Photo credit: @Athletics
By Matthew Harrington
The strength of the 2018 Oakland A’s was a weakness Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum, with the A’s bullpen blowing a two-run lead after seven innings. Joakim Soria surrendered four runs in the eighth to pick up the loss in a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels.
Marco Estrada pitched a gem, going six innings while scattering two hits and Khris Davis hit a two-run homer, but the rally punctuated by Andrelton Sinmons’ two-run single proved the difference. Mike Trout also doubled in two runs in the Angels’ first win of 2019.
Estrada and Halos starter Matt Harvey dueled to five scoreless innings each, but Davis tagged Harvey for a two-run jack in the sixth to give the A’s the lead. Enter the lockdown pen.
Lou Trivino picked up a hold after a clean 7th but offseason acquisition Soria entered in the eighth and found himself in hot water instantly. Former Athletic Jonathan Lucroy and Brian Goodwin singled back-to-back to open the inning, then Kole Calhoun doubled in Lucroy.
Soria (0-2, 22.50 ERA) walked Trout to load the bases before departing the game for Ryan Buchter. Buchter walked Justin Bour to tie the game, giving way to Liam Hendriks. Hendriks coughed up Simmons’ two-run single before collecting all three outs of the inning.
Fernando Rodney but gave up three singles and got a double play in the first few batters he faced. Then Trout tagged him for a two-run double and a 6-2 Halos lead. Cody Allen finished the game off for the Halos pen after winning pitcher Hansel Robles (1-0, 0.00) and Ty Buttery pitched scoreless frames.
Brett Anderson takes the hill for the A’s Sunday looking to pick up the second win of the season for the Green and Gold after also dropping two games in the Tokyo Dome to the Mariners earlier in the month. The Angels will send Felix Pena to the mound.
Category: Uncategorized
A’s win 4-2 in a rain-shortened game, sweep the Bay Bridge Series
Photo credit: @Athletics
By Jerry Feitelberg
SAN FRANCISCO — The A’s and Giants played the final game of Spring Training at Oracle Park Tuesday night. The weather conditions were much better than Monday night, but they deteriorated in the fifth. The rain came down in buckets in the sixth, and the umpires called the game. The A’s beat the Giants in all five games the teams played this preseason.
The teams are off on Wednesday, and the A’s have their home day opener on Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels and their $430 Million Dollar Man, Mike Trout. The A’s are 0-2 in the regular season as they lost two games to the Mariners in Tokyo on March 20th and 21st. The Giants will open on the road against the San Diego Padres and their $300 Million Dollar Man, Manny Machado.
The game summary follows below.
The A’s scored two runs in the second and two runs in the fourth to send Giants’ starter Jeff Samardzija to an early exit. The A’s center fielder Mark Canha blasted Samardzija’s 89 MPH four-seam fastball into the seats to give the A’s a 4-0 lead. Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy decided he had seen enough and removed Samardzija from the game with two outs in the fourth.
The Giants put two on the board in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Connor Joe started the rally with a single. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Brian Schlitter to relieve Brooks. Schlitter walked Alen Hanson and then hit Mac Williamson with a pitch to load the bases. Melvin removed Schlitter and Jerry Blevins, who tried to get a spot in the A’s bullpen, served a single to Gerardo Parra. Two runs were scored on the play. The Giants had runners on first and third with two out. Blevins struck out Pablo Sandoval for the final out (and of the game) as the rain came down and the umpires decided that conditions were too severe to continue. The A’s won 4-2 and swept the Bay Bridge Series.
Game Notes: A’s starter Aaron Brooks, who is out of options, pitched very well for the A’s. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed five hits and one run. The A’s have to make a decision on his status Wednesday as they have to be down to 25 players by Thursday.
Up Next: The A’s meet the Angels Thursday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum. Mike Fiers will pitch for the A’s. Game time will be at 1:05 pm.
