Category: NBA

Kings defeat Jazz, 114-106, to end 3 game losing streak

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credits Google Images

SACRAMENTO- Tonight’s game was interesting to say the least. The Kings offense was tremendous, they did many things well and their big man DeMarcus Cousins redeemed himself after criticizing his recent play. The Kings should have blown the Jazz out of the water, but the team allowed Utah to get way too many second chances points and stay in the game. The Kings lucked out that the Jazz struggled to hit the broad side of a barn for a while and Rajon Rondo’s passing ability plus lights out shooting from the team led them to an odd victory. The Kings defeated the Jazz, 114-106, at Sleep Train Arena backed by a supportive and loud home crowd.

As the game got underway, the Kings caused a bit of worry by turning the ball over in sloppy fashion and letting Jazz point guard Raul Neto drive to the hoop right past the whole team. The worry faded instantly as Ben McLemore hit a 3 pointer and started to capitalize on fast break chances. The team scored 9 fast break points, 4/4 from the field due to a solid defensive effort. The King started the quarter with a 12-2 run. Many of the Kings players did a good job attacking the hoop and the team totaled 20 points in the paint. With a good defensive effort, the Jazz seemed rattled and could not hit any shots. McLemore had a good 1st quarter, totaling 7 points on 3/3 shooting. Rudy Gay had a quarter high with 9 points on 4/5 shooting. The Kings shot 66.7% from the field and the 1st quarter was really good until the very end as the defense got a little relaxed. The Kings had the lead at the end of the 1st, 33-22, with 10 team rebounds and 9 assists and a little bit of help from the Jazz poor shooting, 36.4%.

The 2nd quarter began and the Kings seemed to let off the gas on the defensive end again. The end of the 1st spilled into the 2nd with the Kings giving the Jazz way too many open looks. If it weren’t for the Jazz atrocious shooting, the Kings could have easily been down. At the half, the Jazz were shooting only 37% from the field but 12 of the Jazz 26 points came off of second chance points. The Jazz totaled 8 offensive rebounds in the quarter as the Kings could not find a way to box them out. The Kings shot at 47.4% in the 2nd and finished the half shooting 57.4%. The first quarter really helped keep the Kings ahead as their tough time on defense led to poor offense. The Kings had 0 fast break points for the quarter and they did little to try and attack the hoop. By the end of the half, the Kings still led, 54-48, with Gay and Alec Burks having the halftime high in points with 11. Omri Casspi and DeMarcus Cousins each had 10 points, while Rondo finished the half with 6 points and 8 assists.

Coming out of the break, the Kings looked for some answers with their rebounding. The Jazz came out and struck quickly, only down by 1 early in the 3rd. However, the Kings found some life leading to a 7-0 run. But once again, the Kings let themselves get out rebounded and the Jazz were able to scratch and claw their way back into the game. The Jazz continued to jack up 3’s and their shooting of 50% for the 3rd helped keep them alive. Rondo had a highlight play when he faked a behind the back pass into a dribble to then pass to Gay who finished the fast break with a huge slam, which turned into a 3 point play. The Kings savior was their excellent shooting, 64.7% on the quarter and 59.6% in the game. At this point in the game, the Kings were outrebounded 36-25 and they turned the ball over 6 times in the quarter. The Kings only had 5 turnovers in the first half. The Kings got the ball back in the paint and by putting up 16 points in the paint, they were able to hold the lead, 86-80. Every Kings started was in double figures by the end of the 3rd quarter, with Casspi leading the way with 19 points, 7-12 from the field. Gay had 18, Cousins had 15 with 8 rebounds and Rondo had a double double totaling 13 points and 12 assists.

The 4th quarter started and the Jazz came out firing yet again. With the score 86-84, George Karl called a quick timeout to settle his team down. Marco Belinelli hit a 3 pointer out of the timeout and the Kings began to gain some momentum. A little over halfway through the 4th, the Kings found themselves up by 12 with Gay hitting a triple. Utah, however, kept finding a way to stay in the game by collapsing the Kings defense. Once the Kings defense collapsed in the paint, the Jazz found a wide open man on the perimeter. Luckily for the Kings, Cousins showed up big for the team in the fourth. He cleaned up the offensive end by getting much-needed offensive rebounds. The Kings snagged 7 offensive boards in the quarter and 15 total rebounds to Utah’s total of 8. Boogie put up 8 points in the quarter, 2-4 shootng and 4-6 from the charity stripe. The Kings held the lead and the Jazz fouled Rondo out of desperation, but Rondo went 4-4 on his free throws in consecutive possesions. As time began to tick down, the Jazz started getting second chances again and this caused Cousins to foul out. The Kings were once again sloppy towards the end but by shooting 55.8% for the game, they squeaked out a W. The final score, 114-106, with the Kings ending a 3 game skid.

