No Boogie, No Problem as Kings defeat Bucks,129-118

by Michael Martinez

photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

SACRAMENTO- For the 6th time this season, the Kings had to play without their All Star big man, Demarcus Cousins, who sat out with a lower back strain. Prior to tonight’s game, the Kings were 0-5 with Cousins and 11-39 in the 50 games Cousins has not suited up. Nonetheless, the Kings were able to put together an offensive showcase with smart, quick ball movement while shooting at a high percentage. Although all the Kings starters played well, namely Rudy Gay and Rajon Rondo, the bench made a large impact. The Kings (5-10) win over the Bucks (6-8), 129-118, was an overall team win and a huge boost of confidence to pick up the victory without one of their team leaders in Milwaukee at the Bradley Center.

The 1st quarter was an offensive flurry for both teams and Gay started off the game hot, which would continue for most of the game. Gay made the Kings first 6 points and finished the quarter with 14 points, going 6-7 from the field and adding 2 boards. The Kings started getting the ball moving early on and pushing the ball towards the hoop. The team had 26 points in the paint in the 1st quarter and Rondo’s 7 assists in the quarter helped the Kings on the offensive end and he totaled 6 points as well. The whole team did a good job of getting it inside especially to Kosta Koufos who had 8 points in the 1st. The Kings shot the ball at an incredible 77.3% in the first although their defense was not the best especially their transition defense. The 1st was very back and forth with little turnovers, but the Kings closed the quarter on a 14-7 run to take the leader, 40-33, heading into the 2nd quarter.

The Kings offense and lights out shooting slowed down  in the 2nd quarter, however the bench started to step up big. Omri Casspi shot the ball well and attacked the hoop. He was able to get to the line on 2 occasions, going 3-4 from the charity stripe, while shooting 2-3 from the field. Marco Belinelli put up 7 points in the quarter and although his 3 point shot was not quite there, he was able to still find some offensive rhythm. While Rondo got some well deserved rest throughout the 2nd, Darren Collison kept the ball moving with 3 assists in the 2nd and totaling 6 points on 2-3 shooting. The Bucks bench also did a good job of scoring and making the Kings defense work. The Bucks outscored the Kings, 33-29, and had a slightly higher shooting percentage, 52.4%-50%. George Karl picked up a technical foul in the quarter, but the Bucks missed the free shot. To end the quarter, Gay drove to the hoop and made a nice lay up, which was answered by Jarryd Bayless with a buzzer beating 3 pointer. The Kings still led heading into the locker room, 69-66, even after being out rebounded 22-17 especially on the offensive end, which allowed the Bucks to get 2nd chance opportunities.

Coming into the 2nd half, both teams picked up where they left off. The action was once again back and forth with Gay making it look easy. The 3rd quarter for the Kings was a huge team effort as they did a good job of finding the open man throughout the 3rd and the entire game. None of the Kings players put up double digits in the quarter, but everyone who played in the quarter scored. Gay continued his hot shooting, 3-6 in the quarter, with 6 points. The 3rd ended and Gay had 26 points, while Casspi and Belinelli had 14 points each. Casspi and Belinelli’s bench play helped the Kings stay ahead throughout and Rondo kept pushing the ball up court, adding 4 more assists. Giannis Antetokounmpo showed up in the 3rd quarter where he scored 10 points, 3-5 from the field. Khris Middleton did a good job of scoring, with 8 in the quarter and 15 at the end of the 3rd. Luckily for the Kings, Middleton got into early foul trouble in the quarter and the Bucks slowed down a little bit. As the clock was winding down, Belinelli was able to hit a buzzer beater from behind the arc to give the Kings the 96-92 lead at the end of the 3rd.

The Kings did a better job on the defensive end against the Bucks, while Gay’s stroke was still smooth as butter. Gay was able to get to the line and was flagrantly fouled early on, by John Henson as he attacked the hoop. Gay put up 10 points in the 4th quarter, which was matched by Darren Collison. Collision continued the theme of solid bench play in the 4th quarter with his hustle and dribbling ability helping him get to the basket. The Kings started to pull away from the Bucks towards the end of the 4th as they did a good job with their help defense and getting stops on that end of the court. The Kings held their biggest lead of the game, 12, in the quarter. Frustration poured over for the Bucks as Michael Carter-Williams picked  up a technical. That would not be the only tech, as the Bucks head coach Jason Kidd got furious over not getting foul calls. Kidd approached referee Zach Zarba, giving him an earful and swiped the ball out of Zarba’s hand. Kidd was immediately ejected from the game and had to be held back, leaving the court to a standing ovation from Bucks’ fans. The Kings’ offense was just too much for the Bucks and the Kings were able to get just enough stops to pull out the win, 129-118.

