Category: NBA

West controls All-Star Game as Curry goes for 26

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

photo credit: thebiglead.com The West’s Stephen Curry of Golden State at the NBA All-Star game in Toronto on Sunday

In the highest-scoring All-Star Game in NBA history, the West trumped the East 196-173 in Toronto on Sunday night.

Russell Westbrook took home the MVP honors with 31 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Stephen Curry knocked down six 3-pointers for 26 points, helping set the pace for the West.

But it was Kobe Bryant’s night. Bryant, appearing in his 18th All-Star Game, had just 10 points but was given several ovations as he said his goodbye to the stage he dominated so often.

The other Warriors in the game, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, came off the bench. Thompson had nine points while Green had four.

Paul George led the East with 41 points, while LeBron James, with 13 points, passed Bryant for the most points in All-Star Game history.

The West led 92-90 at halftime, but pulled away in the third quarter. Curry nailed a long range shot at the buzzer in the fourth to conclude matters.

It was a fun All-Star festivities in Toronto, with an electric dunk contest on Saturday that preceded a lights out shooting display from Thompson.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Curry, Thompson, and Green prepare to shine at All-Star game this Sunday

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by David Zizmor

photo credit: newcarrelease.biz–2016 NBA All-Star game Toronto logo

For the Golden State Warriors headed into the 2016 All-Star break there’s not much to complain about who finished the first half of the season at 48-4. They will be represented by Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. This team actually by all means could even be better than that if you look at those four loses @ Milwaukee 108-95 Sat Dec 12, @ Dallas 114-91, @ Denver 112-110 Wed Jan 13, and @ Detroit 113-95 Sat Jan 16. one of them was to Dallas and in that game Curry didn’t even play.

Another Warrior loss came in Denver and Green didn’t play in that one and the very first loss of the season was against the Milwaukee Bucks that was on the second game of a back to back at the end of a seven game road trip following double overtime win against the Boston Celtics a thousand miles away.

Everything was kind of against them in that Milwaukee game in terms of travel and wear and tear and just being completely exhausted and even then they were in that game up until the end. If you look at that 48-4 record those loses were under unusual circumstances.

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcasts for http://www.sportsradioservice each week click below to listen to his handy work

 

 

Warriors end first half of season with just another win

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

The Golden State Warriors won handily over the Suns 112-104 on Wednesday night — with the final score not at all indicative of how thoroughly the Suns were outplayed — as the defending champions enter the All-Star break with a 48-4 record.

It is the best record any team in NBA history has achieved through 52 games, and Wednesday’s win served as handy proof of the Warriors’ dominance.

The Warriors outscored the Suns 28-15 in the second quarter to pull away after leading by just one at the end of the first quarter. A 16-4 run midway through the second pushed Golden State’s lead to 55-39, a spurt that was capped off by back-to-back Stephen Curry triples. The Warriors led 57-43 at halftime.

Curry nearly had a triple double, finishing with 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Klay Thompson chipped in 24 points as well.

The Warriors were able to maintain a comfortable advantage throughout the second half and Curry — once again — was able to sit for the entirety of the fourth quarter.

Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green will now head to Toronto for the All-Star festivities this weekend. The Warriors open up the second half of the season a week from tomorrow in Portland against the Trail Blazers.

Late Push Puts Kings Over 76ers

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

by Matt Harrington

photo credit: USA Today–Sacramento Kings Ben McLemore who is being shopped and the Cleveland Cavaliers are showing some interest we’ll have the latest if a trade comes down

Coach George Karl still has his job. At least for now. On the same night when it was announced that the Sacramento Kings coach would retain his position with the team, his squad narrowly avoid defeat at the hands of one of the league’s worst teams.

The Kings (22-31) narrowly topped the Philadelphia 76ers 114-110 Wednesday night, riding an explosive 4th quarter to erase a 87-73 deficit after 36 minutes of play.

DeMarcus Cousins led the way with 28 points. The Western Conference All-Star also chipped in 12 rebounds for the double-double. Point guard Rajon Rondo added a double-double of his own, scoring 14 while dropping 15 dimes. Darren Collison chipped in 25 points off the bench while starting forward Rudy Gay added 22.

For the 76ers (8-45), Robert Covington netted a game-high 29 points. Rookie Jahlil Okafor added 26 with 10 boards. Point guard Ish Smith dished out 10 assists.