5 Kings player finished the game in double figures, including Casspi, Gay, Cousins, McLemore, Rondo and Belinelli. Casspi, Cousins and Rondo all had double doubles. Casspi 19 points and 10 rebounds, 7-16 on field goals. Cousins 23 points and 12 rebounds, 8-14 shooting, adding 6 assists. Rondo finished with 17 points and 13 assists. Gay tied Cousins with a game high as he finished with 23 points. McLemore and Belinelli both finished with 10 points. The Kings passed the ball well, finishing with 29 assists and their lights out shooting helped them overcome not being able to rebound the ball. Thankfully, the Jazz did not shoot very well all game. The Kings finished the game with 58 points in the paint, which has been their MO this year.

The Kings have won 5 out of their last 6 home games.

“Consistency and enjoying play fast and you know, to play fast like we do, there’s probably more confidence at home,” said Karl.

The Kings will take on the the New York Knicks at home this upcoming Thursday on TNT as they get their first look at Kristaps Porzingis. The Kings will need to do a better job of rebounding the ball, or Porzingis might be some of the Kings players on a poster. The Kings will look to continue their hot shooting and offense from tonight’s game and they will need to close out on the perimeter to help them get a win on national television. Kings fans will be needed to be loud and proud.

 

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Mexico City game took concentration away from Kings;club now in a three game losing streak

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by Charlie O Mallonee

photo credit: news.yahoo.com Sac Kings DeMarcus Cousins

SACRAMENTO–The last three games the Sacramento Kings played and lost and even though technically the Mexico City game was a home game for the Kings obviously when you play in Mexico City your still on the road. That three game road trip was completely disappointing except for some things that transpired in the game in Oklahoma City.

The loss in Mexico City to the Boston Celtics was not that surprising because as the home team the Kings had to go in early and they did a lot of activities. There were on video and pictures that came out and folks can go to kings.com and folks can see some guys with the kids, special needs kids, doing basketball stories and strategy.

Wonderful things that the Kings did when they were in Mexico City but it completely took their attention off basketball and that’s the real problem that teams are having with the NBA during these kinds of games during the regular season. Frankly its the same kind of problem that teams have with the NFL playing regular season games in London.

If it’s a pre season game you could do all those fun things, have time with kids, do the PR things, do all of that and have a great time then go play a game. A game that really doesn’t make a difference whether you win or lose your just kind of trying to see how things are coming together.

Charlie O does the Sac Kings podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen below for all the latest

 

Sacramento Kings Thursday Mexico City game recap: Celts Thomas tops scorers with 21 in rout of Kings

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by Tony Renteria

photo credit: boston.cbslocal.com Celtics Marcus Smart takes one to the hoop against the Kings DeMarcus Cousins last season at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento

Former Sacramento Kings (7-13) King Isaiah Thomas said he really wanted to get back to Sacramento and show his skills when he looked at the schedule at  the beginning of the season but found the meeting between his new team the Boston Celtics (11-8) and his former team the Sacramento Kings would be in Mexico City on Thursday Dec 4th.

That suited Thomas just fine as he lead the Celts in scoring with 21 points in a 111-97 win over the Kings. This was the NBA’s third regular season game in Mexico City. Thomas who played with the Kings from 2011-14 also picked up nine assists. Thomas has been handy of late helping the Celts win five of their last six games.

Thomas has been a valuable commodity and  it has to make those in Sacramento wonder why’d they ever let him go in the first place. “I’m over it, but obviously you want to play good against your former team but you also want to win, because winning is the most important thing and today we did it.” said Thomas.

Thomas’ teammates Kelly Olynyk, also chalked up 21 points, Avery Bradley and Jay Crowder each shot for 20 points total in the ball game. The crowd was enthusiastic with a satisfactory draw of 18, 660.  The Kings Rudy Gay led the Kings in scoring with 18 and DeMarcus Cousins had 16.