Washed Out: Giants’ offense looks familiar, creates concern
By Morris Phillips
SAN FRANCISCO — The one thing the Giants’ offense can’t afford? Looking like they’re long in the tooth.
The transition envisioned by GM Farhan Zaidi hasn’t moved the needle yet with the team’s roster changes. The 2018 infield returns intact, Mac Williamson has another opportunity to capture the left field job and 32-year old Gerardo Parra could be the team’s most impactful addition.
That means a bunch of at-bats by hitters approaching or beyond 30-years of age, and a scouting report and approach to get them out that won’t change much regardless of opponent.
Simply, bring the heat and challenge the middle-aged lineup to succeed while facing a steady diet of 90’s and mid-90’s fastballs.
The Giants looked the part on Monday, ultimately going the first 15 innings of the Bay Bridge exhibition series without scoring a run. The Giants rallied in the seventh, but still fell short, losing 5-4.
The at-bats involving the regulars followed a pattern:
Brandon Belt batting in the first inning with two on and one out: struck out swinging on a 94-mph fastball, Liam Hendricks’ fastest pitch of the sequence.
Buster Posey in the third on a 3-1 count with two runners on, one out: rolls over on a 92-mph fastball, and is doubled up, third to first. The 92-mph, two-seam fastball from Fernando Rodney is his hardest offering of the at-bat.
In the fifth, A’s closer Blake Treinen threw five consecutive pitches–92 and above–to Joe Panik with a runner in scoring position: the fifth pitch was a cut fastball that inducted a ground out to first.
A small sample size with all three players leaving the game early, and before the four-run, seventh-inning rally, but the offense hasn’t had great numbers all spring. The 140 runs scored ranks the Giants’ third worst among Cactus League teams that played a full schedule. The Royals scored 72 more runs than the Giants, the Dodgers 10 more than the Giants despite a seven-game losing streak and an inferior won-loss record.
Last year? The Giants finished second-to-last in the National League in runs scored (603) and home runs (133).
NOTES: The A’s and Giants experienced a 84-minute rain delay on Monday, then played for 3 hours, 12 minutes without interruption. The drizzle continued throughout the evening but didn’t regain any intensity… The A’s used their bullpen approach and got nine, different hurlers into the game. The A’s improved to 4-0 against San Francisco this spring… Both teams scored four runs in the seventh inning. Erik Kratz delivered a two-run single in his Oracle Park debut.
Warriors bounce back to defeat the Pistons 121-114
Photo credit: @warriors
By Jerry Feitelberg
One night after being embarrassed by the Dallas Mavericks, who handed the Golden State Warriors their worst loss in the Steve Kerr era, the Warriors able to down the Detroit Pistons 121-114 at Oracle Arena Sunday. Steph Curry, Andrew Bogut, and Shaun Livingston returned to action after having last night off. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr sat out DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Iguodala down for tonight’s game.
The teams played a very competitive first quarter. The Warriors won the quarter 29-28. The Warriors looked like the rather old Warriors as they outscored Detroit 34-21 to finish the first half 63-49. The fans knew things were going their way when Draymond Green hit a three-point shot at the buzzer.
The Warriors kept the momentum going in the third quarter, They owned the third quarter so many times this season, and it was no surprise that the scored another 34 points and increased the lead to 97-77 at the end of the period.
Usually, a 20-point lead heading into the final period means that the team with the advantage will win. The Pistons didn’t see things that way, and they rallied to come within a single-digit deficit. Curry displayed his Most Valuable Player on the Warriors’ status when he knocked down a three and blunted the Pistons’ momentum. The Pistons won the fourth quarter 37-24. The Warriors won 121-114.
Game Notes and Stats: With the win, and coupled with the Denver Nuggets loss to the Indiana Pacers, the Warriors are back in first place in the Western Conference. With the win, the Warriors improve to 50-23. It was the sixth year in a row that the team has won 50 games, and that set a new franchise record.