Without Cousins, who is averaging 27.9 points a game according to ESPN.com, the Kings needed players to step up on the offensive end. Overall, the Kings did just that with the whole team playing well. Although their defense is not quite where it needs to be, their 57.1 shooting percentage, 42 rebounds and 23 assists was just enough. Gay had a game high 36 points, 13-21, while Rondo was one rebound shy of yet another triple double. Rondo finished with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 13 assists as he continues to pass the ball on an incredible level. Rondo’s vision and patience allow him to see the play he wants to make ahead of time. Koufos benefitted from Rondo’s passing ability, totaling 14 points. Casspi scored 19 points and grabbed 7 boards, 6-9 on field goals. Belinelli posted 18 points, 5-10 from the field, 3-7 from downtown. Collision put up 18 points as well and finished with 3 assists. Those 3 were the only Kings bench players, but helped the bench total 55 points.

After a great team win, the Kings are now 6-10 and will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at home. Picking up their 2nd road win on the season, the Kings look to continue their hot shooting and hopefully can start causing more disturbance on defense as last year’s Rookie of the Year, Andrew Wiggins, and rookie Karl Anthony-Towns head to Sacramento.

The Warriors trounce the Lakers, Make NBA History

by Jerry Feitelberg

The magic continues. The Golden State Warriors made NBA history Tuesday night as the won the sixteenth game in a row to establish a new record for the best start by a team. The Warriors broke the record by a defending champion starting a season when they won their fifteenth game in a row Sunday night in Denver. Tuesday night, they broke the record shared by the  1948-49 Washington Capitals and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets. Those teams started the season 15-0. Never in the seventy-year history of the NBA has a team started the season 16-0. Not the Boston Celtics or the Los Angeles Lakers or the Chicago Bulls. All those teams were great, but none of them ever did what the Warriors accomplished this season. The Warriors routed the lowly Los Angeles Lakers 111-77 at the Oracle Arena. The once-mighty LA Lakers were no match for the vastly superior Dubs. The tables have turned. The Lakers owned the Warriors for years. The Lakers, second in the NBA, with multiple championships to their credit,  have literally gone from the penthouse to the outhouse. The Dubs, on the other hand, are the toast of the NBA. They are fun to watch. The Dubs play the basketball the right way. They have no egos. They share the ball. They run the court, find the open man. They rebound. They are, in the opinion of many, the class of the NBA. In addition, they want to be better than the were last year and all they did last year was win the NBA Championship.

The Lakers starting five was made up of Julius Randle, Roy Hibbert, Kobe Bryant, D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson. Their aging superstar, Bryant, is having a subpar season so far. Bryant came into the game averaging sixteen points a game. He had, however, one of the worst games of his career. He hit just one field goal in fourteen tries and scored just four points in the game to match a career low. Injuries to his ankle, knee and shoulder have affected his play. Looks like it may be his last season. It is his twentieth season in the league and he has reached the advanced basketball age of thirty-seven.

The game was actually close for the first 3 minutes and twelve seconds of the first period. The score was tied at five at that point. The Warriors never trailed. The increased the lead to 8-5 and then went on a 15-0 run. The first period ended with the Warriors up by nineteen. The score at the end of one period was 30-11. The Dubs defense thwarted the Lakers at every turn. Draymond Green scored twelve to lead the Dubs.

In the second period, the Lakers played better and actually outscored the Warriors 27-24 but trailed 54-38 at the end of the half. It was the fewest amount of points in any half this year for the Lakers. The Lakers’ Lou Williams scored ten points to lead the Lakers. The Warriors had nineteen assists on   the twenty-two field goals made. This stat indicated how well the Dubs moved the ball and how well they found the open man.

The Warriors blew the game open in the third period. They scored thirty-five and held the Lakers to seventeen. The Warriors had an 11-0 run as Steph and Company blew away the Lakers. Interim coach, Luke Walton decided to keep Steph, Klay, Bogut, Green and Harrison Barnes on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. Final score 111-77.

