd Wednesday night that their tickets and parking stubs would be honored for the rescheduled game between Sacramento and Philadelphia. They also announced bonus vouchers to upcoming games in December for fans as compensation for their time and trouble for showing up and having the game canceled.
Boogie had fun with the moment
Best moment of the night had to be DeMarcus Cousins helping to mop the floor at the Wells Fargo Center. “Boogie” may be known for his temper but he has a fun-loving side that can be very flexible in a situation that could have a very stressful event. There is more to the Kings’ big man than just what happens after officials make a call he does not agree with and he expresses his feelings openly for the world to see. Enjoy the video. http://www.csnphilly.com/the700level/watch-demarcus-cousins-literally-mops-wells-fargo-center-floor-during-bizarre-pregame
SAN FRANCISCO–The Golden State Warriors plan to build an 18,500 seat arena in San Francisco moved one step closer to fruition when a state court of appeals upheld the city’s plan to manage increased traffic congestion and said the project would not impede access to the hospital or damage the environment.
The court recognized that some of the impacts on traffic and street intersections were “significant and unavoidable” The court also noted that some transit funding was uncertain. The court looked at the environmental study that said the project would not interfere with access to UCSF Medical Center or the biotech companies in the area and would not change the character of the neighborhood.
The opponents of the project led by the Mission Bay Alliance plan to appeal the case to the California Supreme Court. The Warriors plan to open the new arena in 2019, but they have not set a date to start construction at this time.
AP file photo: DeMarcus Cousins has to be floored by how well the club has been handling some of the competitive NBA teams coming into Golden 1 Center
The Kings had a game last Wednesday night with Oklahoma City and frankly we thought that would be a very difficult game to play for the Kings just because Oklahoma City is Oklahoma City of course they lost Kevin Durant but they still have a lot of super talent on that team. The Thunder came in and the Kings just stood up and said “not in our house” and the Kings beat them 116-101.
The Kings beat them like they were a lower level team, it was phenomenal I don’t think anybody expected there to be that kind of victory but the Kings just got ready and came after them. It was a big win and the Kings were very excited about it and it was a tremendous pump up for the team.
The Golden State Warriors had to fight tooth and nail to defeat the Atlanta Hawks Monday night at the Oracle Arena. The Dubs trailed for most of the game but rallied in the fourth quarter to down the Hawks 105-100. The game was a thriller, and the outcome was in doubt until the final fifteen seconds of the contest.
The Dubs got off to a slow start as they trailed the Hawks 14-8 in the early going. The Dubs went on a 15-1 run to take a 23-15 lead, but the Hawks clawed their way back and trailed the Dubs 29-27 at the end of the first quarter. The Hawks played their game and refused to let the Warriors get any rhythm. Atlanta, coached by Mike Budenholzer who was an assistant at San Antonio under Greg Popovic, had his team use most of the twenty-four-second clock as they took the lead 42-38. The Dubs tied the game at 44, but Atlanta kept making shots and led by three 53-50 at the half. Klay Thompson put in fifteen for the Dubs while Steph Curry and Kevin Durant were held to 8 points each. Malcolm Delaney and Dennis Schroder had nine each and Tim Hardaway; Jr added eight. The Warriors committed eleven turnovers in the half and looked like they were out of sync.
The Hawks led the entire third quarter. Every time the Dubs got close, the Hawks had an answer. They led by seven 74-67 with just 3:53 left in the quarter. Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala each made a three-point shot to close the gap to just two points 78-76. The Hawks increased the lead to four but backup guard Ian Clark hit a three-pointer as time expired to make it a one-point game 81-80. The Dubs scored the first ten points to start the fourth quarter. Iguodala made two clutch layups to put the Dubs ahead by five 86-81. The Hawks would not fold. They fought back but could not regain the lead. They narrowed the lead to two, but the Warriors fought them off. Steph made a huge three-point bucket to put the Dubs up by eight 102-94. The Hawks know how to play defense too, and the kept the Dubs from scoring. However, Draymond Green stepped up in the final few minutes of the game as he blocked a Dennis Schroder shot and seemed to be everywhere as he guarded Hawks’ center Dwight Howard and guard Dennis Schroder. The Dubs held on to win their twelfth game in a row 105-100. The game was a thriller.
