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Posey’s grand slam wins it for the Giants 10-7

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

Buster Posey came up with the biggest hit of the night when the San Francisco Giants needed it the most.

Posey launched a grand slam off the scoreboard in left-center field, helping the Giants to a 10-7 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.

The grand slam by Posey was the fifth of his career, and it was set up after Joe Panik led off the inning with a single, Mike Yastrzemski walked and Brandon Belt singled. Posey took the first pitch he saw from Matt Albers over the wall.

Will Smith blew his first save of the season in the bottom of the ninth inning, as he gave up a leadoff triple to Christian Yelich and then two batters later, Mike Moustakas tied up the game, when grounded out to Joe Panik.

Brandon Crawford gave the Giants the lead in the top of the ninth inning, as he hit a solo home run off of Brewers closer Josh Hader and it was the second home run in as many innings that Hader surrendered.

Tyler Austin tied up the game in the top of the eighth inning, as he hit a solo home run to right field.

The Brewers took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Ryan Braun doubled Yasmani Grandal and Moustakas to tie up the game and then took the lead when Eric Thames singled in Braun.

Evan Longoria hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to give them their first lead of the game that scored Posey.

Austin Slater tied up the game in the top of the fifth inning, as he an opposite field home run that scored Kevin Pillar in front of Slater.

Keston Hiura gave the Brewers the lead in the bottom of the second inning, as he singled off of Giants starter Shaun Anderson.

Thames doubled in Braun in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead and then one-half inning later, Slater tied it up.

Anderson went five innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walking three and striking out eight, as he did not fare in the decision.

It was a season-high eight strikeouts for Anderson, who struck out Yelich on three different occasions.

Brewers starter Chase Anderson left with the lead, as he also went five innings, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out five.

Hiura drove in the final run of the game in the bottom of the 10th inning, as he hit his eighth home run of the season off of Mark Melancon.

Despite blowing his first save of the season, Smith ended up picking up his second win of the season.

NOTES: This was the first time that the Giants hit more than four home runs since April 23, 2014 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, when they hit six.

UP NEXT: Madison Bumgarner makes his return to the mound, as he is ready to pitch after leaving Sundays game at Oracle Park, when he was smacked on the elbow on a Jose Martinez liner.

Zach Davies will take the mound for the Brewers, as he makes his second start of the season against the Giants. Davies lost to the Giants on June 14 at Oracle Park, and is 0-2 with a 2.81 ERA in his three career starts.

No 4th of July play for Giants, Cardinals on deck

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Photo credit: @OracleParkSF

By Jeremy Harness

For the first time in a while, the Giants will not play on the 4th of July. However, they will still use this time to get prepared for a big weekend series while riding a wave of momentum.

They are coming off a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres, and they will now wait for the St., Louis Cardinals to get into town, as the two teams will play a three-game series starting Friday night at Oracle Park.

The series does not pack the same punch that it has in years past – with the Giants still stuck in the National League West basement while the Cardinals hanging on with a 42-42 mark – but because of the sheer history of this pairing, it still carries meaning nonetheless.

Drew Pomeranz will take the ball for the Friday opener against Cardinals righty Dakota Hudson (6-4, 3.40 ERA). Pomeranz has been a mess this season, with a 2-8 record and a 6.25 ERA. However, he momentarily beat that back in his last start, throwing five shutout innings at the Arizona Diamondbacks last Saturday.

Hudson is coming off an outing where he did not make it out of the second inning while giving up seven runs – but amazingly only one of them earned – which included a pair of homers in losing to the same San Diego team the Giants just swept.

However, he was brilliant in the start prior to that, going seven strong and surrendering only a run to the Angels in a 2-1 win.

Madison Bumgarner (5-7, 4.02 ERA) is still wearing a Giants uniform for the time being and has gotten into a nice rhythm lately, will go Saturday night, and he will go up against Miles Mikolas (5-8, 4.34 ERA), who appears to be going in the opposite direction after a hot start.

Bumgarner has gotten the win in each of his past two starts, beating the Colorado Rockies and the Diamondbacks, surrendering three runs in his 13 innings combined.

