Short-handed Warriors come close, lose to Hornets 93-87

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By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors, depleted by injuries, faced the Charlotte Hornets with only nine players Saturday night at the Chase Center. The Warriors were without the services of Draymond Green and D’Angelo Russell. Green was out due to a sprained index finger on his left hand, and he will not be available on Monday. Russell suffered a sprained ankle, and he may play on Monday. Head coach Steve Kerr’s starting lineup bore no resemblance to the Warrior team of the past five years. All five starters are in their first year with the Warriors. Three of the starters, Eric Paschall, Jordan Poole, and Ky Bowman, are rookies. Willie Cauley-Stein and Glenn Robinson III have experience in the NBA as they were with other teams last year.

The young Warriors won the first and second quarters to finish the first half leading 55-50. The offense was led by rookie Eric Paschall, Glenn Robinson, Ky Bowman, and Damion Lee. Paschall had 12, Robinson 11, Lee 10, and Bowman 9.  The Hornets were led by Dwayne Bacon with 15. Point guard Terry Rozier, acquired from Boston in the trade for Kemba Walker, had 10. Forward P.J.Washington and big Cody Zeller each knocked down 8.

The Warriors and Hornets went tooth and nail in the third quarter. The name of the game in the third quarter was defense, The Warriors held the Hornets to just 18 points total in the period. The bad news was that the Warriors were held to 16 points. The team went ice cold late in the third period and could not buy a bucket. They still led by three points 71-68. That would have been a perfect time to end the game, and the Warriors would have recorded the win. Unfortunately, for Golden State, they had to play 12 more minutes. The fourth quarter was also a nail-biter. The Hornets took the lead 72-71.  The Dubs bounced back and regained it 75-74. The Hornets took a five-point lead 80-75.

The Warriors managed to tie it when Glenn Robinson hit a three to make it 80-80. The Hornets made a three, and the Warriors countered with a three. The Hornets made another three. The Warriors answered with a three to tie the game at 86. The Dubs made a free throw to go on top 87-86. They didn’t know it at the time, but it would be the last time they would put points on the board. The Hornets then went ahead 88-87. Damion Lee turned the ball over to the Hornets when he was not able to inbound the basketball successfully. The ball went over to the Hornets. The Hornets missed on several free throws down the stretch, but the Warriors were not able to corral the rebounds. The Hornets’ Terry Rozier was fouled from behind. The referees awarded him two free throws and possession of the ball. The Hornets made all four free throws to win the game 93-87.

Game Notes: Even though the W’s lost for the fifth time in six games, all was not dismal. Eric Paschall, the rookie from Villanova, had a career night. He scored 25 points, had 4 rebounds, and two assists, and was the 41st player picked in the 2019 draft. In the six games in his young career, he has two games with 20 or more points. He looks to be the real deal, and the Warriors have to be pleased with his play. The other rookie that sparkled Saturday night was Ky Bowman. Bowman, a backup point guard, played his college ball at Boston College. He kicked in with 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and made two three-pointers in six tries. Glenn Robinson was solid with 16 points, nine boards, and three assists. Robinson connected on four three in seven attempts. Damion Lee, coming off the bench, finished the night with 13. These were the bright spots in a losing effort.

Charlotte had five players in double figures. Dwayne Bacon had 25, Terry Rozier 20, Marvin Williams 11, P.J. Washington 11, and Cody Zeller 10.

The Warriors shot 44.2% from the floor. The Hornets outshot the Warriors 85-77.  They also outrebounded Golden State 48-40. The Warriors had five steals and five blocked shots on defense.

The Warriors held the Hornets to 43 points in the second half. Usually, that effort would get the team a win. The problem for Golden State was that they were held to just 32 points in the final 24 minutes of the game. The young players did not quit. They hustled and had a chance to win. The fans have to realize the fact that these players have only played together for six games. They also are missing Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, D’Angelo Russell, and Klay Thompson. It may be a long season. Still, players such as Eric Paschall, Glenn Robinson, Ky Bowman, Jordan Poole, and Damion Lee will be players that may contribute to the Warrior success later in the season when the key players return to action. Let’s hope they continue to improve.

Up Next: The Warriors return to action Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Chase Center. The game will start at 7:30 pm.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Canucks snap win streak at 5; Isles streak grows to 8; Flyers win in close game 4-3; plus more

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Photo credit: @Canucks

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The Vancouver Canucks, who face the San Jose Sharks tonight at SAP Center, had won five straight, but snapped their streak by a goal 2-1 to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night. The Sharks, on the other hand, are a struggling bunch who have four straight, but are back on home ice. Matt tells us how he sees this matchup.