Game Notes- Steph Curry tallied twenty-four points for the night. He hit four three-point shots and had nine assists. Draymond added eighteen, Klay had eleven and Leandro Barbosa, coming off the bench, had thirteen.

After the game, Steph had this to say when, if ever, did he think the Dubs would lose. Steph couldn’t really answer tat question but he said this about the team ” we play at a high level every night.” He also said this about setting the record “there have been a lot of great players in the league and no one has accomplished what this team did tonight.” Not Bill Russell, not Wilt Chamberlain, not Jerry West, not Larry Bird, not Magic Johnson, not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and not Michael Jordan.

The Warriors will try to make it 17-0 Friday night. They travel to Phoenix to play the Suns.

CongratulationsGolden State Warriors Point Guard Stephen Curry in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to the Dubs for a record-setting performance.

 

 

 

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Talk of Calipari coming to replace Karl very unlikely

On the Kings podcast Charlie O discusses if the Kings will fire head coach George Fire and replace him with Kentucky U head coach John Calipari it’s a scenario that is very unlikely to happen. The Kings are 1-3 on the five game road trip. They want to pick up that last win and come home 2-3. DeMarcus Cousins who elbowed the Atlanta Hawks Al Holford and was suspended one game for the elbowing. Charlie talks about how much of a distraction the elbowing discipline for Cousins was to the team.

photo credit allkyhoops.com of Kentucky U head coach John Calipari

Charlie O talks Kings basketball on the podcast below and every week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sacramento Kings Monday night game recap: Cousins Sits as Kings Fall Late

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo credit: thebeast980.com Sac Kings DeMarcus Cousins

The Sacramento Kings had a memorable regulation performance Monday night in Charlotte, but the good feelings evaporated in the overtime period. With DeMarcus Cousins on the bench with back stiffness in the final minutes of regulation, Rajon Rondo connected with Rudy Gay on a buzzer beating inbounds alley-oop to tie the contest at 112-all. Bay Area native Jeremy Lin scored 8 of 15 Hornet points in overtime, while the Cousins-less Kings (5-10) only scored 10 to fall to Charlotte 127-122. T

The Kings led by 11 at 108-97 with just over 5 minutes left in the game after Cousins hit a free throw. That would be the last point the Kings star would score in the contest, exiting the game with 30 points and back pain. From there Hornets guard Kemba Walker performed his trademark clutch run to lead Charlotte (8-6) to the win.

Walker and Nicolas Batum scored 13 of the remaining 15 Hornets points while the Kings managed only two field goals capped by Walker driving to the hoop for a 110-108 lead with .7 seconds left in the game. The Hornets scored 38 points in the fourth quarter to erase a 91-74 deficit after three quarters.

Despite the early exit, Cousins still pieced together a monster effort. The Kings talent notched a double-double with 30 points and 11 rebounds over 30 minutes of play. Rondo collected his 7th 20 assist game of the season for the league lead and came a pair of rebounds short of the triple-double with 14 points. Gay had 28 points for the Kings, including the game-tying jam with .7 seconds left in the game.

The Kings continue their five-game roadtrip with a stop in Milwaukee for a showdown with the Bucks on the eve of Thanksgiving. By then they’ll know if they’ll be without the services of Cousins as the season progresses, though for the moment it appears Cousins won’t miss significant time. A win against the Bucks would be Sacramento 2-3 since last playing at Sleep Train Arena.

 

Warriors Win Over Denver Punches Their Ticket To The History Books.

By Shawn Whelchel

We’ve all known that the Golden State Warriors were good. You don’t become the reigning NBA champions, boasting the league’s MVP with a slew of talented young supporting cast members by being just alright. But on Sunday night, they weren’t good, they weren’t even great- they were historic.

Powering their way to a 118-105 win over the Denver Nuggets, the 15-0 Golden State Warriors cemented themselves in the history books for the best start to a season since the 1993 Houston Rockets and the 1948 Washington Capitols.

The march to the history book was solidified by an overall team effort, with five warriors scoring in double-digits throughout the course of the game. Klay Thompson led the team with 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting, while Steph Curry followed up with 19 of his own points. The total was Curry’s lowest of the season.