Mikolas has lost six of his last seven decisions, but he is coming off a decent outing that saw him give up three runs over six innings, although he did not ultimately factor in to the decision.

Coming off a brilliant outing that saw him go eight solid innings in a convincing win over San Diego Monday night, Jeff Samardzija (5-7, 4.32 ERA) will take the hill Sunday for the Giants against Cardinals righty Jack Flaherty (4-5, 4.90 ERA), who is coming off a rather-shaky outing that saw him give up four runs over 4 1/3 innings against Seattle on Tuesday.

Earthquakes dominate Galaxy in 3-0 Clasíco victory

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by Marko Ukalovic and London Marq

STANFORD, Calif- The San Jose Earthquakes put on a show in front of a record setting crowd in defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-0 in the first round of the annual California Classico on Saturday evening at Stanford Stadium.

With the win, San Jose is currently on a six game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) and for the moment jumped ahead of Minnesota FC and the Houson Dynamo for fifth place in the Western Conference with 25 points. Los Angeles is still in second place with 31 points.

It didn’t take long for San Jose (7-6-5) to draw first blood and send the 50,850 in attendance, the most to ever attend a Classico game, into a frenzy. In the 11th minute, Jackson Yueill’s free kick from 30 yards out found Magnus Eriksson. He fed a pass over to Vako who took one dribble to the right and fired a shot past Galaxy goalkeeper (and former Quake) David Bingham into the far left corner for his fourth goal of the season and third in the past two games.

The Quakes controlled the play from the beginning and all the way up to the end of the first half despite the possession being even at 50%. They had six shots on goal compared to only two for the Galaxy.

“It was a great spectacle”, said Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda, coaching in his first Cali Classico. “It’s always important to win. We know we have to keep on this path. We have improved and we should keep on improving.”

Los Angeles (10-7-1) was finally able to get a couple of scoring chances near the end of the first 45 minutes.  Dave Romney’s shot from 10 yards out was saved by Quakes goalkeeper Daniel Vega in the 38th minute. Galaxy leading goal scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s header off a set piece from 6 yards out was also thrawted away by Vega.

“We had a few good chances”, said Galaxy midfielder Perry Kitchen. “But the broke us on the counter twice.”

The Quakes back line did well to collapse in the middle of the box to keep Ibrahimovic and the rest of the Galaxy’s offense from creating quality chances.

San Jose put the game away in the 83rd minute as Vako led a counter attack. He crossed the ball going from left to right over to Shea Salians, who entered as a substitute in the 75th minute, and he rifled a shot into the upper left corner to beat Bingham for his fifth goal of the season.

“I’ve just been blessed to be put in good situations in this game”, said Salians who played his first game back from an injury. “It’s always fun to play well and score in front of 50,000 people.  I think we could’ve scored more goals. It was a good game for us.”

San Jose added on another goal just two minutes later in the 85th minute when Tommy Thompson carried the ball in from the right slot, dribbled around a Galaxy defender and then fired a shot that deflected off a Galaxy defender into the back of the net for an own goal that gave the Quakes a commanding 3-0 lead.

“I told him (Almeyda) ‘quiero esta en la concha’ I want to be on the field”, said Thompson regarding how he has been able to adapt to switching to play as a defender. “If one of the best coaches in the world says you can play this position, in your mind you gotta think I can play this position as well. It’s been new for me but it’s been a special year for me as well.”

Vega was huge in the net stopping all five shots on goal for his second consecutive shutout in just three days.

GAME NOTES: Los Angeles midfielder Flavio Alvarez was issued a yellow card in the 67th minute for an illegal tackle attempt.

Salians was isssued a yellow card for taking off his jersey in his post goal celebration.

Since 2003 San Jose is now 13-8-3 at home versus Los Angeles.

UP NEXT: The Quakes take on Minnesota FC on Wednesday 7/3 at 5:00pm at Allianz Field.

Giants’ epic comeback gets cut short by Dodgers

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

Thursday night’s game at Dodger Stadium got off to a rather-funny start but finished in thrilling fashion indeed.