Kings head coach George Karl said while the effort was appreciated he was disappointed in the loss, “I’m disappointed, I think we need to get more serious at the beginning of games. I do not know if tonight it was the altitude or the tempo or Boston playing well but they hit us hard at the start and we never recovered.”

When the Kings Rajon Rondo was hit with a double technical foul in the third quarter he left scoring only five points for the night in his second appearance against the Celtics since leaving his former team. The absence of Rondo late in the game hurt the Kings chances “it was a blow to our ability, because he’s been our engine this season.” said Karl. What’s a shame is that the Kings made the long trek all the way to Mexico and to lose in a game that was labeled a home game for the Kings.

The Kings who hosted the Boston Celtics in Mexico City as the NBA keeps up its presence with Latin fans on Thursday night. Rajon Rondo had a chance to get some personal revenge against the team that trade him last season to the Dallas Mavericks.   Of the two point guards playing against their former teams, it was Thomas who came out on top this evening in Mexico.

The Kings who were led by Gay and his 18 points on 7-13 shooting.  Gay continues to be the steady player that the Kings need heading into the new Arena next season.

The Kings Head up north to play the Houston Rockets on Saturday as Boston heads to the Lone Star state as well they face off against that same evening against the San Antonio Spurs.

Tony Renteria covers Kings basketball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Another Day, Another Win: Warriors Move to 20-0

Published on by bentleonard18Leave a comment

By: Ben Leonard

//

Home, sweet home.

Back in Charlotte, where he grew up watching his father Dell Curry play for the Hornets, Stephen Curry felt right at home, scoring 40 points, including 28 in the third quarter to help the undefeated Warriors beat the Charlottle Hornets 116-99. Curry played college ball at Davidson College, just 20 minutes or so from Charlotte.

Golden State’s winning streak is now at 20 games, the longest to start a season in the modern era of the four major American professional sports (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL). The last team to do so was the 1884 St. Louis Maroons (MLB) — there’s no question we’re watching history unfold right in front of our eyes.

After Charlotte was down just nine points at half time, Curry took it into another gear in the third. In the last 7:26 of the third quarter, he dropped 24 points on 8 of 9 shooting from the field, while knocking down all five of his three point attempts, finishing the quarter with 28 points. His fifth quarter of the season with more than 20 points helped the Warriors take a commanding 93-21 lead heading into the fourth.

And then he sat on the bench for the entire fourth quarter — he deserved the rest. In just 31 minutes, Curry drained 14 of his 18 shots, and 8 of 11 three pointers.

Klay Thompson, who is having a bit of a down year by his (lofty) standards, was the only other Warrior in double figures with 21 points, including 18 in the first half.

Charlotte had four in double figures in a losing effort, including Frank Kaminsky with 16 off the bench. Niolas Batum scored 17, but Charlotte’s other four starters combined to drop just 16. Charlotte made just 9 of 31 treys (29%) as compared to Golden State’s 47.1%, ultimately the difference in the game.

Who gets the honor (or burden) of playing Golden State next? North of border, the Toronto Raptors (11-7) will try to end the streak on Saturday. Good luck.

 

 

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Warriors fans past and present the most loyal fans in the Bay Area

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  by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–The current NBA champions are enjoying their most success in their franchise history, as an unbeatable team breaking records, but even when they were not winning the
Golden State Warriors enjoyed the loyalty rarely seen for a
professional team in the Bay Area. The first pro team I
covered in the Bay Area where the Warriors  It was
in 1970 and they were playing at the Cow Palace in Daly
City, they were the San Francisco Warriors, later they moved
to Oakland and played at the Oakland Arena today
Oracle Arena and changed their name to Golden State
Warriors, Franklin Mieuli was their majority owner, Mieuli
a prominent Bay Area sports figure who also had a
stake of the San Francisco 49ers, was an eccentric but
gentle man who enjoyed sports to its fullest, and
was always at the arena cheering the Warriors. Hal
Childs was their Media Director and even then the Warriors
were a hot ticket getting loyal support from all over the
Bay Area. In those days I used to write for El Mundo
News, a bilingual weekly published in Oakland by
the Post News Group.