The win snapped a 4-game losing streak for the Kings, who were also 0-3 entering the night in the midst of a 4-game road trip. Following the All-Star break, the Kings will face the Denver Nuggets in a home-and-home set starting February 19th.

the Dubs continue to amaze, Beat the Rockets

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Image result for golden state warriors
 photo courtesy of Google Images

 

The Golden State Warriors did it again. They continue to amaze their fans and the entire NBA as they beat a very determined Houston Rocket team 123-110 Tuesday at the Oracle Arena. The Dubs raced to a fifteen point lead in the first period. They outscored the Rockets 42-27 and it looked like the Dubs were in beast mode and were going to blow away the Rockets. The Rockets star, James Harden, said “not so fast.” Harden and the Rockets cut the deficit to three at the half, trailing 69-66. Harden, scoreless in the first period, scored eighteen as the Rockets decided that they were not going to rollover.

In the second half, the Rockets outscored the Dubs by three as the third period ended in a 93-93 tie. There were seven lead changes in the period, and the Dubs trailed by five before they righted the ship and tied the game late in the period. The Rockets, at this point, were playing with a lot of confidence and the Warriors were trying to get their mojo back as the fourth quarter was about to start. The Dubs decided that they wanted to win the game as they went on an 8-0 run to start the final period of play. Andre Iguodala (Iggy) hit a three. Harrison Barnes followed with a three and then a two-point bucket to put the Dubs up by eight The Rockets cut the lead to five, but Harrison Barnes had the hot hand as he scored seventeen points in the period. Andrew Bogut was a beast on defense, too. He blocked several shots as the Warriors were able to pull away for the win.The  Dubs outscored the Rockets 30-17 in the period. Golden State wins 123-110.

Game Note- Steph Curry led the Dubs with 35 points. Barnes had nineteen. Andrew Bogut knocked down thirteen and had six blocks. Mo Speights, coming off the bench, put in fifteen and Iggy added 12. James Harden was the man for Houston with thirty-seven. Trevor Ariza had nineteen and Dwight Howard finished the night with twelve. Marcus Thornton, also coming off the bench, pitched in with sixteen.

With the win, The Warriors improve to 47-4 for the season. They made NBA history for having the best record after 51 games. Houston’s record drops to 27-27. The Warriors improved their record at Oracle to 24-0 this season, and they have now won forty-two straight at Oracle. They have also won ten consecutive games in a row.

Backup center Festus Ezeli had arthroscopic surgery on his ailing left knee and will be out of action for about six weeks.

The Warriors travel to Phoenix to meet the Suns Wednesday night. Game time is 6 pm PT.

 

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Brass to keep Karl was expected to get pink slip before Wed’s game in Philadelphia

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by Charlie O Mallonee

photo credit: rumorsandrants.com–Kings general manager Vlade Divac called Kings coach George Karl today to say he’s staying

SACRAMENTO–The last thing that we would be talking about on this podcast was Kings head coach George Karl keeping his job. The number of sources that were reporting that Karl was done were multiple, very credible, very high level sources the kind of sources that the media gets inside information.

You never want to say guys are banned from inside information but that kind of good information. It looked like for all practical purposes that Karl was going to get fired at lunchtime today. The Kings were going to have him done because there was no sense in coaching the team in Philadelphia because it was going to add insult to injury.

Charlie O has lots more on the Sacramento Kings podcast regarding head coach George Karl staying on with the Kings listen below on the podcast right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

In a surprise move Karl will continue to coach the Kings

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

 

IMG_2244by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings made a surprise announcement today that George Karl will remain the coach of the team. Multiple sources had been reporting that Karl would be fired between now and the All-Star Break.

Kings general manager Vlade Divac told CSN California,”George is our coach and we’re collectively working through our issues.”

Yahoo Sports is reporting that Vlade Divac and George Karl had a conversation by telephone and the two agreed to work together especially on improving the defense. The Kings have given up an average of 125 points per game to their last three opponents.

The Kings have lost eight of their last 10 games. Even with the recent losing streak the Kings are just five games behind in the battle for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference.

Why did the Kings choose to stay with Karl? George Karl is the fifth winningest coach in NBA history. He is a sure Hall of Fame coach. Karl did not just get stupid and forget how to coach a team. He also has a great history of taking poor performing franchises and turning them into winners. Karl also has a history of having “prickly” relationships with star players and still being successful.

A second reason the Kings have chosen to keep Karl may be the need to appear to be a stable organization. Sacramento has fired three coaches in two seasons. If they would have fired Karl, the team and its management would have looked to be totally unstable in the eyes of the league, the fans and the press. No free agent or potential coach wants to join an organization that lacks stability.

The third reason may be money. Karl signed a four year $15-million contract and is still owed approximately $10-million. That is a large amount to be paying out as “dead money” while having to pay a new head coach a substantial amount. Even the deep pockets of Vivek Ranadive have their limits.