After some major-league trolling of Giants starter Madison Bumgarner by the Dodgers – more on that later – the Dodgers jumped out to a 6-0 lead, and it appeared to be a carbon copy of what the previous two games looked like.

The Giants, however, mounted a tremendous comeback in the last three innings but came up painfully short in a 9-8 loss that wrapped up a four-game series in Southern California that saw the Giants win only the opening contest.

They put four runs on the board in the top of the ninth and even had the tying run on second base with nobody out against closer Kenley Jansen.

That was when a bit of controversy took shape. Tyler Austin laid down a nice bunt down the first-base line, and first baseman Cody Bellinger whipped around and fired to third to nab Stephen Vogt. However, the play was reviewed, and replays appeared to show Vogt’s foot reaching third as the ball hit third baseman Justin Turner’s glove.

However, Vogt was ruled out, and the played a huge role down the stretch. The next batter, Buster Posey, hit a sharp liner that center fielder Alex Verdugo ran down near the warning track, and the runners were forced to retreat back to first and second, respectively.

Had Vogt been ruled safe, he would have likely tagged up from third and tied the game. As it stood, Brandon Belt’s liner to right found Kyle Garlick’s glove and ended the game.

Thursday night marked Bumgarner’s first start in Los Angeles since his blowup at Max Muncy after the latter touched him up for a home run at Oracle Park last week, and the Dodgers were clearly ready for him.

As Muncy stepped up to the plate against Bumgarner, the team was happy to show on its jumbotron screen in center field that the last time he had faced the left-hander resulted in a 426-foot shot that is now 25 feet under water in McCovey Cove.

The Dodgers’ PA staff went on to play “Under The Sea,” which was a hit song on the soundtrack of “The Little Mermaid,” before playing Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.”

Muncy continued his ownage of Bumgarner, as he singled in a run in the first inning to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

Raptors take down the Warriors 114-110 to win their first NBA Championship

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Photo credit: @Raptors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors lost a thriller to the Toronto Raptors 114-110 in Game 6 at Oracle Arena Thursday night.

The Warriors, trying to overcome adversity with the loss of Kevin Durant in Game 5, and Klay Thompson late in the third quarter of Game 6, gave it their all, but it was not quite enough.

The Warriors showed no quit. They played with the hearts of the champions that they are. They played with courage. They did not have a full roster throughout the Finals. They lost DeMarcus Cousins in the first round against the Clippers. Cousins found his way back and played in five of the six games in the Finals. They lost Kevin Durant in Game 5 of the second round series with the Houston Rockets. They shocked the NBA by beating the Rockets in Game 6. They lost Klay Thompson in Game 2 with a strained hamstring. He missed his first game ever in the playoff. Thompson was injured late in the third quarter after he was fouled. Thompson made the two free throws and then went to the locker room. He did not return to the game. Kevon Looney suffered a shoulder injury, and he, too, missed a game. Looney should everyone what he is made of. He came back to play and played well. He had to leave Game 5 as he experienced severe pain in the injured area. He was on the floor on Thursday night.

The Raptors won a very hard-fought series. They are the champions of the NBA for the first time in their history. The Raptors, coached by first-year head coach Nick Nurse, won the Larry O’Brien Trophy 4-2. The Raptors trade with the San Antonio Spurs brought them two key players, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, who arrived to Toronto in exchange for DeMar DeRozan. How good was Leonard? Leonard, who was Defensive Player of the Year in 2016, showed that he was an excellent offensive player as well. Leonard was awarded the Bill Russell Trophy for being the Finals MVP.

The Warriors had to figure out a way to stop the Raptors’ big men. The Warriors had trouble all series with Pascal Siakam, Serge, Ibaka, and Marc Gasol. The Raptors’ Fred VanVleet, coming off the bench, showed that he was an excellent sixth man, and he was called upon to guard Steph Curry. The Raptors’ plan for Thursday night’s game was to double team Curry every time he handled the ball. Klay Thompson had the hot hand in the first half as he put 18 on the board.