During the 1970’s when the Warriors won their first
NBA title 1974-75 the Bay Area success scene was all
happening in the East Bay, where the other team winning
championships. The Oakland Raiders, who also had a loyal
following, “cult like”to the present days, but the
Warriors enjoyed the strongest support. Also in the 70’s
the Oakland Athletics were winning World Series,

three-in-a-row, 1972-73-74, so yes, Oakland was
then appropriately named City of Champions.
Generations have passed and things shifted to the west side
of the bay, where the San Francisco 49ers were winning
Superbowls in the 1980’s, with the Bill Walsh teams, but
prior to that the 49ers were not really that hot of a
ticket. As a matter-of-fact, I remember doing an interview

for KIQI 1010AM radio back in 1980 with a young quarterback
fresh out of Notre Dame  who just turned professional
by the name of Joe Montana. The Bill Walsh era ushered in
and the 49ers were winning big time. Last Sunday at Levi
Stadium in San José, half of the stadium was empty to see
the 49ers end the month of November with a 3-8 record. The
years prior to the Joe Montana teams, it was even hard to
give away 49ers tickets for free on the radio.

In the 1990’s I had the good fortune of working for
the Warriors  as play by play(Spanish radio)under their
great Broadcast Director David McGahey(RIP)one of the best I
had the honor to work under, a man who knew and understood
the Bay Area media market, and truly enjoyed basketball. He
was always in tune with the marketing and broadcasting sides
of things and sent me to Secaucus, New Jersey(just minutes
from NYC)to an NBA Media Convention. The Warriors were a
very exciting team in the 1990’s with the likes of Chris
Mullin and they played during a time were many (to this
day)believe was when he NBA peaked with their best teams and
players, Bulls,Celtics, Jordan,Byrd,guys like Barkley,
K.Malone. The Dream Team (1992)was the first time active NBA
players represented the USA in the Olympics, their
coach was Chuck Daly and among the assistant coaches was P.J
Carlesimo, who later became head coach of the
Warriors. I always like Carlesimo for his great
enthusiasms for the game and traveled with him and
his Warriors teams during many games Warriors fans, San Francisco Warriors, or the current generation of Golden State Warriors fans has been as loyal
as any others in this Bay Area. Anybody that has followed
sports in this part of the country can agree with that.
When the team moves to San Francisco, they will more than
likely go back to their original name when they first moved to the west coast theSan Francisco Warriors, and there is no reason to believe that their fan loyalty would waiver. I can
only hear the great Bill King best professional sports
announcer in Bay Area history and once the voice of the
Warriors, and a man I truly enjoyed talking with ,
be with the nWarriors or with Athletics, saying from
heaven “Holy Toledo”!

Amaury Pi Gonzalez was the Warriors Spanish play by play announcer and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Rondo a great influence on the younger players question is will he be back next year?

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On the Sac Kings podcast with Charlie O, would you consider the Kings a Jekyll and Hyde team as a good description? The Kings head coach George Karl might as he also is concerned about the defense or the lack of it. Also Charlie talks about how important Rajon Rondo has been to the club.

Rondo has been a leader, he’s helped out the younger players and has made a 180 turn from who he was in Boston. The only question is will Rondo want to stay in Sacramento and come back next season? Seth Curry has had some break out moments will he get more time from coach Karl?

Bing photos: Sacramento Kings Rajon Rondo taking it to the hoop

Charlie O talks Kings basketball and more on the podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com click below to find out more

 

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News, and Commentary: Saint Francis Statue at Candlestick Park ready to be removed; plus more Candlestick memories

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On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary, Amaury discusses the patron saint of Candelstick Park St. Francis the statue that has stood outside of Candlestick for decades. The statue is now being removed from the front of the old ball park to a wherehouse in Oakland until it could be decided where it could be displayed once more.