Game Notes- The Warriors are now 16-2 for the season. The twelve-game winning streak is fourth longest in franchise history. The Warriors big three of Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson all scored over twenty points in the game. The Dubs are 8-0 when those three score more than 20 in a game. Durant had a double-double with twenty-five points and fourteen rebounds; Durant blocked two shots too. Steph added twenty-five and three assists and three boards. Klay Thompson knocked down twenty. Draymond Green was fantastic on defense; Green had just three rebounds, but he blocked four shots. Andre Iguodala scored twelve, and he had five assists, five rebounds, and one blocked shot. Andre provided the spark the Dubs needed to get the win. The Warriors committed eleven turnovers in the first half but just four in the second. Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 24. Paul Millsap had fourteen points and fourteen rebounds for Atlanta. The big man, Dwight Howard added fourteen and had sixteen boards. Atlanta falls to 10-8.
After the game, coach Steve Kerr had this to say about the defense and Draymond Green in particular. “That was amazing. Don’t know if I ever saw a sequence like that. Incredible defensive sequence. (Green) can guard anyone in the league. Defense in the second half was great. I thought Andre was brilliant. He played with great energy, such a great basketball player.”
The Warriors meet the Houston Rockets Thursday night at the Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm.
DeMarcus Cousins scored a game-high 37 points in win over the Nets on Sunday night. Those 37 points allowed Cousins to pass Chris Webber for third on the all-time Sacramento Kings scoring list.
Cousins now has 8847 career points for Sacramento. Webber accumulated 8843 points during his six-plus years with Sacramento.
Peja Stojakovic is currently in second-place with 9498 points and the great Mitch Richmond holds down the number one spot with 12,070 points. The all-time franchise (Royals/Kings) points leader is Hall of Famer Oscar Robinson.
Based on his current scoring projections, Cousins could pass Stojakovic for second-place on the scoring list later this season.
It was a night of technical fouls plus a flagrant two ejection
DeMarcus Cousins picked up his fifth technical foul in the third quarter of the game for contact with Luis Scola’s face. It was incorrectly reported as his fourth technical foul in last night’s story. Cousins is now tied for the league lead in that category with DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers.
The Kings Kosta Koufos was charged with a technical foul in the fourth quarter for arguing with the officials. Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson picked up a “T” in the fourth out of frustration with the officials and his team. Nets guard Randy Foye was also a recipient of a technical late in the final period.
Matt Barnes received his flagrant two foul (which was a flagrant one all the way) and ejection from the officiating crew on Sunday night in Brooklyn.
Four technicals and a flagrant two ejection begins to sound like an officiating crew that might have lost control of a game. This would be a good game for the chief of officials to review.
The Kings went back to the big starting lineup on Sunday in Brooklyn
After using the the “small ball” starting lineup for the past three games, Sacramento head coach Dave Joerger went back to the “big lineup” versus the big Nets. That means Koufos started at center, Cousins slid back to power forward, Rudy Gay played the three, Arron Afflalo was at shooting guard and Darren Collison started as the Kings point guard.
Three Kings return to Reno
Center Georgios Papagiannis, Forward Skal Labissiere and Guard Malachi Richardson ended few days with the parent club and returned to the D-League on Sunday. The Bighorns hosted the Warriors D-League entry the Santa Cruz Warriors.
The Bighorns used a runaway second quarter to establish a solid lead over Santa Cruz and won their second game of the season 100-84.
Malachi Richardson led the Bighorns scoring attack with 24 points and made it a double-double with 11 rebounds. He shot 8-for-18 from the floor, 3-for-6 from 3-point range and hit 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Skal Labissiere recorded 18 points and grabbed four rebounds. He went 6-for-11 shooting from the field and was 6-for-8 from foul line.
Papagiannis did not play which was listed as a coach’s decision. Kings head coach Dave Joerger had told us that having all three players in a game really limited the number of touches each player received and they want to maximize that number to speed up player development.
The Bighorns will host the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston) on Thursday.
Don’t let this guy get to close to you on the court in D.C.
FiveThirtyEight.com says the Wizards have a 68-percent chance of beating the Kings tonight in Washington (remember: this is the second game of a back-to-back set on the road). FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO system predicts the Wizards are the favorites minus 4.5 points.
