Warriors stun Nuggets in Mile-High city 116-100

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

photo from sfgate.com: Golden State Warriors Andrew Wiggins (22) looks to make a pass as Denver Nuggets Will Baton lll (5) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 3, 2020 in Denver

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors, with only nine players available, marched into the Pepsi Center in Denver and stunned the highly-favored Denver Nuggets 116-100. The Warriors, without Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson, did not look anything like the championship club that went to the NBA finals the last five seasons.

Three of the players, Mychal Mulder, Dragan Bender, and Chasson Randle are on 10-day contracts. For Randle, the former Stanford star, it was his first game in the NBA as a Warrior. Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr fielded his 34th different starting lineup Tuesday night.

The W’s had to face the Nuggets, coached by former Warrior assistant coach Mike Malone, with the fourth-best record in the NBA 41-19. The Warriors did not have a true point guard in the lineup. The Warriors had to find a way to get to the rim as the Nuggets had a bigger team. Denver featured big Nikola Jokic on the first unit, and then, another seven-foot giant, Mason Plumlee, on the second unit.

The Warriors jumped out to an early 9-2 lead in the first period. The Nuggets didn’t panic and the first period was very competitive. The Warriors finished with a slim one-point advantage 26-25. The second quarter was a different story.

Denver, with Plumlee and Jokic clogging up the middle, took control of the game as they outscored the Dubs 33-23 to finish the first half leading by nine 58-49. The Warriors Andrew Wiggins was the only player in double figures with ten.

Mychal Mulder was second with eight, Dragan Bender eight, Eric Paschall seven, and Jordan Poole had five. Jamal Murray paced Denver with 14. Plumlee had 11, and Jokic had ten points and 12 rebounds. The Warriors went into the halftime break trailing by nine. The Warriors made ten threes to stay in the game. The Nuggets controlled the boards in the first half. They had 17 second-chance points and tallied 34 points in the paint.

Denver’s Paul Millsap was on fire to start the second half. Millsap’s efforts led the Nuggets to a 14-point lead 70-56. With the score 77-65, it looked as if Denver was going to run away with the game. It was at this point, however, that the Warriors, behind Andrew Wiggins, Dragan Bender, Eric Paschall, And Jordan Poole, caught fire. They went on a 17-4 run to finish the third quarter leading 82-81.

Jordan Poole made three consecutive three-point shots to propel the Warriors into the lead. Poole’s last three came as the buzzer sounded to end the third period. The Warriors outscored the Nuggets 33-23 to erase the nine-point halftime deficit.

The Warriors, feeling confident after the surge at the end of the third period, played well to start the fourth period. The offense was led by Poole, Bender, Wiggins, and Paschall. The Warriors played well on defense. The Nugget fans could not believe what they were seeing.

The lowly Warriors, with the worst record in the NBA, were beating the team with the fourth-best record in basketball. They could not comprehend what was happening. When the Warriors needed a bucket, they found Eric Paschall. When Paschall was bottled up, they found Marquese Chriss.

They moved the ball well. Warrior fans have to keep in mind that these guys have not played together for any length of time. Andrew Wiggins has fit in well since coming over from Minnesota. Mychal Mulder and Dragan Bender looked like seasoned pros.

Jordan Poole has played exceptionally well in his last ten games. Marquese Chriss, the eighth pick in the 2016 draft, has shown the Warriors that he belongs in the NBA. The Warriors outscored the Nuggets 34-19 in the period to finish the game with a well-earned 116-100 victory.

Game Notes and Stats- With the win, the W’s improve to 14-48. The W’s have 20 games left on the schedule. The team is hoping to have Steph Curry in the lineup Thursday night when the play the NBA  Champions, the Toronto Raptors, at the Chase Center.

Andrew Wiggins led the W’s with 22 points, ten rebounds, ten assists, and he connected on five threes. Rookie Eric Paschall finished with 22 points, five boards, five assists, and two threes. Marquese Chriss 16 points, five rebounds, Dragan Bender 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, two threes. Jordan Poole 15 points, six assists, five rebounds, and he made four three in six tries.