The Pistons’ record fell to 37-36, and they are now in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
Before the game, the Warriors welcomed back Zaza Pachulia to Oracle Arena. Pachulia won two championships with the Warriors, and the fans gave him very warm reception as he was a fan favorite at Oracle. Klay Thompson presented him his championship ring. The team selected Thompson to do the honors as he is a close friend.
Steph Curry led the Warriors with 26 points. Thompson, who had a tough night against Dallas, bounced back with 24 points. Kevin Durant had a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists. Draymond Green had 14 points and 8 assists. Kevon Looney, coming off the bench, had 11. Shaun Livingston added 8. Quinn Cook finished with 7.
Blake Griffin led the Pistons with 24. Andre Drummond was the only other Piston starter in double figures with 12. Drummond also had 11 rebounds. Four Piston bench players were in double figures. Luke Kennard had 20, Ish Smith, 14, Thon Maker 12, and Langston Galloway 12. Pachulia, in his return to Oracle, had 4.
The Warriors made 46 buckets on 74 tries for a 62.2% shooting percentage. The Pistons were 39-for-84. The Warriors outrebounded the Pistons 37-39 and recorded 31 assists.
Up Next: The Warriors travel to Memphis to face the Grizzlies Wednesday night. Game time will be at 5 pm.
Warriors, behind a strong defense, blow out the Pacers 112-89
Photo credit: nba.com/warriors
by Jerry Feitelberg
The Golden State Warriors blew out the visiting Indiana Pacers 112-89 at Oracle Arena Thursday night in Oakland. The Warriors, who played great defense on the 3-1 road trip, continued that trend Thursday. The Pacers came into the game with the fourth best record in the Eastern Conference. They needed a win to maintain the home-court advantage over the fifth place Boston Celtics. The two teams will meet in the first round of the playoffs.
The Pacers played great defense. They held opposing teams to 104 points a game. They can shoot, too. They are in the top five in scoring and making three-point shots. The Warriors would need their “A” game on defense if they hoped to win.
The teams struggled to put points on the board in the first quarter. Both sides concentrated on stopping the other’s offense. The first period was a low-scoring affair, and it ended tied at 19-19.
The Warriors moved the ball well on offense. They outscored the Pacers 34-24 in the period and finished leading 53-43. DeMarcus Cousins, back in action after missing two games with a sore ankle, led the Warriors with 13 points. Kevin Durant had 11, and Klay Thompson had 8. Steph Curry made just one three and finished the half with 3 points. Thaddeus Young led the Pacers with 11, and Bojan Bogdanovich was second with 8.
The Warriors put the offense into gear in the third quarter. They outscored the Pacers 35-19, and the defense put the clamps on the Pacer offense. Steph made four threes in the period to lead the way. The Warriors kept Curry on the bench the entire fourth quarter, but that didn’t slow them down one bit. They increased the lead to 30 103-73, and the reserves coasted to the win 112-89.
Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors improve to 49-22 and remain 1/2 game ahead of the Denver Broncos in the race for the Western Division crown. The Pacers fall to 44-29.
All five Warrior starters were in double figures. DeMarcus Cousins led the way with a double-double. He put 19 points on the board and pulled down 11 boards. Steph Curry made 5 threes and finished with 15. Kevin Durant had 15, and Klay Thompson had 18. Draymond Green’s line was 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Three of the Pacers’ bench players were in double figures: Tyreke Evans 20, Aaron Holiday 13, and Doug McDermott 11. The only Pacers starter in double digits was Thaddeus Young with 18.
The Warriors recorded 32 assists on 44 baskets. They moved the ball well and found the open man to take the three-point shot. The Warriors had to work hard to get their shots off as the Pacers’ defense tried to blanket Curry and Thompson to force the other players to do the scoring. Their theory worked for a while, but the Warriors broke down their defense and won the game.