No matter what the reason – keeping George Karl is the right move for now. Karl deserves the chance to turn the team around and stay in the playoff hunt. If he is unsuccessful in that quest, then the Kings may look elsewhere for head man or woman to lead them into the “promise land” next year.

 

 

 

 

 

Kings fall to Cavaliers amidst turmoil

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

photo credit: Cleveland.com John Kuntz–The Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James tried to weave the web past the Sacramento Kings DeMarcus Cousins and Willie Cauley Stein

Rumors continued to swirl on Monday surrounding the future of George Karl, and Kings’ performance against the Cavaliers in a 120-100 did little to help his job security.

The Kings fell behind by double-digits early in the second quarter and were dominated by the Cavaliers on the road. Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 32 points to go along with 12 assists, while LeBron James recorded his first triple double of the season: 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

A three-pointer by J.R. Smith to end the first half sent the Kings into the locker room down by 16 points at 61-45. A 7-0 run early in the third put the Cavaliers up by 20, a lead that the Kings failed to wither down.

Rudy Gay and Omri Casspi both had 16 points to lead the Kings.

Reports indicate that Karl will be fired after the Kings play the 76ers on the road Wednesday, their final game before the All-Star break.

Sacramento is 21-31 and has lost eight of its nine games. Time will tell if playing the lowly 76ers will be the start of a turnaround — or, at the very least, save Karl’s job.

 

Warriors Hold On To Fend Off Durrant And The Thunder For A 116-108 Victory.

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By Shawn Whelchel

The first meeting of the season between the two Western Conference titans did not disappoint, as the Golden State Warriors hung on for a hard-fought victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, clinching a 116-108 victory at home.

The game was a rollercoaster ride from the start, as the Warriors overcame a sluggish start to pull out to a 20-point lead over the Thunder in the second quarter, making it look like another pull-away victory for the defending NBA champions. But the dangerous Thunder would not let their foot off the gas, fighting back with a strong second half to tie it in the fourth quarter.

But despite shooting just 38 percent from the field, including an uncharacteristic 1-of-9 from beyond the arc, the league’s MVP rose to the occasion late in the game, helping to lead his team on a 12-4 run that would seal Golden State’s 41st consecutive home win.

Picking up the slack for Curry-who still added quality numbers, including 26-points and 10 assists despite shooting just 10-of-26 from the field- four other Golden State players scored in double-digits on the night, showcasing the Warriors’ balanced offensive attack that makes them so dangerous. Harrison Barnes followed curry with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Klay Thompson-who drained a clutch three-pointer down the stretch for Golden State- added 18 of his own.

But in a matchup between the current MVP and former MVP of the NBA, it was Kevin Durant who stole the show, as the dynamic forward poured in a game-leading 40-points on the night, helping to keep his team’s hopes alive. Russell Westbrook earned 27 points as well despite an off-night from the field. The All-Star guard shot just 8-of-22, but added in nine points from the stripe.

The Warriors overcame a statistical anomaly to earn their win, as the league’s leader in three-point percentage shot a grizzly 26.9-percent from beyond the arc on the night, putting through just 7-of-26 attempts. But with the long-ball failing to work for them, the NBA champions adapted, deciding to take the fight straight to the Thunder to net 58 of their points in the paint.

With the Warriors and Durant being linked to each other by the rumor mill this week, Saturday’s game was a perfect showcase for both parties. Durant- who is rumored to have Golden State as the front-runners for his services either before or after he hits the free agent market- showed his potential suitors his knack for scoring that makes him one of the most dangerous players in the game. Meanwhile, the Warriors showed Durant exactly why they are the current NBA champions. With two more matchups scheduled for the remainder of the season, you can be sure that both parties will be looking to put their best foot forward.

 

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Curry showcases in nation’s capital for Dub Nation and White House visit

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by David Zizmor

Prior to going to Washington to face the Wizards the Golden State Warriors Steph Curry was not having the kinds of two games that he wanted and a dose of going to the Nation’s Capital and playing the Wizards allowed Curry to showcase his talents scoring 51 points and also with the knowledge that he was going to the White House on Thursday to meet the President to receive the congratulatory speech on being the NBA Champions from last season.

Curry knows a big stage when he see it and he dropped seven three pointers in the first quarter, Curry had his normal lights out electric performance and kind of had a duel lately because the Wizards John Walls the point guard for Washington a fellow All-Star had a great game in his own right he scored 41 points.

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

https://soundcloud.com/sports-radio-service/golden-state-warriors-podcast-with-david-zizmor-thu-feb-4-2016