The W’s shot 51% from the floor, and they made 18 threes in 41 attempts. The Nuggets made three threes in 20 tries. The Warriors moved the ball well as they frequently found the open man. They recorded 31 assists in the game.

The Nuggets outrebounded the W’s 53-35. However, the Warriors excellent three-point shooting negated any advantage that the Nuggets had. Paul Millsap, with 18, led the Nuggets’ scoring. Plumlee and Jokic each had 16. Jokic had just one rebound in the second half and finished the night with 13. Will Barton, who scored 31 the last time Denver played the Warriors, was held to 18. Jamal Murray ended the night with 14.

The Warriors return to the Chase Center to host the Toronto Raptors Thursday night in San Francisco. The game will start at 7:30 pm.

 

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: Cal on roll have won three of last four; Cardinal on four game win streak; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

The Cal Bears Matt Bradley (20) takes a fade away shot against the Colorado Buffaloes D’Shawn Schwartz (5) last Thursday night at Haas Pavilion

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 The one game that stands out for the Cal Bears is the loss they took against the Washington Huskies getting walloped 87-52. That got Cal head coach Mark Fox to regroup and the Bears came out and won their next two games against some tough schools Utah and Colorado.

#2 The Stanford Cardinal got a huge win over the Colorado Buffaloes 72-64. The Cardinal are No.21 and got help from leading scorer Bryce Wills who played with a sore ankle and led with a key lay up and 19 points in the win on Sunday.

#3 San Francisco Giant catcher Buster Posey feels like he’s back into the swing of things and a good example of that is when he went yard after hitting a two run home run in the third inning of a spring training game on Sunday against San Diego. He’ll be crucial for the Giants line up.

#4 While sitting on the bench and waiting to get the okay to return to action Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry is hoping to get back in the line up for Golden State from his broken bone in his left hand.

#5 It was almost like a one on one contest when the New Orleans Pelicans Zion Williamson who finished with 35 points against the Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James with 34 in the Lakers win over the Pelicans 122-114 on Sunday.

Join Barbara Mason for Headline Sports each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Maddon excited to face his old team Cubs; Will Matz meet the Mets; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo Angels manager Joe Maddon

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 What’s it like for former Chicago Cub manager Joe Maddon to play against his former team the Cubs as Angels manager.

#2 What does it say for the Angels organization formerly working in Anaheim picking up a manager like Joe Maddon.

#3 The New York Mets are inquiring about Steven Matz of the New York Yankees. Matz has a 4.05 ERA over the last four seasons and could turn free agent what are the Mets chances of getting Matz?

#4 The Oakland A’s Jesus Luzardo threw for three innings on Sunday in his second start this spring. Luzardo pitched for the Las Vegas Aviators last season in seven starts and had an ERA of 3.19.

#5 A’s manager Bob Melvin says that Tony Kemp may not end up being the A’s lead off hitter but he’s been getting some good at bats, Kemp hit a double and went 8-18 and Melvin says that Kemp is seeing left handed pitching pretty good too.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for A’s baseball on KIQI 1010 San Francisco hear all A’s home games on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Amaury does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Brodzinki’s OT winner spark Barracuda with 2-1 win over Wild

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

sjbarracuda photo: San Jose Barracuda get a one goal victory thanks to a Jonny Brodzinki goal against the visiting Iowa Wild at SAP Center on Monday

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif- Jonny Brodzinki had been in a mini-slump of late. His two goals provided all the offense the San Jose Barracuda needed to defeat the Iowa Wild in 2-1 overtime victory on Monday afternoon at SAP Center.

Nick DeSimone fed a pass to Brodzinki down the left wing then cut back into the middle in between two Wild defenders and sniped home a wrist shot from the right wing to the far side past Wild goalie Kaapo Khakonen for the game winning goal, his second of the game and 10th of the season at the 3:20 mark of overtime.