The first 24 minutes of the game was extremely competitive. The Raptors’ Kyle Lowry was hot at the start of the game. Lowry knocked down 15 in the quarter. The Raptors led 19-12 about midway through the first quarter. The Warriors knew what was at stake and met the challenge. They trailed by one 33-32 at the end of the first period. The second period was nip and tuck all the way to the end of the half. There were 14 lead changes in the first half. Toronto led 60-57 at the intermission.

It was more of the same in the third quarter. The lead changed hands several times. The Warriors were leading 83-80 when Klay Thompson was fouled going in for a layup. Thompson hit the floor, grasping his left leg as he was in a lot of pain. He headed to the locker room. Someone reminded the Warriors that if he could not make the free throws, he could not return to the game. Thompson returned and sank the two free throw to give the Warriors the lead 85-80. After making the two free throw, Thompson went to the locker room. He did not return and was seen leaving the arena on crutches. The third quarter ended with the Warriors nursing a two-point lead 88-86.

In the fourth quarter, with Klay Thompson out of the game and Steph Curry on the bench, Toronto regained the lead 94-93. Curry came back in with about nine minutes left to play. Curry hit a three to put the Warriors ahead 99-96. The teams tied at 99 and at 101. Toronto went on a 7-1 run to lead 108-102. Draymond Green made a three and DeMarcus Cousins put in a layup to close to 109-108 Each team scored two to make it 110-108 with 18.5 seconds left to play. The Warriors trailed by just one 111-110 with 18.5 seconds left. The Warriors’ defense stiffened, and the Raptors turned the ball over with 9.5 seconds left. The Raptors’ defense smothered the Warriors, and Green called for a timeout. The problem was that the Warriors were out of timeouts and they were charged with a technical foul and loss of possession. The Raptors made the free throw. With 0.9 seconds on the clock, the Raptors inbounded the ball. Kawhi Leonard was fouled and made both free throws. The Raptors won 114-110 and dethroned the Warriors as NBA champions.

Game Notes: For those that care, here are the stats–Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 30, Curry had 21, Andre Iguodala 22, Cousins, 12. Draymond Green had a triple-double with 11 points, 19 rebounds, and 13 assists.

The Raptors were led by Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry, who both tallied 26. Kawhi Leonard and Fred VanVleet had 22. Van Vleet knocked down 12 points in the fourth quarter. Serge Ibaka had 15.

The Warriors played their final game at Oracle Arena. Oracle has been their home for 47 years. They will be playing at the Chase Center in San Francisco when the 2019-20 season starts in October.

The Warriors will have to make decisions regarding several players. Will they bring back DeMarcus Cousins and Kevon Looney? Will they give Klay Thompson a max contract? Kevin Durant will not play next season due to his Achilles tendon injury. Durant can opt to stay a Warrior next year even if he doesn’t play. Other teams in the NBA might be willing to offer him a four-year max contract knowing that he won’t play next season. Will Shaun Livingston retire? How will they improve the bench? Who will they get in the draft? Lots of decisions and just about three months before the players come back to start practice in late September or early October.

I know the players feel they swallowed a bitter pill. They will need to take a couple days off to erase the bitterness. They know they have the best fans in the NBA that will support them as they resume their quest for another championship next year.

Warriors win a thriller 106-105, stay alive to fight another day

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Photo credit: @BleacherReport

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, with their backs to the wall, found a way to defeat the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena 106-105 on Monday night. They were buoyed by the return of Kevin Durant to the lineup. Durant’s presence gave Steph Curry and Klay Thompson the ability to get open and knock down three-point shots. Misfortune struck in the second quarter when Durant re-injured his right leg. The Warriors had to figure out another option. Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr inserted DeMarcus Cousins into the game. Cousins played well and helped the Warriors to the thrilling victory.

Kevin Durant started the game and knocked won 11 points in the first quarter. His presence in the lineup allowed Steph Curry and Klay Thompson to get good looks and they responded by connecting on several three-point shots. The Warriors finished the first quarter leading 34-28.