San Francisco Arts Commission senior Allison Cumming told the SF Chronicle, “It’s a big piece, so it’s not like we can just plop it down across the street. It needs to have the right kind of space” Also Amaury can’t help himself and talks about great memories at Candlestick Park with his guests on the podcast Jeremy Harness, Jerry Feitelberg, Len Sharpiro.

photo credit: brisbanegraphicartsmuseum.com St.Francis statue at Candlestick Park

Listen to Amaury’s podcast below for News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Kings defeat Mavs, 112-98, thanks to Big 3

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit Google Images

SACRAMENTO- DeMarcus Cousins was listed as probable for the Kings heading into tonight’s ball game and as he started to warm up with the team, everyone seemed relieved. Averaging 27.9 points per game with 11.2 rebounds, Cousins presence was felt especially when the Kings needed him most. Rudy Gay also played well, as he did a good job of scoring the ball while Rajon Rondo seemed to get his redemption. After a fall out with the Mavs, Rondo looked to continue his tremendous play against his former team. The Kings (6-12) ball movement, defense and clutch shooting at the end of the game helped get them the 112-98 victory over the Mavericks at Sleep Train Arena.

When coach Rick Carlise was asked about Rondo he said “Rondo is having a great year like I expected. Anybody that knows him expected that.”

As the Kings started off the 1st quarter, DeMarcus Cousins got off to a bit of a slow start as he tried to shake off a little rust. Big Cous finished the quarter with 7 points on 3-7 shooting. The Kings first field goal came from Rajon Rondo who hit a 3 pointer. In the 1st, the Kings took 10 shots from behind the arc while only making 3 of those. For the quarter they shot 40%, 10-25 shooting. Rondo’s jumper looked solid, he went 3-6 from the field including a couple of 3 pointers to total 8 points. The Mavericks whole team did a good job of scoring with Chandler Parsons scoring a team high 7 points in the quarter, 2-4 from the field. Deron Williams was very impressive distributing the ball and getting good looks for his team. The Mavs shot very well, 61.1% from the field. The Mavs also got to the line 8 times, making 6 shots from the charity stripe while the Kings only got to the line once. As the Kings kept the game close, 25-23 late in the 1st, the Mavs finished the quarter on a 7-0 run which was capped off with Parsons making a 3 pointer with seconds left in the quarter. The Mavs led the Kings 32-23 at the end of the 1st.

With the 2nd quarter underway, the Mavs continued their run, 11-0 until Darren Collison got to the free throw line. Collison started attacking the hoop and getting to the line where he went 4-4 to stop the Mavs run. After a slow 1st quarter start, Rudy Gay found his rhythm in the Kings offense. Gay was able to score 8 points in the quarter for a total of 10 in the half. In the 2nd, Gay went 4-5 from the field, 5-8 for the half, adding a couple rebounds. Seth Curry checked in for the Kings early in the quarter and it paid dividends. Curry went 2-2 from 3 point range and added a pair of free throws, totaling 8 points for the quarter and the half. The Kings shooting was much improved, 58.8% in the quarter and 47.6% in two quarters of play. Rondo wound up with 10 points in the quarter and Hack-a-Rondo was in full effect, which paid off for the Mavs. Rondo went 2-6 in the quarter. The Kings defense slowed down the Mavs a bit as they shot 43.5%. Zaza Pachulia and DeMarcus Cousins were the top scorers of the half with 11 points. The Kings 3 point shot still struggled, 3-9 in the second alone and 6-19 for the half. The Kings also got a little careless with the ball totaling 10 turnovers to the Mavs 8. The Mavs were able to take the lead heading into the locker room, 58-54, however the Kings scored 18 points in the paint and played better defense to help boost their confidence.

When asked about the opportunity he was given, Curry said “It’s kind of what I’ve been waiting on – an opportunity to play some meaningful minutes, try to give us a little energy boost.”

Curry did just that for the Kings.

Down by 4 heading into the 3rd quarter, the Kings looked to keep their momentum going. Gay scored the first field goal for the Kings, hitting a 3 pointer. Cousins tried to do a bit too much on the offensive end and he went 0-3 from 3 point range, 1-7 in 3 quarters from 3 and 0-5 from the field in the 3rd. His 4 points for the quarter came from the foul line and both teams really had no offense whatsoever. After getting off to a hot start, the Mavs completely cooled down. Both teams shot atrociously and the Kings did do a much better job on the defensive end, but nonetheless neither team could buy a bucket. With that being said, the Kings caused the Mavs to turn the ball over 7 times. The Kings shot just 25%, 5-20 from the field, on the quarter and the Mavs shot 22.7%, 5-22. The Kings did a tremendous job of getting to the line, as 11 points came from the line on 18 attempts. The Mavs reverted to Hack-a-Rondo yet again, who went 2-4 from the line and totaled 6 points.. With the Kings doing a better job defensively, the Mavs scored a measly 13 points to the Kings 22. Dirk Nowitzki was the Mavs leading scorer in the quarter, with 6 points. With the third quarter in the books, the Kings took the lead 76-71.