San Jose snapped their two game losing streak and four game overtime losing streak. Iowa had their three game winning streak snapped as they sit in second place in the Central Division with 79 points.

San Jose (18-27-4-2) drew first blood just 29 seconds into the first period. Maxim Letunov fired a shot on net stopped by Khakonen but Brodzinki was Jonny on the spot as he cleaned up the rebound from just outside the crease for his first goal of the contest and ninth goal of the season. It was the second quickest goal scored to start a game by the ‘Cuda.

The Wild out shot the Barracuda 15-12 in the opening frame.

Iowa (36-16-4-3) scored the equalizer on the power play half way throug the second period. ‘Cuda defenseman Mike Downing fumbled behind the ‘Cuda net. Connor Dewar pressured Downing and was able to intercept the puck. He centered a pass out to Sam Anas who fired a one-timer past Cuda goalie Josef Korenar for his 19th of the season at the 9:19 mark. It was Anas’ seventh play power goal as well.

There was no scoring in the third period as Iowa dominated the play outshooting San Jose 15-3. However Korenar stood stall in the net forcing the game into overtime.

Korenar finished with a career high 42 saves on 43 shots to earn his 10th victory of the season. Khakonen made 25 saves on 27 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0-for-3 on the power play. Iowa went 1-for-5.

San Jose hosted their second “Cuda Classroom Day” of the season.

Brodzinski snapped a six-game goal-less draught.

Kahkonen was named the CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month for February after he posted an 8-1-0 record and led the league in nearly every goaltending category.

Anas leads the AHL in points with 64.

Cody McLeod and Jeffery Viel exchanged fisticuffs at the 6:12 mark of the third period.

Thomas Gregoire picked up an assist and continues to pace Barracuda defensemen in assists (19) and points (24)

Letunov collected two assists to add to his team-leading 36 points

The announced attendance was 3,953.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda continue their six game homestand on Wednesday 3/4 as the finish their season series with the Iowa Wild at 7:00pm at SAP Center.

 

Cal Bears basketball with Morris Phillips: Bears on roll after taking on tough schools head to Oregon Thursday night

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

calbears.com photo: The Cal Bears forward Grant Anticevich (15) takes the ball down the floor against the Utah Utes forward Timmy Allen (1) on Saturday at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley

On the Cal basketball podcast with Morris:

#1 After Cal (13-16) beat the Utah Utes on Saturday they got inspiration and also took out the Colorado Buffaloes (18-5) last Thursday teams that are both tough customers

#2 Cal’s offense went all out five players with double figures Matt Bradley 21 points, Grant Anticevich 17, Paris Austin 15, Andre Kelly 15 and Joel Brown  11.

#3 It was a hard fought game that went into overtime and it showed that a good team can come back late in the game like the Bears did

#4 The Bears struggled a good portion of the season what has lit their fire and has this team turned around?

#5 Cal heads to Oregon (22-7) to face the Ducks on Thursday night Morris sets this one up for us

Morris does Cal basketball each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Beal scores 34 to pace Wizards in win over Warriors 124-110 at Chase Center

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

sfgate.com photo: Washington Wizards guard Shabazz Napier (5) shoots in front of Golden State Warriors forward Dragan Bender during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, March 1, 2020.

By Jerry Feitelberg

San Francisco- The Golden State Warriors, playing their second game on consecutive nights, fell to the visiting Washington Wizards 124-110 Sunday evening at the Chase Center. The Warriors were hoping to win their second in a row. They beat the Phoenix Suns Saturday night in Phoenix. Their hopes were dashed by the Wizards’ Bradley Beal and Davis Bertrans.

For the second night in a row, the Warriors were down to eight players. Jordan Poole returned to action, but Draymond Green, Ky Bowman, and Kevon Looney did not play.

Both teams were competitive in the first two-quarters of play. The Wizards won the first period by seven points 35-28. The Warriors won the second quarter 29-28 to finish the first half trailing by six 63-57. The Warriors thought they had a chance to win with a strong third quarter.