The Warriors and Raptors each scored 28 points in the second quarter. The Warriors finished the first 24 minutes of the game still ahead by six 62-56. Unfortunately, Kevin Durant reinjured his right calf injury and had to leave the game. Durant will have an MRI performed on his leg Tuesday. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr decided to insert DeMarcus Cousins into the lineup. Cousins, who played poorly in Games 3 and 4, played his heart out and really helped to make up for the loss of Durant. Cousins knocked down nine points in the second quarter. Curry led the Warriors with 23 and Klay had 12.

The Warriors played inspired basketball in the third quarter. The Warriors 77-63 when Toronto went on a 10-0 run to make it a four-point game 77-73. Klay hit a three and Cousins had two big buckets, and the Warriors finished the quarter leading  84-78.

The Warriors could not let the Raptors come back and grab the lead. If the Warriors failed to hold the lead, their season was over. Toronto, with the crowd urging them on, came back and took the lead 96-95 when Kawhi Leonard connected on a three. Toronto hit a bucket, and the Warriors trailed 98-95. Draymond Green put two on the board and the Warriors now trailed by one. Leonard hit a three and a two-pointer to put the Raptors in the driver’s seat 103-97. The Splash Brothers showed the world what they are still champions. Klay Thompson made a three and Steph Curry made a three to tie the game at 103. The Warriors stopped the Raptors, and Thompson put the icing on the cake when he hit another three to put the Warriors ahead 106-103 with 56 seconds left in the game. The Raptors scored two more points to make it 106-105. The Raptors got the ball back with 13.7 seconds left to play. The Warriors’ defense did not allow them to get a shot off until the last second left. The ball hit the side of the backboard, and the Warriors left the court with a thrilling win.

Game Notes: The Warriors will meet the Raptors at Oracle Arena Thursday night. The Warriors still have their backs against the wall. They need a win to force the series back to Toronto for Game 7. The Warriors probably will not have Durant available. Durant left the arena in Toronto with a boot on his right foot and was using crutches to walk. Kevon Looney also left the game with an injury. Looney was in a lot of pain as his injured right shoulder was bothering him quite a bit. He seemed to grimace in pain almost every time he was on the floor.

Curry led the Warriors with 31 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. He made five three-point shots. Klay Thompson had 26. Klay knocked down 7 threes. Cousins finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Draymond Green almost had a triple-double. He had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. Durant had 11. The Warriors shot 46.3% from the floor. They were 20-for-42 from the three-point range.

Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard paced the Raptors with 26 points and 12 boards. Kyle Lowry had 18, Marc Gasol, 17, Serge Ibaka 15, Pascal Siakam 12, and Fred VanVleet 11. The Raptors shot 44.7% from the floor. They were 8-for 32 from downtown. The Raptors were 21-for 27 from the charity stripe. The Warriors were 10-for 14.

Up Next: The Warriors know their work is cut out for them Thursday night. This team has players that never quit. They have the hearts of champions. It will be the last game ever played at Oracle Arena Thursday night. Game time will be at 6 pm.

Warriors fall to the Raptors 105-92, now on the brink of elimination

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors were hoping to even the series against the Toronto Raptors Friday night at Oracle Arena. The Warriors had two things going for them. Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney, who were both injured in Game 2 of the series, were cleared to play. The second factor was the crowd at Oracle. The fans were behind the team for the entire game, and the noise level was unbelievable.

The Raptors’ game plan was to double team Curry every time he touched the ball and not let him make three-point shots. The Warriors needed Draymond Green, DeMarcus Cousins, and Andre Iguodala to help out putting points on the board. The Warriors knew that if they were going to win, they would have to shut down the Toronto offense.

The Warriors won the first half 46-42. It was a defensive struggle for the entire 24 minutes of action. Both teams didn’t shoot well at the start of the game. The Warriors defense was terrific. Toronto’s three-point shooter, Danny Green, was held to zero points for the first 24 minutes. They held Pascal Siakam to six. Kawhi Leonard scored 14 to keep Toronto close. Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 14 points. The Raptors held Curry to just 8. Kevon Looney was terrific. Everyone thought he was out for the rest of the series. He implored the doctors to check him, and they cleared him to play. Kevon responded with 8 big points. Toronto knew if they could stay within 5 points of the lead at halftime, they had a chance to win.