CARMELO also predicts the Wizards will finish with a record of 34-48 and have a 31-percent chance of making the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
The fellows who make those predictions for the owners of those big resorts say go with the Wizards minus 4.5 points. They call the over/under as 210 to 210.5.
Looking ahead to game six of the road trip in Dallas
The chances of a road team winning a game in the NBA stand at approximately 40-percent. That means the odds are against you before you ever start the game.
The Sacramento Kings kicked off a six-game road trip in Brooklyn on Sunday night against the Nets. The Nets came into the game having lost six consecutive games and were desperate for a win. Sacramento knew this was a team they could beat and needed to defeat to make it a successful start to the road trip.
The Kings (7-10) met their goal by soundly defeating the Nets 122-105 to start the long road trip on a positive note.
The Nets opened the game with fast and furious play
Brooklyn plays fast as team normally, but they opened this game with a sense of urgency wanting to end their losing streak and feeling like the Kings were a team they could beat on their home court.
The Nets decided to use the Rockets philosophy and started shooting as many 3-pointers as possible against the Kings. The concept worked momentarily as Brooklyn opened up a nine point lead shooting 5-for-10 from long range, but the Kings got organized on offense scoring with high percentage shots in the paint. At the end of the first quarter, the Kings had cut the Nets lead to four points – 35 to 31.
The Sacramento second unit slowed the Nets down in the second quarter
The Kings second unit led by Matt Barnes and Garrett Temple slowed the Nets down by increasing the defensive pressure and continued to cut into the Brooklyn lead using high percentage shots in the paint. Sacramento tied the game up with 8:52 to in the first half, and then they took the lead.
The Nets took the lead back before the end of the half, but they were not able to reestablish the fiery pace of the first quarter. Also, the Kings continued to score. DeMarcus Cousins hit a 25-foot bank shot for 3-points near the end of period. At the end of the 12-minutes, Sacramento had won the quarter 27-24. Brooklyn went to halftime with a 59-58 lead over the Kings.
Photo NBAE
In the third quarter the Sacramento Express rolled into Brooklyn
The Kings have been a strong second-half team in general this season. On Sunday night in Brooklyn, they found a whole new running gear thanks to their star center. Cousins took charge of the game scoring 18 points in the quarter, shooting 6-for-9 from the floor including hitting 2-of-2 from 3-point range. He went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, grabbed five rebounds and had three steals in the period. Cousins did in 12-minutes what a majority of players would love to do in an entire game.
Rudy Gay added five points and two assists. Darren Collison scored five points and had one assist. Matt Barnes put up three points and dished out three assists in just 5:30 on the floor.
By the end of the quarter, the Kings had outscored the Nets 34-18 in the period and had a 92-77 lead in the game.
The one negative of the quarter was that DeMarcus Cousins picked up a technical foul for hitting Luis Scola in the face under basket while trying to make a layup. Cousins then went to the line to shoot two free throws because Scola fouled him in the act of shooting. It is Cousins fourth technical of the season.
Photo NBAE
The fourth quarter should have been an easy one for Sacramento but is wasn’t
Everything started off the Kings in fourth quarter just the way they wanted things to go. It looked like it would be a forgettable 12-minutes and Sacramento could move on to Washington, D.C. for the game on Monday night.
Then at the 9:35 mark of the fourth quarter, Sean Kilpatrick of the Nets drove to the basket for a layup. Matt Barnes of the Kings ran in from the angle to cut him off and there was heavy contact. Replay revealed that Barnes’ left arm made contact with Kilpatrick’s face. The officials went to review the video and everyone knew Barnes was going to be issued a flagrant one foul. Instead, the referees called it a flagrant two foul and Barnes was ejected from the game. (Let me just say that Barnes previous reputation as a tough guy may have come into play in the call – imho).
The ejection changed the momentum of the game and the Nets promptly went on a 16-2 run and cut the Kings lead down to 99-93.
Rudy Gay hit a 19-foot jumper with 6:29 to go in the game which kicked off a 14-0 run by the Kings. That run killed any hope the Nets had of coming back in the game.
Sacramento won the game by the final score of 122-105.