Up Next: The Warriors meet the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 5:30 pm. The Detroit Pistons face the Warriors on Sunday at Oracle. Game time is also at 5:30 pm.
Splash Brothers lead the way to a Warriors win over the Timberwolves 117-106
Photo credit: nba.com/warriors
by Jerry Feitelberg
The Warriors finished the four-game road trip with a 3-1 record. They lost to the Spurs Monday night when Steph Curry and Klay Thompson could not buy a bucket. It was a different story at the Target Center Tuesday night as Curry and Thompson combined for 64 points and led the Warriors to their 48th win of the year. DeMarcus Cousins was out again with a sore ankle and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr gave Shaun Livingston the night off. Andre Iguodala, who did not play Monday, returned to action against the Timberwolves.
The Warriors wanted to get off to a good start. They did not want to be trailing at halftime by more than 10 points as they have done several times lately. They took an early 7-2 lead. The young Timberwolves, led by Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, went on a 20-2 run to put the Warriors in a 22-9 hole. The Warriors did not lose their composure as they regrouped and finished the first quarter on a 21-5 run to take a 30-27 lead after the first 12 minutes of play. Thompson, who did not score a point in the first half against the Spurs, tallied 15 in the first quarter.
The Warriors won the second quarter 29-20 to end the first half leading 59-47. The Warriors finally had someone come off the bench and put some points on the board. Jonas Jerebko was that player as he sparked the team with 14 points in eight minutes of playing time. Thompson led the team with 17, Curry 11, Jerebko 14, and Kevin Durant 5. For the Timberwolves, Towns put 16, Dario Saric and Wiggins had 7 each. The Warriors shot 45.7% from the floor, and the defense held the Timberwolves to just 37.8%. The Warriors were prolific from 3-point range as they connected 11 times. The Timberwolves mad four threes in 16 attempts.
The Timberwolves started the third quarter on a tear as they went on a 14-2 run to tie the game at 61. Curry and Thompson led the team on a 10-1 run, and the Timberwolves never came close. Curry was on fire as he scored the last 14 points of the third quarter and his total for the entire quarter was 22. The Warriors outscored Minnesota 32-28 and led 91-75.
With Curry on the bench at the start of the fourth quarter, the unit led by Thompson, Durant, Jerebko, Cook, and Draymond Green increased the lead to 20, 101-81. The Timberwolves went on a 19-9 run to cut the lead to nine 112-103. Curry came back into the game and knocked down a three. Each time he made a bucket before the final buzzer and the Warriors won 117-106
Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors are now 47-22 for the year. They will be making their seventh consecutive playoff appearance, which is a franchise record.
The Timberwolves dropped to 32-39 and will not make the playoffs this season.
Curry led the Warriors with 36. He made eight three-pointers. Klay had 28, and he knocked down 4 threes. Jerebko had 18 and Durant finished with 17. Draymond Green recorded 5 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. He also blocked 4 shots. Alfonzo McKinnie did not score, but he recorded 9 rebounds. The Warriors had 39 assists on 44 baskets. They were moving the ball well. They shot 48.8% from the floor and held Minnesota to 40.4%. The only reason the game wasn’t a blowout was the fact that the Timberwolves had 18 more free throws and made 16 more than the Warriors.
Up Next: The Warriors return home to face the Indiana Pacers Thursday night at Oracle Arena. The Pacers have the fourth best record in the Eastern Conference, and the W’s will have to be at their best if they hope to send them down to defeat. Game time is at 7:30 pm.
Warriors, without Kevin Durant, win a thriller over the Rockets 106-104
Photo credit: @warriors
By Jerry Feitelberg
The Golden State Warriors broke two streaks Wednesday night as they beat the red-hot Houston Rockets 106-104 in the Toyota Center. The first streak they snapped was the three-game winning streak Houston had over Golden State, and they snapped Houston’s nine-game winning streak. The Warriors had to figure out a way to do it without the services of Kevin Durant, who suffered a bone contusion on his ankle Sunday night in the loss to the Phoenix Suns. Warriors’ head coach, Steve Kerr, inserted Andre Iguodala into the starting lineup to replace Durant. The Warriors needed the Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry, to be at their best to win. Thompson and Curry did well, and DeMarcus Cousins came through with a season-high 27 points and was able to contain the Rockets’ big man, Clint Capela.