That did not happen. The third quarter went to Washington 31-19, and now the W’s trailed by eighteen heading into the fourth quarter. The W’s won the fourth quarter by four, but it wasn’t enough. The Wizards win 124-110.

Game Notes and Stats- The Warriors’ record dropped to 13-48. They have 21 games left on the schedule. The Wizards improved to 22-37. Neither team will be in the playoffs this season.

The Warriors had six players in double figures. Andrew Wiggins led the team with 27 points, six rebounds, and two assists.

Wiggins is eager to finally play with Curry and see how “that’s going to open up the floor for everybody else.”

“It will make a big difference, especially for people who can drive and attack the basket because Steph attracts a lot of attention,” Wiggins said.

Eric Paschall, Jordan Poole, and Mychal Mulder each had 17. Damion Lee had 12. Marquese Chriss finished with a double-double.

Bradley Beal had quite a night for Washington. He had 34 points, eight assists, made seven threes, and had five steals.  Beal has scored at least 25 points in a franchise-record 18 straight games. Davis Bertrans, the third-year player from Latvia and coming off the bench, tallied 29. Rui Hachimura, the first Japanese player in the NBA, had 18 points and eight rebounds. Thomas Bryant had 12.

It was the first win on the Warriors’ homecourt in six years.

Steph Curry missed his 56th straight game since breaking his hand. Curry was hoping to play Sunday night, but Warriors’ head coach felt he needed more scrimmage time. The hope now is Curry returning Thursday night. Curry will practice with the Santa Cruz Warriors on Monday. Wizards coach Scott Brooks enjoys watching the West Coast games when his team is done out East — and he has missed Curry.

“I’m sure he was intimidated by the defense our team has been playing this year. He didn’t want no part of it,” Brooks joked before the game when asked about Curry’s imminent return. “It would be exciting for not only his fan base, his coaches, and team to have him out there.

He’s one of the greatest players to ever play, one of the greatest shooters to ever play and causes so many problems for opponents. He makes shots that are almost impossible to go in, and you have to be next to him whenever he crosses half court, which opens up the floor for the other players to drive. He’s been missed by the whole basketball world. … You could turn on games at 10 o’clock at night, and you get a lot of basketball, and he’s always been fun to watch.”

The Warriors meet the Denver Nuggets in the Mile-High City Tuesday night. The game time will be at 6:30 pm. They return home to face the defending NBA Champion Toronto Raptors Thursday night at the Chase Center. That game will start at 7:30 pm.

Kings over match Pistons 106-100 at Golden One; Fifth win in six games for Sactown

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

seattletimes.com photo

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Kings are back home. Following a solid 3-1 road trip for the Kings, they were set to return home for the next seven of eight games. The first matchup would be the Kings against the rebuilding Detroit Pistons. Tip-off was set for 3PM PST on Sunday at Golden 1 Center.

In the first half, it was truly a tale of two teams. The game started with the Pistons going on a 18-1 run to open the game.

At one point in the first the Kings would be down 21 points. Luke Walton pulled all the starters except Harrison Barnes during the meltdown looking for some sort of spark. A few minutes later he got that spark from Harry Giles.

Giles hustle and intensity not only got the Kings going but brought the Golden 1 Center crowd to life. The Kings roaring back to get within one point going into halftime. Unfortunately, Derrick Rose fell prey to an ankle injury after a missed jump shot. Rose was questionable to return the rest of the way. You hate to see an injury, but a big break for the Kings. The Kings headed into half down 51-50.

In the second half, the Kings came out strong. The Kings took their first lead of the game in the first possession of the third quarter and never looked back. The Kings took the lead and managed to hold on to win the first game back from a long road trip.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Kings were able to get the job done by a final of 106-100. For the Kings they were led in victory by De’Aaron Fox who managed to drop 23 points.