#2 Speaking of streaks, the New York Islanders topped the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Isles’ eighth straight win 5-3. The Isles got goals from Matthew Barzal (6), Ryan Pulock (2), Josh Baily (5), Anders Lee (5), Derrick Brassard (4).

#3 The Philadelphia Flyers got by the New Jersey Devils 4-3. The Flyers got scoring from Oskar Lindblom (7), Sean Couturier (3), Joel Farabee (11). Flyers won in a shootout.

#4 The Washington Caps won by a convincing five goals 6-1. The Caps scored four times in the first period against the Buffalo Sabres in a period that pretty much established the game. The Caps’ Jakub Vrana scored twice in the first period.

#5 The Carolina Hurricanes got four goals in the second period that pretty much put a lock on the Detroit Red Wings with a 7-3 win. In that second period, the Canes got goals from Sebastian Aho, who scored twice; Nino Niederreiter; and Martin Necas.

The NHL podcast is heard each Saturday with Matt Harrington at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Heat comeback to upend Barracuda 3-2 in shootout victory

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photo from sjbarracuda.com

by Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda weren’t able to hold on to a one-goal lead in the third period and it ended up burning them as the Stockton Heat rallied with a late third period power play goal that led to a 3-2 shootout victory on Friday evening at Stockton Arena.

It only took 48 seconds for San Jose (4-4-0-0) to draw first blood. Alex True won a battle along the boards and sent a pass behind the net over to Evan Weinger. Weinger than skated out to the right slot and slid a pass over to an incoming Jayden Halbgewachs, who fired a shot top-shelf over the shoulder of Heat goalie Jon Gillies for his second goal of the season. It was the quickest goal the ‘Cuda have score to begin a game.

Stockton (7-1-0-1) scored the equalizer midway through the first period on the power play when Matthew Phillips entered San Jose zone down the right boards. He fed a pass over to Heat captain Byron Froese, who quickly whipped a wrist shot into the back of the net, that surprised Cuda goalie Joesef Kornear, for his fifth goal of the season at the 10:20 mark.

Forese’s goal ended a steak over 170 consecutive minutes for Korenar without allowing goal.

San Jose regained the lead in the second period on the power play. Weinger shot the puck from the left faceoff circle that Gillies kicked over to the right side where Maxim Letunov was at the right place at the right time. Letunov pounced on the loose puck and hammered it home for his third goal of the season at the 12:58 mark. All three of Letunov’s goals have come on the power play, which leads the team.

The Heat wouldn’t go down quietly in the third period. They forced the extra session with their second power play goal of the game. Justin Kirkland skated in from the left shot with a shot that Korenar was able to get a pad on. However, he wasn’t able to freeze the puck as it jumped on to the stick of Ryan Lomberg, who backhanded the puck past Korenar for his fifth goal of the season at the 15:18 mark.

It was a special teams battle and they won that one,” said Cuda head coach Roy Sommer. “We take kind of a bad penalty there with five minutes to go. They (Stockton) have always had a good PP against us. That was the eventual dagger through the heart so-to-speak.”

Neither team generated a good scoring chance in the overtime period with only three shots combined by both teams. In the shootout, all three of Stockton’s shooters scored with Glenn Gawdin credited with the shootout winner.

Gillies finished 30 saves on 32 shots to earn the victory. Korenar made 28 saves on 30 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/8 on the power play. Stockton finished 2/5.

Weingr extended his point streak to four games (2G, 3A) with his first multi-assist game of his career,

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return back home to host the Tucson Roadrunners on Sunday, November 3 at 3:00pm at SAP Center.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks on 6-game homestand, can they right the ship at home?

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On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh:

#1 After losing six of their last seven games, the San Jose Sharks hope to get back on track with their current home stand. Will being back in San Jose help them forget about the last road trip?

#2 Did the Sharks’ effort on Friday night against the Winnipeg Jets show anything? Although losing by a goal, this serves as some sort of hope that they can stay in some of these games.

#3 Talk about the suspension of the Winnipeg Jets’ Adam Lowry, who served the second of his four-game suspension. The Jets came into San Jose 6-7. While they could use Lowry, they have the personnel to win

#4 Mary Lisa, talk about the Sharks offense. Just not enough to catch the Jets the Sharks got goals from Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl, but the effort fell short.