The Warriors needed to get off to a good start in the first quarter. They outscored the Rockets 33-23 as Curry knocked down 13 points in the first 12 minutes. The Warriors had an early 15-7 lead, but the Rockets went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 15. The Warriors responded with a 14-2 run to lead 29-17. Curry and Kevon Looney each made a two-point bucket to increase the lead to 33-23.
The Warriors’ second unit played well early in the second quarter. Quinn Cook, DeMarcus Cousins, and Klay Thompson upped the lead to 46-34. The Rockets, at this point in the game, came to life and charged back. They tied the game at 52 before Steph made a basket and the first half ended with Golden State leading 54-52. Thompson led the Warriors with 16. Curry had 15 and Cousins had 7. Boogie also had five boards and six assists. James Harden and Chris Paul led the Houston attack with 16 each. Capela had 8. The W’s bench outscored the Rockets’ bench 11-5.
In the third quarter, DeMarcus Cousins was a force. He, as mentioned earlier, put a lid on Clint Capela’s game. He scored ten points in the period to keep the Warriors ahead. Klay and Steph were on target, too. Kevon Looney was magnificent on defense in the quarter, and he made a key bucket late in the period. The Warriors outscored Houston 31-16 and finished with a seven-point advantage 85-78 after three-quarters of action.
The Warriors used the second unit with Cousins and Thompson to start the fourth quarter. Rockets’ coach, Mike D’Antoni also had his starter, James Harden, resting on the bench. Cousins knocked down another 10 points to give the Warriors the lead 102-89. Harden re-entered the game at this point. Houston refused to cave, and their defense stifled the Warriors as they climbed back into the game. They kept chipping away at the Warrior lead and outscored the Warriors 11-2 to make it 104-100 with 47 seconds left to play. Houston connected on a three, and now it was a one-point game 104-103. Steph made a bucket to increase the lead to 106-103 with 8 seconds remaining to play. After a timeout, Kerr told his players to make to foul either Harden or Chris Paul and not let them attempt a three-point shot. The Warriors fouled Harden. He made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second in an attempt to get the rebound and make a basket to tie the game. The strategy failed, and the Warriors won 106-104.
Game Notes and Stats: Kevin Durant rested his ankle on Wednesday and the Warriors hope that he will return to action Saturday night when they play the Thunder in Oklahoma City.
With the win, the Warriors improve to 46-21. Houston falls to 42-26. If the teams were to meet in the playoffs, the Warriors would have the home-court advantage unless the teams end the season with the same record. In that case, the Rockets would have home court as they beat the Warriors 3-1 for the season.
Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 30 points. He made 5 three-point shots in 10 attempts. DeMarcus Cousins excelled on offense with a season-high 27 points. He had 8 rebounds and 7 assists in his best performance with Golden State. Curry had 24 points and connected on 3 threes in nine attempts. The Warriors bench kicked in with 20. James Harden led Houston with 29. Harden connected on 2 threes in 12 attempts. Chris Paul had 24. Eric Gordon pitched in with 17, and he made 3 threes for the Rockets. Capela had a double-double with 13 points and 13 boards. The Houston bench added 18.
The Warriors shot 49.4% from the floor. The made 12 threes, They were 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. They outrebounded Houston 44-31. The Rockets had 13 more free throws as Harden, and Chris Paul know how to draw fouls as they drive to the basket.
Up Next: The Warriors play the OKC Thunder Saturday night in OKC. Game time is at 5:30 pm. Game three of the four-game road trip will be in San Antonio Monday night, and they finish with a back-to-back set against the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night.