The defense may have left a little to be desired, but the Warriors more than made up for it from the field, as they shot 52.8 percent from the field overall, while doing most of their damage from beyond the arc with a torrid 15 triples made, good for 51.7 percent.

It wasn’t smooth sailings for the Warriors, as they led by just six points in the third quarter. But on a night where they were immortalized as a historic team, they used a team effort to break away in the later stages of the game, keeping their perfect season in tact.

The good news for Golden State- only the lowly Los Angeles Lakers stand in their way of claiming sole possession of a historical best 16-0 start. The game, which will take place at Oracle Arena on Tuesday, will be sure to match the team’s previous playoff run in intensity.

 

Golden State Warriors Thursday game recap: Streak kept in tact in seven point win over Clips 124-117

By Jessica Kwong

AP Photo Stephen Curry celebrates in second half near the Clippers Paul Pierce

LOS ANGELES – A 23-point deficit against their west coast rivals proved to be no problem for the Golden State Warriors, who overcame the Los Angeles Clippers 124-117 on Thursday to plenty of cheers at Staples Center and preserved their undefeated record, now 13-0.

The Warriors, who came back from a 10-point deficit in their first matchup against the Clippers on Nov. 5 at home, got off to a poor start, with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green getting into early foul trouble. Los Angeles, meanwhile, hit eight of their first 10 shots and closed the first quarter with a 41-25 lead.

Though they trailed, the Warriors at no point felt the game was out of their hands, said Draymond Green, who scored 19 points and 9 assists.

“I just told the guys that we had 42 minutes left in the game – that’s a lot of time. We just continued to fight and even when (the Clippers) were hitting everything, it still never felt like they were just controlling the game,” Green said. “When it’s like that, you’ve got a shot at winning.”

Los Angeles led by as many as 23 points in the second quarter but the Warriors closed in as the game progressed. By the end of the third quarter, the Clippers’ lead was down to 91-85.

“That was pretty fun to watch our guys fight back like that after the first quarter the Clippers had. We kept telling them, ‘Just keep chipping away,’” said Warriors Interim Head Coach Luke Walton.

The real excitement – and kind of basketball expected of the nationally televised contest between the top California teams – played out in the fourth quarter.

It was a three-point contest. The Clippers’ Chris Paul hit a 25-foot jump shot to keep his team up 105-96, but immediately out of a Warriors timeout, with about six minutes remaining, Curry nailed a three. Paul responded with a corner three and less than a minute later, Curry hit another three. Then Paul Pierce and Andre Iguodala joined the three-point match, with 25-foot and 24-foot jumpers respectively. 

Golden State finally gained the lead, 113-112, when Klay Thompson hit a 24-foot jumper with about two-and-a-half minutes remaining. It was all downhill from there for Los Angeles – the team struggled to score and sent Curry and Thompson to the line. A sizable contingent of Warriors fans chanted “MVP” as Curry made all four of his free throws.

“We finally got stops and stopped turning the ball over, which starts with me,” said Curry, who scored a team-high 40 points but had 7 turnovers. “We know the recipe against the Clippers is that you can’t give them easy points. Whether they shoot well or not, that’s what fuels their offense – easy buckets in transition off of turnovers.”

Thursday’s game was the Warriors’ toughest on the road so far, Curry added.

“We just had confidence down the stretch and maturity that we relied on starting from last year and continuing into this year,” he said.

The defending champions return home for a back-to-back against the Chicago Bulls with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

 

Kings’ defense leads to loss, 116-109, in offensive shootout against Heat

by: Michael Martinez

picture credit Google Images

SACRAMENTO-  Coming off a tough loss against the Hawks the night before, the Sacramento Kings (4-8) looked to continue their solid play against the Miami Heat (6-4). After notching another triple-double against the Hawks, his 4th of the season, Rajon Rondo looked to carry the Kings who were without Demarcus Cousins due to a 1 game after a hitting Al Horford in the face with a forearm. Rondo did all he could to lead the Kings and was one rebound shy of another triple-double, but the Kings lack of defensive effort and carelessness with the ball on the offensive end (18 turnovers) cost them the game. The Kings lost to the Heat, 116-109, in Miami at American Airlines Arena.