Following Fox was Buddy Hield who scored 19 points even on an off shooting night. Also, he might not show up in the scoring stats but Alex Len was maybe the most impactful of all in this game. Len finished with eight points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks. In defeat, the Pistons were led by Christian Wood who finished the game with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

The Kings will use a much needed day off at home before taking on the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night. Tip-off is set for 7PM PST.

Cardinal stun No. 21 Buffaloes in Pac-12 hoops 72-64

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

gostanford.com photo: The Stanford Cardinal’s Bryce Willis whoops it up with his teammates as the Cardinal defeat the Colorado Buffaloes at Maples Pavilion on Sunday

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, March 1, 2020

Stanford took a large step toward solidifying its chances of reaching the NCAA tournament with a 72-64 men’s basketball victory over No. 21 Colorado Sunday at Maples Pavilion.

It was the fourth consecutive win for the Cardinal (20-9 overall, 10-7 Pac-12), and Colorado’s first three-game losing streak of the season.

Bryce Wills led the Cardinal with 19 points on 9-of-13 field goal shooting. Oscar da Silva was next with 16 points, followed by Daejon Davis and Tyrell Terry with 12 points apiece.

Wills, da Silva and Spencer Jones each grabbed five rebounds. Davis had five assists and Jones had two blocks, three assists and three steals.

Colorado’s top scorer was Tyler Bey with 17 points, followed by D’Shawn Schwartz with 14. McKinley Wright IV added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Buffaloes (21-9 overall, 10-7 Pac-12), who held a 30-29 rebounding edge.

Aside from an early Colorado lead, Stanford led most of the game. A Wills basket with 8:13 to play. The Buffs responded by scoring 10 straight points on three hoops by Wright and two by Bey.

The Cardinal endured a four-minute scoring drought, ended on a short jumper by Wills. Colorado proceded to miss its next seven shots.

By beating Colorado, the Cardinal are assured of a winning conference record going into the final weekend of the regular season, and can still finish with a possible second-place tie.

The Cardinal travel to Oregon State on Thursday.

NCAA basketball podcast with Michelle Richardson: NCAA preparing for closing schools and large gathering at basketball games

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from frogsowar.com: The TCU Horned Frogs Desmond Bane (1) drives on the Baylor Bears Saturday night at Fort Worth Texas

On the NCAA basketball podcast with Michelle:

#1 Michelle the NCAA said that it’s Science and Sport Institute are taking considerations about team travel and the possibility in the event of a all out pandemic or quarantine that is called due to the Corvid-19 virus games could be cancel and the NCAA wanted to prepare fans, media, and traveling ball clubs.

#2 The NCAA memo also stated that there is a possibility of closing schools and large gatherings that will impact college basketball.

#3 Michelle talk about the two games that were played on Saturday, #3 Baylor 72 @ TCU 75, and Michigan State 78 @ Maryland 66.

Michelle’s Final Thoughts

Michelle does the NCAA podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: For 2020 Predictions Los Atleticos My predictions for this upcoming 2020 season

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

file photo from sfchronicle.com: Oakland Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien fields a grounder by San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey, who was out at first during a baseball game in San Francisco. Semien will look to build momentum from a career season that included being top three in the AL MVP voting. He was rewarded with a new $13 million, one-year contract to avoid arbitration, a raise of $7.1 million

2020 Predictions: Los Atléticos

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Amaury Pi-González

My predictions for this upcoming 2020 season.

(American League West)

1-Oakland Athletics 2-Houston Astros 3-Los Angeles Angels 4-Texas Rangers 5-Seattle Mariners

Oakland A’s  (Offense) This is the year everything will come together for the Athletics. For the second year in a row finished with an excellent 97-65 record and behind the Houston Astros. They will catch and pass the scandal-riddled Houston Astros.

A’s are a powerful offensive force with numbers that do the talking. Among all 30 teams,the A’s finished fifth in home runs with 257,number eight in runs scored 845 and number ninth in runs driven-in with 800.