The Raptors took it to the Warriors in the third quarter. They made five threes, and Leonard knocked 17 points to propel Toronto to a 79-67 advantage at the end of three quarters.

The Warriors knew that it would be difficult to overcome a twelve -point lead in the final 12 minutes of play. They tried, but Toronto answered every Warrior bucket with a bucket of their own. They continued to pressure Curry, and as much as he wished, he could not bring the Warriors back. The Warriors fell to Toronto 105-92 and now trail the series 3-1. The next game will be played in Toronto Monday night.

Game Notes: The Raptors won the game on the strength of their third-period outburst. They connected on eight three in the second half. The Warriors made six. The Raptors had 24 shots from the free throw line and made 23. The Warriors made 14 in 21 tries. On defense, the Raptors had 12 steals and four blocked shots. The Warriors did a poor job of handling the ball. They turned the ball over 17 times. The Raptors committed nine.

Klay led the Warriors with 28. Steph had 27. Draymond Green and Kevon Looney were the only other Warriors in double figures. They each scored 10. Cousins had six, and Iguodala had three. The Warrior bench, other than Looney, added eight.

Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard led his team with 36 points and 12 rebounds. Leonard knocked down five threes. Serge Ibaka had 20, and Pascal Siakam added 19. Kyle Lowry scored 10, and Fred VanVleet had eight. VanVleet, who hounded Curry all night long, left the game with a cut under his right eye. He went to the locker room, and the wound was closed with seven stitches.

The Warriors’ Kevin Durant was not cleared to play again. The doctors would not let him practice, and it is becoming apparent that Durant may not play at all in the series.

If the Warriors lose Monday night, they will no longer play another game at Oracle Arena. The team moves to the Chase Center in San Francisco for the 2019-2020 season.

The last team to come back from a 3-1 deficit and to win on the home team’s court was the Cleveland Cavaliers. They did it to win the 2016 NBA Championship over the Warriors.

Warriors find a way to eliminate the Rockets in Game 6

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, playing without two of their stars, DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Durant, found a way the defeat the Houston Rockets 118-113 Friday night in Houston. Most of the pundits, excluding this writer, picked the Rockets to win Game 6 and force a deciding Game 7 on Mother’s day in Oakland. The “experts” felt that the Warriors could not win with Kevin Durant. Durant was averaging a smidge over 36 points a game and how were the Warriors going to pick up the slack. The Warriors bench had not produced much in the playoffs this year. Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr knew that he could not let his starters play all 48 minutes. He needed the bench to come through and did they ever. The Warriors motto is “Strength in Numbers,” and the bench led by Kevon Looney, Shaun Livingstone, Quinn Cook, Jordan Bell, and Jonas Jerebko all contributed to the Warriors victory and they did it in a hostile environment.

The Rockets, for the past year, were hoping to avenge last year’s demise in the Western Conference Finals against the W’s. Their star point guard, Chris Paul, injured his hamstring and did not play in the last two games. Paul was healthy, and they felt they had the advantage as Durant was not able to play for Golden State. What the Rockets didn’t count on was the fact that the Warriors know how to win. They won a championship in 2015 without Kevin Durant. They almost repeated in 2016 and did not have Durant. The W’s won the last two championships with KD, and, hopefully, they will win their third in a row with Durant as a teammate. The Warriors knew they had to find a way to stop the Rockets offense. They had to play strong defense, rebound, make steals, block shots, and not turnover the ball. They did everything right except they were a bit sloppy as they turned the ball over 17 times.

The Warriors and Rockets played a very competitive first half. The Rockets won the first quarter by one-point to lead 28-27. The Warriors offense in the first quarter was driven by Klay Thompson, Kevon Looney, and Draymond Green. The Warriors won the second period by a point, and the game was tied at 57 at the of two-quarters of action. Steph Curry did not score a single point in the first half. He committed three fouls and spent a lot of time on the bench. Klay Thompson led the W’s with 21. Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Kevon Looney each had 8. Shaun Livingston had 6. The Rockets’ attack was led by James Harden’s 19. Chris Paul added 11. Hot-shooting Eric Gordon was held to 4. The Warriors knocked  down7 threes while Houston made 8. The Rockets shot 10 more free three than the Warriors to keep them in the game.