As the game got underway, the Heat got off to a slow start, while the Kings began to score points in the paint, per usual. As the quarter progressed, Heat big man Hassan Whiteside picked up 2 fouls within 4 minutes, forcing Amar’e Stoudemire to come in. The Kings had no answer for Stoudemire, who put up 10 points in the 1st quarter, shooting 4-5 from the field. The 1st quarter had little offense, but the Heat went on an 8-3 run and a 9-2 run later in the quarter, which gave them the lead. The Kings best offensive player was Rudy Gay who scored 7 points, 3-6, while adding 3 rebounds. Rondo did a good job of pushing the ball into the paint with 4 assists and kicking the ball out to Marco Belinelli who scored 6 points, 2-3 from behind the arc. The Kings collectively shot 52.9%, 9-17, with 10 points in the paint, however with the Heat ending the quarter on a run, they led 25-21 to end the 1st quarter.

Starting off the 2nd quarter, the Heat continued their run from the 1st quarter, making it a 14-2 run. Willie Cauley-Stein had a big block on the Heat rookie Justise Winslow and Belinelli stopped the run after he was fouled behind the 3 point line, sinking all 3 shots from the charity stripe. The Kings were able to flip the script and go on a 8-2 run, however their defense looked slow and lackluster. The Kings allowed the Heat to get into the paint much too often, 20 points in the paint in the 2nd quarter alone and 30 points for the half. Cousins’ presence as a big body in the paint was definitely missed throughout the night. On the offensive end, the Kings scored a little more, however their shooting percentage lowered. Ben McLemore put up 5 points on 2-4 shooting, with a field goal from behind the arc, finishing the game with 17 points on 7-12 shooting. Dwayne Wade was also an issue for the Kings by putting up 9 points in the 2nd quarter alone, 6-12 FG and 13 points for the half. Gay finished with 11 points to end the first half, 5-10 shooting, adding 8 rebounds. With the Heat’s offense getting easy buckets, they continued to hold their lead 56-46 going into the locker room.

The Kings looked to come out of the locker room with a vengeance as they went on a 15-4 scoring run, including the end of the 2nd quarter. After the Heat had seen enough, they wound up going on a run of their own. Whiteside brought unmatched energy and his blocking ability was unreal throughout the 3rd. Dwayne Wade started right where he left off and his shot looked really good. Rondo looked to help the Kings as he distributed the ball extremely well in the paint, especially to Cauley-Stein. Even though the Kings began to falter, Rondo’s play was keeping them in the game as he scored his first points of the quarter in the 3rd. Rondo only scored 4 points in the quarter, but notched 8 assists in the quarter alone. McLemore and Cauley-Stein benefitted from this, both scoring 7 points in the 3rd. The Kings were able to stick around by shooting 61.9% from the field, 66.7% from behind the arc in the 3rd alone, and shooting over 50% for the game. The Heat kept their lead, however, up 82-76 heading in the final 12 minutes of play.

The 4th quarter for the Kings was a lot of clawing and scratching, although at first the Kings let the Heat go up by 16 at one point. The defense was doing a terrible job of keeping defenders in front of them and keeping a hand in shooters’ faces at all times. The momentary lapses on defense crushed the Kings even though they started to come back. Rondo was a huge part of this by adding 10 points in the 4th, with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Rondo’s vision allowed him to get open looks for Belinelli who put up 10 in the 4th as well. Belinelli finished the game with a team high 23 points, shooting 5-11 from the field, 5-10 from 3 point range. Although the Kings tried to fight their way back into the game, Chris Bosh had himself a solid 4th. Bosh put up 13 points in the 4th, 23 for the game on 8-12 shooting and 11 rebounds to give himself a double-double. Wade finished with a game high 24 points. The Kings and Heat had a back and forth shootout, where both sides kept making three pointers. The Kings comeback attempt was hindered when Gay left early with a left shoulder strain. Rondo’s overall play, 14 points, the NBA’s season best 18 assists, and 9 rebounds was just not enough to get the victory. The absence of defensive stops gave the Heat the win over the Kings, 116-109.

After dropping their 2nd straight game in back to back night’s, the Kings are now 4-9 on the season. Minus Cousins and losing Gay in a close game hurt the Kings chances of defeating Miami. The loss is not one to dwell on completely as Rondo continues to play at an extremely high level and the Kings’ shooting percentage was 51.2% for the game, in part to Belinelli and McLemore’s shooting. With a slow start to the season. McLemore’s confidence looks much higher than it once was. The Kings will take on the Orlando Magic this Saturday and to get their first road win, they will have to take care of the ball and play much better defense.