Going into the 4th quarter with a lead, the Kings knew they had to pull out all the stops to finish the game strong. Cousins proved why he is an All Star center and so important to the Kings on both ends of the court. In the 4th, Cousins put up 16 points, 5-9 shooting, and made his presence felt in the paint. Cousins was able to go 6-6 from the free throw line and the Kings had 16 points in the paint, totaling 38 points in the paint on the night. Darren Collison also had a good 4th, adding 7 points in the quarter for a total of 15 on the night. Collison gave the Kings some great hustle and energy as he played the whole fourth quarter. The Kings took a 10-point lead with about 7 minutes remaining and never looked back. The defense was not quite there for the Kings, but the offense clicked and with a shooting percentage of 64.7%, the Mavs had no chance. As the Mavs used Hack-a-Rondo for a 3rd time, the strategy was halted when Rondo went 3-4 from the foul line. The Kings biggest lead of the game came in the fourth, when the Kings went up by 16, and finished the game up by 14. The final score, 112-98, led to a much needed Kings victory.

“Cousins is super skilled, he’s got basketball skills all over the place,” said  Coach George Karl when asked about Cousins and his 3 day lay off.

The Kings finished the night shooting 45.6% from the field while shooting 29% from 3 point range. The long ball was not there for the Kings, but the team went back to scoring in the paint, something they have done well all season. The big 3 stepped up tremendously as Cousins finished with 31 points, 10-24 from the field, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Cousins did go just 1-8 from 3 point range, which makes his shooting look a little worse than it really was. Gay finished the game with 20 points, 7-12 on field goals, while adding 7 rebounds. Rondo, not known for his scoring, added 21 points with 5 assists and 3 rebounds. Collision scored 15, Omri Casspi scored 10 and Curry finished with his 8 points from the 1st half. The Kings turned the ball over just 13 times and their 4th quarter play really put them over the top. This win should give the Kings a lot of momentum, beating a Dallas team who has struggled but came in as the 4th best team in the West.

The Kings will be heading to Mexico City to take on the Boston Celtics on Thursday, December 3rd, and all the momentum from this game will hopefully carry over with Isaiah Thomas getting ready to take on his former team.

Warriors Narrowly Keep Streak Alive, Fend Off Jazz In A 106-103 Thriller.

Published on by swhelchLeave a comment

By Shawn Whelchel

The Golden State Warriors have been so dominant this season that many may have pushed the idea of actually losing a game out of their mind. That scenario nearly came to fruition on Monday night as the Utah Jazz took the Warriors to the brink in a hard-fought contest in Salt Lake City, as Golden State managed to escape with a 106-103 win on the road.

The narrow victory was a star studded affair, as Golden State leaned on its studs, including Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, to deliver them the road victory to keep their unbeaten streak alive. Curry led the Warriors with 26 points, while scoring some crucial buckets in crunch time late in the fourth quarter. Green added 20 of his own, including a crucial put back bucket to take the lead in the fourth quarter while drawing the foul. Thompson also added 20 of his own.

The score was tied with just under two-minutes to go after a Curry step-back notched things up at 99. Curry couldn’t put through a fastbreak layup on the next Golden State possession, but Green’s hustle put him in a position to clean up the miss and give the Warriors a 101-99 lead.

Golden State would foul on their next possession, sending the Jazz’s Derrick Favors to line, who would sink both free throws as apart of his 23-total points on the night, again notching things up at 101 each. But with the game on the line, the Warriors looked to their MVP to lead them out of danger, and Curry delivered.

The NBA’s best shooter would show off his skills with the game on the line, crossing over a Utah defender and stepping behind the arc to nail a three pointer to put his team up again. The Jazz would look to threaten the Warriors lead yet again, but a loose ball off a miss found its way to Curry’s hands, who would be sent to the line to seal the victory following a pair of free throws.

The three-point victory was the slimmest margin thus far for the Warriors, who remain unbeaten with a 19-0 victory. The 8-8 Jazz aren’t the bottom feeders of the NBA by any means, nor are they the league’s elite. But with the Warriors continuing to chase even more records, it served as a stiff reminder that anything can happen in this unpredictable league. It also showed that the Warriors have not forgotten how to scrap their way to a win, as they continue to find ways to do so no matter the scenario.