The Warriors were hoping to get Steph going in the third quarter. The Rockets planned to double team both Steph and Klay and force the other Warriors to make the shots. The lead changed hands several times in the period. The Rockets increased the lead to six 74-68, but the W’s met the challenge and tied it at 77. The Rockets led by one 83-82 when they went on a 4-0 run to finish the period leading 87-82.

It all came down to the last 12 minutes of play. The Rockets led by five and had the crowd roaring their support. Would it be possible for The W’s to catch the Rockets? Could they put enough points on the board to win? Would Steph Curry lead them to the win? All those questions were answered. The Warriors refused to fold. The Rockets could not put Golden State away. The W’s tied the game at 97 when Steph made a two-point bucket. The took the lead for good when Kevon Looney made a huge bucket. Steph followed with a three, and the Dubs led 102-97. The Rockets’ James Harden hit a three, and it was a two-point contest 102-100. Curry was a one-man wrecking crew at this point. Steph made a duce and a trey and the Warriors were up 110-104 with 36.1 seconds left to play. Kevon Looney blocked a shot, and the ball went Golden State. The Rockets fouled Steph, and he made both free throws. Harden countered with a three. The Rockets kept fouling Steph, and he kept making free throws. The Warriors held off Harden and Paul to win 118-113, and they again ended the Rockets’ season.

Game Notes and stats- The Warriors outscored the Rockets 36-26 in the fourth quarter to overcome the five-point deficit at the end of three. Steph Curry scored 16 points in the final five minutes of the game. He scored 23 points in the fourth quarter and 33 points in the second half.

The Warriors resume play Tuesday night at Oracle Arena when they face the winner of the Denver Nuggets- Portnad Trailblazers series.

Steph led the W’s with 33. He made four threes in 11 tries. Klay had 27, and he made 7 three. Draymond Green had 8 points, 10 boards, and 7 assists. Andre Iguodala played well on offense as well as defense. He had 17 points, and he made five threes. Kevon Looney had 15, Shaun Livingston 11. The rest of the bench added 8. The W’s shot 49.4% from the floor. The had 35 boards and 10 offensive rebounds.

James Harden led the Rockets with 35. Chris Paul 27, P.J.Tucker 15, Clint Capela 10 points and 10 boards, Eric Gordon 9. Austin Rivers also had 9. The key to the win was not letting Eric Gordon, and Austin Rivers knock down threes.

The Warriors again showed the world that they are champions. They refused to fold. They could have, and nobody would have criticized them as they were without two All-Stars. They made the shots when they had to. They played defense in the fourth quarter. They did what they had to do to win.

 

Giants-Rox postponed by rain

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants’ workday was cut short Thursday, when inclement weather washed away any possibility of the Giants and Colorado Rockies playing a baseball game at Coors Field.

The game will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on July 15, as the original series opener was originally scheduled with a night game on that day. This series will conclude in Denver Thursday afternoon.

Following the conclusion of the series at hand, the Giants will head home and will welcome the Cincinnati Reds to Oracle Park for a three-game weekend series that begins Friday night. Meanwhile, the Reds will not have to travel very far, as they are currently in the middle of a series across the bay in Oakland against the A’s.

With the baseball game safely out of the way, Bay Area fans got to zero in on more significant games for this time of year. For example, the NHL’s San Jose Sharks were able to advance to the Western Conference Finals by skating past another Colorado team, the Avalanche, by virtue of a 3-2 win at the SAP Center.

Meanwhile, the NBA’s Golden State Warriors are now one game away from reaching the Western Conference Finals for a fifth straight year by beating the Houston Rockets inside of Oracle Arena, which is slightly more lively than Oracle Park these days.