#5 The Sharks play the second of back to back games tonight at SAP Center against the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks had won five straight until they ran into the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night and lost by a goal 2-1. Mary Lisa tells us how she sees this match.

Mary Lisa is a San Jose Sharks beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Without Curry Warriors have One Hand to play

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sfgate photo: San Antonio Spurs center LaMarcus Aldridge (12) drives against Golden State Warriors center Willie Cauley-Stein during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 1, 2019

By-Amaury Pi-González

The night when Stephen Curry broke his left hand, most local television stations broke that news at the top of the hour and then in the second block of their newscasts right after the fires in the Bay Area and in Southern California,they went into detail and then teased their sports segment that was coming later.

Warriors fans who have been treated to three NBA titles in recent years,were shocked,that the team will have to play without Curry (at least 45 games)-that’s over half of the 82 game NBA season. After the 45 games Curry will be re-evaluated to see if his is ready to play again. In the euphoria of Warriors Nation the past few years where they are expected to win all the time,it was inconceivable their team with no Curry.

It was a shock. We must never forget,these athletes are made of bone and flesh,and at anytime they could get hurt. Not only while playing, but driving or at home and in many ways other than going to the hoop to score a basket.

So now what? This Warriors team has a lot of young players,looking to become stars in the league. One of the veterans, Draymond Green,who is playing in his eight season with the Warriors, said the obvious “The Warriors are a lot different without Curry” But Draymond now has to tend to himself as he suffered a sprained left index finger during Friday’s lost to the San Antonio Spurs. His availability for tonight’s game against Charlotte is in question.

Even before the Curry injury nobody should expected this Warriors team to be among the elite teams in the league,but now things look very much different and looks like the W’s will be looking to save the season. The opportunity for the younger players is there and coach Kerr knows it.

This is when a good coach can help a team that needs some leadership and direction. It is easier for a coach to win when you have the talent and nobody wins without talent. The best jockey in the world cannot win the race,if the horse is limping.

The famous rapper LL Cool J once said “When adversity strikes,that’s when you have to be the most calm. Take a step back,stay strong,stay grounded and press on”. Those are simple, but wise words,as the Warriors are facing all that and more early during this season.

Warriors play better, but still lose to Spurs 127-110

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors received the news that their superstar, Steph Curry, had surgery on his broken hand Friday. Curry will be re-evaluated in three months. He might not be able to return until at least February.

The Warriors’ Friday night opponent was the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs lost for the first time last night in Los Angeles to the Clippers. Spurs head coach Greg Popovich wanted his team to rebound, and they did just that as they downed the young Warriors 127-110 at the Chase Center. The game was closer than the score would indicate. The Warriors held their own until late in the third quarter when the Spurs were able to pull away.

The Warriors played a very competitive first half. They lost the first and second quarters by one point. They trailed 57-55 at the end of the first 23 minutes of action. D’Angelo Russell led the team with 19 points. Jordan Poole and Alec Burks helped keep the Warriors in the game. The Spurs were led by bench players Rudy Gay and Patty Mills. Mills had 16 and Gay added 10.

The Spurs broke it open late in the third period. They outscored the Warriors 40-31. LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored eight in the first half, scored the Spurs’ first 10 points in the third quarter. The Warriors stayed close, but the veteran Spurs team pulled away to lead 97-86. The Warriors, who were led by Jordan Poole, Damian Lee, and D’Angelo Russell, could not close the gap. The Spurs cruised to a 127-110 win.

With the loss, the Warriors dropped to 1-4. The Spurs improved to 4-1. D’Angelo Russell tallied 30 points for Golden State. Russell also had 8 assists and was 3 for 11 from three-point range. Jordan Poole knocked down 20. The young man from Michigan made four threes in seven tries. Damian Lee had 16, and Alec Burks pitched in with 14.

The Spurs were led by Patty Mills, who finished with 31 points. Mills, who played college basketball at St. Mary’s in Moraga, Calif., made six threes in nine tries. Aldridge had 22, Rudy Gay had 16, Bryn Forbes had 14, and DeMar DeRozan had 13.

The Spurs took nine more shots from the floor than the Warriors. They shot 47.3% while the Warriors shot a respectable 46.4%. The Spurs also made more free throws than the Warriors. They made 26 freebies compared to the Warriors’ 19.