 

 

Hawks Trump Kings Despite Rondo Triple-Double

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Rajon Rondo notched a triple-double, but the Sacramento Kings couldn’t complete a fourth quarter comeback in Atlanta Wednesday night to snap a three-game win streak. Rondo scored 12 points and DeMarcus Cousins netted a game-high 24 points but the Hawks (9-5) came away with the 103-97 victory at Phillips Arena to put coach George Karl even further under the microscope amidst talk of his disma.

The Hawks led by 11 points with 2:49 left in the game, but the Kings (4-8) went on a 9-0 run capped by Darren Collison’s three to bring the visitors down 99-97. The Hawks closed the game out with the final four points and the W in the win-loss column.

The Kings led 30-27 after the first quarter, but were manhandled by a Hawks offense led by Paul Millsap (23 points, 16 rebounds) and Al Horford (17 points) in the second quarter. At half-time, the Kings trailed 62-52. A strong third period (27 points for, 19 against) helped the Kings pull within two points 81-79 heading into the final 12 minutes.

As a team, the Kings went 38-for-86 from the floor, in line with their season average of 44.2 percent shooting. Led by point guard Rondo’s 12 rebounds and another 12 from Cousins, the Kings out rebounded their hosts 52-45. Sacramento turned the ball over 20 times, while Atlanta coughed the rock up only 11 times.

Rondo went 6 of 9 from the field for his 12 points, dropping 10 times to complete the triple-double. Kostos Koufos pitched in 13 points off the bench and starter Rudy Gay added 14 points of his own.

Sacramento travels further south for game two of a back-to-back to face the Miami Heat Thursday night in South Beach.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings getting their confidence up after last three wins

On the Kings podcast Charlie O discusses the Kings wild week and what did the team did to makes things work so well. Rajon Rondo and his important role in helping the Kings make it happen. Also the Kings are glad that DeMarcus Cousins is back from his injury he’s the force the Kings need right now.

Also Cousins kind gesture reaching out to the family of a high school football player Jaulon JJ Clavo who was shot in the back driving to a team meeting. Clavo played for Grant Union High in Sacramento and his teammate was shot but was expected to survive. Cousins who privately offered to pay for the funeral of Clavo was only revealed because a member of the Sacramento City Council mentioned it at the vigil for Clavo.

Charlie O talks Kings basketball on the podcast listen in for more below at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Warriors Avoid NBA Trap, Down Brooklyn Nets In Overtime.

By Shawn Whelchel

The Golden State Warriors narrowly avoided an upset at Oracle Arena on Saturday, as the Brooklyn Nets squandered an early lead to fall in overtime by a score of 107-99.

The Warriors kept their perfect streak alive, as they moved to 11-0 on the season in a tightly contested matchup. Nobody expected the 1-9 Brooklyn Nets to contest the reigning NBA champions at home, but the Nets used a first quarter offensive flurry to back the Warriors into an early corner on Saturday.

Despite lackluster frames in the first and third quarter, the Warriors biggest playmakers were able to force an overtime showdown after clutch play from Andre Iguodala led to a 97-all tie at the end of the fourth quarter. Nets C Brook Lopez had the chance to hand an upset to the Warriors, but barely missed the tip-in to complete the win.

After allowing the lowly Brooklyn offense to take charge at multiple points throughout the game, the Warriors defense stepped up big in overtime, allowing just two total points to the Nets while outscoring them by eight in the overtime frame to secure their 11th win of the season.

Steph Curry led all scorers with 34 points, despite a lackluster night from the field, where he shot just 13-of-31. Draymond Green followed for the Warriors with a triple-double featuring 16 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

Leading the charge for the Nets was a familiar face in Oakland in PG Jarret Jack, who dumped in 28 points on 9-of-20 shooting.  Followin Jack was SF Thaddeus Young who scored 26, while Lopez finished with a respectable 18 despite the missed tip.

The win was the first overtime bout for the Warriors, who have been steadily dispatching their foes in the NBA while contending their NBA title. Despite falling prey to the early trap, the Warriors rebounded with their usual stout defense and clutch offensive play to stay perfect on the season.

The team will take a brief hiatus before returning to action against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday at Oracle Arena.