The Giants and Rockies are nowhere near reaching the postseason at this point, however. In fact, they have identical 16-20 records heading into Thursday afternoon’s series finale, which qualifies as a tie for the National League West cellar.

On a positive note, they are only 7 ½ games out of the top spot in the division, with more than four months left in the regular season.

Warriors defeat the Rockets 115-109 to lead the series 2-0

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, using the Hampton’s Five lineup for the second game in a row, held on to beat the Houston Rockets 115-109.

The Warriors led from start to finish. They caused the Rockets to commit 13 turnovers in the first half, and they put 20 points on the board as a result. The Rockets, to their credit, stayed close as they made 10 three-pointers in the first half. The Warriors made just four.

Steph Curry had to leave the game in the second quarter when he injured his left hand trying to swat a shot attempt by Clint Capela. Curry went to the locker room for an x-ray and treatment. Nothing was broken, but he dislocated his middle finger on his left hand. Curry returned to action but appeared to be having trouble shooting the basketball as two fingers on his left hand were taped. James Harden also went to the locker room for treatment. Harden was struck in his left eye by Draymond Green. There was no foul on the play, and Draymond talked to Harden telling him that it was not intentional. Harden returned later after having some difficulty with his vision.

The Warriors won the first quarter 29-20. They were playing defense, and the offense was percolating. The Rockets played the Warriors even in the second quarter. Austin Rivers, filling in for Harden, kept the Rockets in the game as he knocked down three threes and finished the first half with 11. Clint Capela played much better Tuesday night. He ended the first half with seven points and seven rebounds.

The Warriors led by nine 58-49 at the end of the first half. The Rockets made 10 threes good for 30 points and kept themselves in the game.

Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 13 points. Kevin Durant had 12 points, Draymond Green had seven points and seven boards, Steph Curry had 10 points, and Andre Iguodala had 10 points.

James Harden led the Rockets with 12 points. Chris Paul had eight points, P.J. Tucker had six points, and Eric Gordon, who scored 27 on Sunday, was held to two points.

In the third quarter, the Rockets outscored the Warriorss 26-24 to finish the quarter trailing by seven 82-75. The Rockets trailed by 15 until they went on an 8-0 run at the end of the period. The Rockets cut the lead to four 84-80, but Shaun Livingston came through with two clutch baskets and the Warriors led 88-80.

The Rockets kept coming back. They trailed 93-90, but Steph Curry hit a three and Andre Iguodala followed with a bucket. Klay Thompson also hit a deuce, and the Warriors led 100-90 with 4:45 left to play. The Warriorss increased the lead to 12 104-92 as they went on an 11-2 run. James Harden refused to quit. Harden’s eye was bothering him all night long, but he kept attacking. He continued to drive the lane, and when he was bottled up, he tried to make a three-point shot. The Warriors were able to hang on to beat the Rockets by a final of 115-109.

Game Notes: All five Warrior starters were in double figures. Draymond Green had a double-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists. Kevin Durant led the team with 29. Durant made three threes in seven tries. Klay Thompson had 21. Thompson also made three threes. Thompson made two threes in a row in the third quarter that helped the Warriors maintain their lead. Steph Curry finished with 20. Curry also made three threes and was 3 for 13 in that department. Andre Iguodala tallied 16 and helped out with two threes.

James Harden led the Rockets with 29 points. Chris Paul had 18 points, Eric Gordon had 15 points, Clint Capela had 14 points and P.J.Tucker had 13 points. The Rockets committed four turnovers in the second half.

The team stats looked like this: The Rockets were 36 for 77 from the floor. The Warriors took 14 more shots and were 42 for 91. The Rockets made 17 threes. The Warriors made 11. The Warriors outrebounded the Rockets 46-41 and had 18 offensive boards while Houston’s total was 10. The Warriors had 10 steals and five blocked shots.

The referees did an outstanding job Tuesday night, and neither team appeared to criticize the crew that worked Game 2 of the series.

Up Next: Game 3 of the best of seven series will be played in Houston on Saturday. Game time will be at 5:30 pm. The three-day layoff will give the players a chance to get some rest after the grueling first two games of the series.