The Warriors were outrebounded 52-39, but they recorded 25 assists. They had good ball movement and were able to find the open man. They also handled the ball better and were able to reduce the number of turnovers. They had just 11 turnovers Friday night.

The Warriors return to action Saturday night at the Chase Center. They will be hosting the visiting Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets will be led by former Boston Celtic, Terry Rozier, who will be their point guard. Their record is 2-3 so far this year. The game will start at 5:30 pm.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Beltrán Returns to the Mets as a Manager

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By Amaury Pi-González

On November 1, 2019, the New York Mets named the 42-year-old Carlos Beltrán their new manager. He is currently the fourth Puerto Rico born manager in the MLB, joining Alex Cora (Boston), Charlie Montoyo (Toronto) and Dave Martínez (Washington). The past two seasons, Cora and Martínez won the World Series. Beltrán is the first Latino manager in Mets history. Prior to getting the job, he said he only wanted to be interviewed by the Mets.

The outfielder played seven seasons with the Mets (2005-2011) and is sixth all-time list on the team with 140 home runs, 559 runs batted in, 374 extra base hits, .369 on base percentage and .500 slugging. In a total of 20 seasons, he was selected to 9 All-Star Games, 3 Gold Gloves, 2 Silver Sluggers, and was the 1999 Rookie of the Year with the Kansas City Royals.

Beltrán’s last season was in 2017 with the Astros, where he won his first World Series ring. He owns formidable numbers for a possible election to the Hall of Fame and will be eligible in 2023.

During his 20 years as a player, Beltrán played with Kansas City, Houston, NYM, San Francisco, St. Louis, NYY, Texas, and Houston (second stint).

Beltrán’s career numbers consist of a .279 average; 2,586 games; 9,768 at-bats; 2,725 hits; 565 doubles; 78 triples; 435 home runs; 1,587 runs batted in; and 312 stolen bases.

Jets Sink Sharks 3-2

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks fell to the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Friday at the SAP Center in San Jose. Jets goals came from Gabriel Bourque, Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers, with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck making a heroic 51 saves in the win. Sharks goals came from Barclay Goodrow and Tomas Hertl with Martin Jones making 16 saves in the loss.

“It’s probably up there with our best game of the season. Disappointing to lose,” said Sharks captain Logan Couture, after a game in which the Sharks grossly outshot the Jets, 53-19.

The game might have gone to overtime with the teams tied 3-3 but for a disallowed goal in the second period.

“At the same time, we had a lot of other opportunities to put the puck in the net and we didn’t,” said Sharks forward Evander Kane, who had 7 shots on goal in the game and scored the disallowed goal.

Winnipeg struck first with a goal at 13:34 of the first period. Kyle Connor took advantage of a bouncing puck that eluded Brent Burns in the Sharks’ zone. He got control of it along the boards and then found Gabriel Bourque coming into the zone. Bourque skated up the middle and beat Jones on the glove side. Connor got the assist.

The Sharks too the first penalty of the game, an interference minor to Logan Couture at 19:06. The Sharks successfully killed the penalty for the rest of the first and the beginning of the second period. The Jets got three shots on goal during the power play.

They followed that up with a goal at 3:18 of the second. A pass from Marc-Edouard Vlasic found Jonny Brodzinsky in the neutral zone. He made a pass at the Jets’ blue line, finding Barclay Goodrow in the slot. Goodrow skated to the net and shot the puck by Hellebuyck on the short side. Assists went to Brodzinsky and Vlasic.

The Sharks’ first power play came just over a minute later. They got credit for two shots on goal

Evander Kane put the puck in the net at 7:22 of the second. He started by carrying the puck into the zone and around behind the net. He gave it to a defender, who sent it back around and to the point. the puck came back to Kane behind the net and he got it out in front for Labanc and Hertl to shoot, but Labanc was taken down in the crease and the puck came back to Kane as he emerged form behind the net. He quickly lifted it over the now-prone Hellebuyck and into the net.

The Jets challenged for goaltender interference and the goal was overturned.

Moments later, Blake Wheeler scored off a pass from Mark Scheifele at 7:53. Scheifele and Kyle Connor got the assists.

The Jets had a second power play at 9:41, in which they got one shot on goal.

The Sharks had a second power play starting at 17:11 when Mathieu Perrault was called for tripping Erik Karlsson. The Sharks tallied eight shots on goal and still could not score.