The team of the greatest base stealer ever, and in my opinion the best all-around player in the history of the Oakland A’s,Rickey Henderson who stole 1,406 bases during a stellar Hall of Fame career,only stole 49 bases last season,which put them close to the bottom,only three teams in baseball stole less bases.

But nobody is perfect,that is not their game, only the Giants, Twins and Cubs stole less bases than the A’s. Unfortunately (if you are old school) at this time in history where 30 homers for a player is “normal” and many say boring,the stolen base is like the bunt,”Breaking News”when it happens.

(Pitching) Bob Melvin A’s had the sixth best earned run average for a pitching staff in baseball with 3.97. Only Astros, Dodgers, Rays, Indians and Cardinals showed a better ERA. Their 2020 staff is one of the youngest and most talented in the game. Sean Manaea, Jesús Luzardo, Frankie Montás, A,J Puk, Mike Fiers starting and leading the way.

(Bullpen) Liam Hendriks (25 saves and 1.80 ERA),who took over Blake Treinen as closer was robbed of the Reliever of the Year Award by New York Yankee closer Aroldis Chapman,but was one of the reasons the A’s got to the AL Wild Card game.

The only reason Hendriks did not win the award is because he pitches for the A’s and Chapman for the Yankees. The market was the deciding factor. However,the Astros had the top bullpen in the AL West and third best in baseball last year with ERA (3.75) and batting average against (.226). Roberto Osuna led the Astros with 38 saves,second in baseball only to San Diego’s Kirby Yates with 41.

(Defense) Los Atléticos finished tied with the Atlanta Braves as the fourth best defensive team in baseball,with a .987 fielding percentage. and committed total of 80 errors,only Cardinals,Royals, Houston and Braves committed less. It all starts with the Golden Corners; Matt Chapman and Matt Olson, both Gold Glove winners,plus a mostly improved Marcus Semien at shortstop,and very a talented outfield with Ramón Laureano in center field. Ramón’s arm is one of the best – nobody runs on him.

2020 A’s are very similar to 2019.The second base position still wide open, they acquired veteran Tony Kemp but also have A’s minor league star Jorge Mateo as well as Franklin Barreto who already have some major league experience with the club, as well as Sheldon Neuse and then there is Rule 5 pick Vimael Machín.They are all candidates at the second-base position that Jurickson Profar left vacant after he signed with the San Diego Padres.

Conclusion: It will be a battle for the division between the A’s and the Astros. Now under Dusty Baker,the Houston team still one of the best group of players in baseball,it should not be easy for the A’s, but they are ready for battle. It is of great importance that the A’s win the division,because they are starting to get the label that they cannot win a Wild Card game.

The LA Angels with the addition of one of the finest hitters and all around players in third-baseman Anthony Rendon, who will now be in a lineup with MikeTrout, Justin Upton,Shohei Othani and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols hitting sixth or seventh,they will score tons of runs, but they are still short of pitching.Good luck to a great baseball guy,Joe Maddon, now back in Anaheim as manager.

Texas will be Texas,Joey Gallo might hit 50 home runs,so what? and the Seattle Mariners will continue to look up to the others in the division. Seattle a great city that once had stars such as Ken Griffey Jr. Edgar Martínez, Randy Johnson, Ichiro Susuki, Féliz Hernández, Jaime Moyer, Raúl Ibañez and others, but for this season they will be a sad again. Mariners remain the only team in the division never to win the pennant.

Atléticos First Homestand features two Divisional champions. A’s Open 2020 this Thursday March 26th at 1:07PM with the first of a four games against the Central Division champion Minnesota Twins followed by the Western Division champion Houston Astros for a three game series starting Monday. The Twins loaded with power set a new MLB record last season with 307 home runs and the Astros lead the regular season with 107 wins.

Coronavirus Note: WHO(World Health Organization)tips about this virus. 1-Wash hands frequently 2-Maintain social distances 3-Avoid touching,eyes, nose and mouth 4-If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care early.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the play by play announcer for the Oakland A’s Spanish radio broadcasts and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com