Cal fends off Stanford 64-59 in final game of regular season
Photo credit: @CalMBBall
By: Eric Epstein
PALO ALTO, Calif. — The University of California Golden Bears bested the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavillion Thursday night with a score of 64-59, spoiling Stanford’s Senior Night and last game of the regular season. With their loss, Stanford moved to 8-10 in Pac-12 play, leaving them in 10th place in the conference. Cal improves their Pac-12 record to 3-15, however, they still sit at the bottom of the conference standings.
The Bears dominated the first half, outscoring the Cardinal 37-24. Only a couple minutes into the game, Cal rattled off a 17-0 run over five minutes, extending their lead to 19 points only 10 minutes into the game. Stanford was able to slowly narrow their deficit to 10 points before Cal freshman guard Matt Bradley banked home a long 3-point basket at the half to give the Bears a 13-point lead going into the locker room.
In the first period, Cal shot with much higher efficiency from Stanford everywhere except for the foul line. The Bears made 6 out of their 10 3-point attempts, whereas the Cardinal were not able to connect on any of their 12 tries.
7-foot-3 freshman Connor Vanover provided the Cal offense with a red-hot shooting spree, scoring his 18 first-half points on 7-8 shooting, including connecting on all 4 of his three-point attempts.
The first half Stanford offense ran through sophomore forward KZ Okpala, who scored 13 points on 6-8 shooting. Stanford struggled mightily with ball security and playmaking, as they turned the ball over 8 times and only totaled 3 assists. With usual starting point guard Daejon Davis still sidelined with a foot injury, the bulk of the ballhandling was done by freshman guards Bryce Wills and Cormac Ryan.
Cal scored three straight buckets to open the second half, increasing their lead to a game-high 21 points. The two squads traded off bursts of scoring until Stanford was able to string together some quick baskets and defensive stops to decrease the lead to single digits with 4 minutes left in the game. After missing their first 21 3-point attempts, Stanford hit 3 straight 3-pointers down the stretch to work the Cal lead down to a measly 3 points. However, Vanover responded on the other end, drawing an and-one foul on a shot under the basket. After that, the Cardinal were forced to play the foul game and could not make up the 6 point deficit incurred in the final minute.
Vanover led the game in scoring with 24 points on 9-12 shooting and 5-6 from three. Bradley and junior guard Paris Austin also lit up the scoreboard with 14 and 15 points, respectively. Sophomore forward Justice Sueing also pitched in a notable effort of his own, scoring 9 points and 10 rebounds en route to a near double-double. Only 5 Cal players got on the scoreboard Thursday evening, and the Bears bench was only able to scrape 2 points together over the course of the whole game.
Okpala led the Cardinal in scoring yet again with 21 points on 9-14 shooting. Senior center Josh Sharma put on a good show for Senior Night with 11 points and 13 rebounds, however, his game was cut a couple of minutes short due to his fifth personal foul. Ryan, who missed his first 7 shots, caught on fire down the stretch for 8 points on 3 shots. He also recorded a very impressive no-look overhead pass from his back to a streaking Marcus Sheffield for a transition bucket late in the second half.
This marks the last game for the Cardinal before the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas next week. This game likely marks the last home game for graduating senior Josh Sharma as well as sophomore KZ Okpala, who is expected to enter the NBA Draft this summer.
Celtics blow out the Warriors at Oracle 128-95
Photo credit: nba.com/warriors
By Jerry Feitelberg
The Boston Celtics, a team that has not lived up to expectations this season, came into Oracle Arena Tuesday night and handed the Warriors their worst loss at home in the Steve Kerr era. The Warriors fell behind once again in the first half. In the last 10 games, the Warriors trailed by more than 10 points after the first 24 minutes of action. It was worse Tuesday night as they trailed Boston by 25 73-48 at the intermission.