During the second period, the Sharks outshot the Jets 28-9.

The Sharks did finally tie it with a deflection from Tomas Hertl 49 seconds into the third period. Kane took the initial shot with a second assist going to Kevin Labanc.

With three minutes left in the third, the Jets only had 3 shots to the Sharks’ 12. The shot count for the game was 51-18 Sharks.

Nevertheless, the Jets scored next, taking a 3-2 lead at 18:36. Nikolaj Ehlers . Assists went to Jack Roslovic and Bryan Little.

The Sharks pulled their goaltender right after that, but couldn’t get by Hellebuyck again.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 7:00 PM PT against the Vancouver Canucks in San Jose.

Jonny Brodzinsky was in the lineup for the first time since October 8, with Dylan Gambrell and Lukas Radil out as healthy scratches.

Kings squeak out a 102-101 win over the Jazz

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By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — Unfortunately for Kings fans, the Kings are the laughing stock of the NBA once again. With that said, the season is still young. However, the Kings need to turn things around quickly to salvage what has been a dismal season so far. Coming into Friday’s contest against the Utah Jazz, the Kings were 0-5 to start the 2019 season. The Kings looked to flip the script at 7 PM at Golden 1 Center.

In the first quarter, the Kings came out of the gate looking energized. They were moving the ball on offense and appeared to be in more of a rhythm than they had shown before. Halfway through the quarter, De’Aaron Fox had 7 points leading the Kings. At that point, the Kings started to put together some good offensive possessions to take the lead 21-11 with 3:58 remaining in the opening quarter. The last few minutes didn’t go as well for the Kings, but it wasn’t a meltdown. The Kings and Jazz finished the first quarter with the Kings leading 18-28.

In the second quarter, the Kings were able to keep pace. That was the most encouraging part of the half. The Kings didn’t hit shots as they did in the first but they did manage to hold the lead. The Jazz, on the other hand, started hitting some of the shots they missed in the first. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 14 in the first half, and the Jazz had a trio of players with 6 in the half. Leading the Kings through the first half was De’Aaron Fox with 15 points, Buddy Hield and Nemanja Bjelica with 8 points, and Harrison Barnes with 7 points. Going into halftime, the Kings looked to hold onto their 48-51 lead.

The third quarter has been the Kings’ nemesis this season. They needed to turn that tide in order to get their first win of the year. The question remained could they do it. The Kings showed much better effort in the third than they had this season. However, some sloppy turnovers and missed opportunities prevented the Kings from building a lead. The third ended with the Kings taking a 81-80 point lead into the final quarter. This third quarter might not have been the greatest by most standards but it was leaps and bounds better than what the Kings had shown in the previous five contests.

As the Kings headed into the final minutes, the home crowd desperately wanted to erupt in a victory celebration. The Kings didn’t disappoint to start off the last quarter. Halfway through, the Kings had 95-88 lead. The only thing left for the Kings was to put the game away. The game would go back and forth in the final minutes with each team trading baskets. The game would ultimately come down to the last 17 seconds after the Kings were leading 100-99. The Jazz hit a layup and the Kings took the ball down the court after a loose ball foul for a putback of their own. The Jazz took their final time out with 2.9 seconds left and needed to hit a game-winner or else Sacramento would win. The Jazz inbounded to Donovan Mitchell and he was immediately shut down and missed with an airball. The Kings won 102-101.

The Kings managed to get their first win of the season on an all-around good performance. The Kings will look to carry that momentum into the next game and “Keep winning” according to Harrison Barnes’ postgame quotes.

The Kings head to New York City to take on the New York Knicks on Sunday, November 3 at 3:00 pm PST.

SJSU Spartans podcast with Ana Kieu: SJSU barely beats Army, preps for #21 Boise State; plus more

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On the SJSU Spartans podcast with Ana:

1. SJSU football beat Army 34-29 at Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y.

2. SJSU football will return home to host #21 Boise State this Saturday.

3. SJSU men’s soccer returned to SJ for final home matches against Utah Valley and Air Force.

4. SJSU women’s soccer unable to secure a spot in the 2019 Mountain West Tournament.

5. SJSU men’s water polo goalkeeper Yahav Fire was named the Golden Coast Conference men’s water polo “Player of the Week” for matches played from October 18-20.

Ana’s Final Thoughts

Ana does the SJSU Spartans podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com