Sacramento leaders
Photo USA Today Sports
DeMarcus Cousins was the leading scorer in the game with 37 points and made it a double-double with 11 rebounds
Rudy Gay had a big game with 22 points, eight assists and eight rebounds
Darren Collison scored 18 points
Ty Lawson scored 13 points coming off the bench for the Kings
Omri Casspi played again for the Kings putting up eight point and grabbing five rebounds. He was 2-for-2 from 3-point range.
Everyone on the Sacramento bench except Anthony Tolliver – that includes Ben McLemore and Willie Cauley-Stein- played in the game
Brooklyn’s top producers
Guard Sean Kilpatrick was the Nets leading scorer with 22 points. He went 8-for-13 shooting including three 3-point baskets
Brook Lopez put up 17 points and hauled in seven rebounds while battling with DeMarcus Cousins all night
Bojan Bogdanovic added 13 points for Brooklyn
Justin Hamilton was the Nets rebounding leader with 10
Key stat of the game
Points in the paint: Kings 50 Nets 36 – this is where the game was won
Up next on the schedule
The Nets game was the first game of a back-to-back set on the road for the Kings. Sacramento will play on Monday night in Washington, D.C. The Wizards are 5-10 on the season and are coming off a loss to San Antonio. The Kings did play the Wizards in the preseason at Rupp Arena on the campus of the University of Kentucky.
The Nets will try to end their seven-game losing streak on Tuesday night when they host the 14-4 Los Angeles Clippers.
Oakland- The Golden State Warriors beat the young and talented Minnesota Timberwolves Saturday night at the Oracle Arena by a score of 115-102. The Warriors played the game without Draymond Green and Ian Clark. Green and Clark suffered injuries on the same play Friday night in Los Angeles. Coach Steve Kerr said that when he told Draymond that he would not play, Draymond “did not fight me on it. If someone is banged up, we give him the night off, no matter who he is.” Kerr gave Kevon Looney the first start of his relatively short NBA career. Looney, in a career-high nineteen minutes of play, scored six points, had two assists and three rebounds. Without Green in the lineup, the Dubs had to find a way to defend the Wolves Big Three. Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, and Rookie-of-the-Year Karl-Anthony Towns are all just twenty-one years old, and these three can play basketball. Those three kept the Wolves in the game, but the Warriors prevailed. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson led the Warriors in scoring. Durant was magnificent on defense as he had ten rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots. Steph had eight boards and six assists. Zaza Pachulia, Javon McGee, and David West all made their presence felt in the game.
The Warriors started the game well. They had a 21-13 lead until Minnesota went on a thirteen-three run. The first quarter ended with the Wolves leading 33-30. Karl-Anthony Towns (12), Andrew Wiggins(9), and Zach LaVine(9) scored thirty of the thirty-three Wolves’ points in the quarter. The Wolves were 62.5% from the floor. The Dubs weren’t bad as they shot 60%, but they trailed by three.
The Warriors’ and the Wolves were cold to start the second quarter. The Dubs went four minutes without scoring a point. The Timberwolves weren’t much better. They scored just three to take a 36-30 lead with eight minutes left. The Dubs behind Durant, Curry, Looney, and Pachulia managed to put Golden State in the lead. The Warrior defense shut down the Minnesota offense and the Dubs outscored them 26-25 to take an eight-point lead (56-48) at the half. KD(18), Steph(11), and Klay(11) were the high scorers for Golden State.
The Warriors increased the lead to seventeen at the end of three as Steph continued to make three-point shots. However, Minnesota came to life in the fourth quarter and closed the gap to eight but Steph, Klay, and Durant made clutch baskets when needed and they took down the Timberwolves 115-102.
Game Notes- The Warriors won their eleventh straight game to improve to 15-2. The Wolves fall to 5-11. Steph led the Dubs with 34 to go along with six assists and eight rebounds. Klay Thompson had twenty-three and six boards. Durant had a double-double with 28 points and ten rebounds. Durant had a career-high six blocked shots. The Warriors streak of ten consecutive games with 30 or more assists ended. The Dubs made just twenty-five in the contest. Zach LaVine led the Wolves with 31. Towns had 18 and Wiggins added 18.
The Warriors meet the Atlanta Hawks Monday night at the Oracle Arena at 7:30 pm.
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