The Celtics dominated the Warriors on both ends of the court. They made 29 shots from the field while the Warriors made 15. They made 8 threes. The Warriors made 6. The Celtics had 22 rebounds, the Warriors had 17. The Celtics had 23 assists on 29 buckets. The Warriors had 11. The Celtics had six steals, the Warriors 2. The Celtics turned the ball over six times, the Warriors 12. The W’s did not make a field goal in the last 3:53 of the second quarter. Gordon Hayward, coming off the bench and looking like the Gordon Hayward that was an All-Star when he was with the Utah Jazz, knocked down 19. Kyrie Irving had 11, Jayson Tatum 12, and Jalen Brown 9. Steph Curry led Golden State with 19. Kevin Durant had 10, Draymond Green 5, and the Warrior bench added 12.
The Warriors played a little better in the third quarter. They scored 28 points, but they lost ground as Boston scored 32. The Celtics had a commanding 105-76 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Kerr waved the white flag as he pulled all of his starters except DeMarcus Cousins. The Boston reserves outscored the W’s backup guys 23-19 to win going away 128-95
Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors lost for the fifth time in the last eight games. They are 44-20 for the year and are still 1 1/2 games ahead of Denver for first place in the Western Conference. The Warriors face the Nuggets Friday night at Oracle. The Celtics improved to 39-26 and are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Warriors were missing Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney due to injury. Shaun Livingston had the night off. Curry led the W’s with 23. Durant had 18 and Cousins finished with 10. No other Warrior was in double figures. Boston had five players in double-digits. Gordin Hayward had 30. He was the third Celtic player this season to come off the bench and score more than 30 points. Kyrie Irving 19, Jalen Brown, the ex-Cal Bear, had 18, Jayson Tatum 17, And Marcus Morris 10.
The Celtics made 49 baskets compared to the Warriors’ 34. They were 14-for-34 from three-point range. The Warriors made eight threes in 35 attempts. The Celtics dominated on defense with 12 steals and five blocks and forced the Warriors to commit 21 turnovers.
The Warriors are reported to be interested in signing Andrew Bogut as a backup center. Bogut was the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the Australian League. He has stated that he is interested in returning to the NBA and has to clear up some issues with a visa before he can join the Warriors. He should be here in about 10 days if he decides to accept the Warriors’ offer.
Up Next: for the Warriors will be Friday night when they face the Denver Nuggets at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm.
Stanford closes out the season against Cal Thursday night
Photo credit: @StanfordMBB
By: Ana Kieu
Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball fought all the way, but came up just short in Sunday’s 62-61 loss to the Washington Huskies at Maples Pavilion. Stanford had a chance to win on the game’s final possession, but KZ Okpala’s shot at the buzzer was no good and Stanford fell to Washington.
Josh Sharma scored 16 to go along with 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. The teams traded baskets down the stretch, before Washington forced a pair of turnovers in the final 2:37 to gain an advantage. A Sharma basket put Stanford back on top with 1:51 to go, but Washington got consecutive baskets from Nowell to go on top for good.
Oscar da Silva added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinal.
Now, Stanford (15-14, 8-9 Pac-12) has another conference foe, Cal (7-22, 2-15 Pac-12), to host at Maples Thursday night. Well, it’s not going to be friendly, as these two teams are conference foes and the same thing will be applied to their respective fanbases. Stanford has one goal in mind and that’s to beat Cal, but that’s easier said than done. Although Cal is the equivalent of San Jose State in the Pac-12, Cal might unleash their anger on Stanford. But you never know which Stanford team will show up so this may turn out to be a down-to-the-wire Pac-12 clash.
By the way, Stanford teamed up with Coaching for Literacy in Sunday’s game. Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase and company wore green ties, lapel pins and wristbands to raise awareness and support the #Fight4Literacy cause.
Oh, and before I forget, Cardinal guard Cormac Ryan ranks third among freshmen in school history with 47 three-pointers.
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