The Warriors road trip continues on Wednesday, with the team flying to Charlotte to take on the Hornets in the second game of this seven game road series.

 

Kings crushed by Golden State 120-101

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA: Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

By Charlie O. Mallonee

There are three tiers in the NBA. The first tier includes the Warriors, Cavs, Spurs, Heat and Clippers – teams that are battling for titles. The second tier teams are fighting for the bottom two playoff spots in their respective divisions. The third tier teams are spending their off-season trying to figure out who they are going to draft in the lottery.

The first tier team known as the Golden State Warriors played the third tier Sacramento Kings on Saturday night and the results were predictable. The Warriors crushed the Kings 120-101 and improved to 18-0 on the season. The loss dropped the Kings to 6-12 after 18 games.

To be fair, the Kings did have to play without the services of their All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins (strained lower back). That is 27 points and “a whole lotta” defense up the middle that was not available to Sacramento for this game. Cousins has missed both games with Golden State this season, and it is not a coincidence that the Kings have lost both games.

The Warriors did put on their usual spectacular offensive show, but they also played outstanding basketball on the defensive end as well. The Warriors held the Kings shooters to just 39-percent (39-for-101) for the game. The Kings had to take 100 shots to score 101 points. You cannot win in the NBA with that shooting to scoring ratio.

The Warriors scored 120 points and took only 80 shots from the floor. Golden State was deadly from behind the 3-point line hitting on 16-of-30 (53.3-percent) attempts. They also made 31 trips to the free throw line and converted 26 of those attempts (83.9-percent).

Kings

Rudy Gay had a better night but not a great game against the Warriors. Gay was the game’s leading scorer with 20 points. He had to take 20 shots (7-for-20) to post those 20 points. Gay is playing hard but seems have lost his smooth shooting touch for the moment.

Kosta Koufos gave a great effort as he tried to fill the shoes left open by the lack of DeMarcus Cousins in the game. Koufos knows what he can do on the floor and he does it well. He scored 14 points and had seven rebounds in 22 minutes of playing time. Koufos had sit out much the second quarter with foul trouble.

Rajon Rondo had a quiet night scoring seven points and dishing out seven assists. It is tough to create assists when your players cannot get open or make baskets.

Omri Casspi – who was starter in the game – finished with 11 points going 3-for-10 from the floor. All three of his successful attempts were 3-point baskets.

Marco Belinelli was unable to provide a scoring punch off the bench. He scored just five points and was 0-for-7 from behind the 3-point line.

Seth Curry provided some entertainment for the crowd during “garbage time”. Curry scored nine points shooting 3-for-3 from downtown.

Warriors

Stephen Curry was the Warriors leading scorer with 19 points in 29 minutes of playing time. Curry did not play in the fourth quarter. He shot 3-for-6 from long range and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.

Brandon Rush put up 16 points getting the start in place of the injured Harrison Barnes.

Klay Thompson added 15 points shooting 6-for-10 including three 3s in 26 minutes on the floor.

Draymond Green (13), Festus Ezeli (11) and Marreese Speights (13) all scored in double-figures.

Golden State shot 48.8-percent from the floor going 39-for-80. They hit 16-of-30 3-point shots. The Warriors had 32 assists and just 14 turnovers in the contest.

What they said after the game

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a better shooting team or better passing team in my whole career coaching. You give them an opportunity or you give them a mistake – they find it with the pass. A lot of times they find it with the 3-ball,” said Kings head coach George Karl.

“I’m going to write this off as an injury loss. Their defense without Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) limit our options or somewhat limited our options to be successful. And, we didn’t finish a lot of easy shots early in the first half. I thought our shots were pretty good in the first half. In the second half, making the 3-ball got out of control and you over-react to the 3-ball and give up the layup. When you over-react to the layup you give up the 3-ball. They are team that has that genius. I don’t if they even made a mid-range jump shot,” added Karl.

Up next

The Kings will host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night. Sacramento is hoping to have Cousins back in the lineup to face the Mavs. Dallas defeated the Nuggets 92-81 on Saturday night at home.

The Warriors kick off a 7-game road trip in Utah on Monday night.