Warriors drop a thriller in OT to the Timberwolves 131-130

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, had they beaten the Minnesota Timberwolves, would have had a two-game edge of the Denver Nuggets in the race for the best record in the Western Conference. The Timberwolves upset the Warriors’ applecart at the Target Center in the Target Center Friday with a 131-130 overtime win.

The Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder to move into a first-place tie with the Warriors. The Warriors and the Nuggets meet Tuesday night at Oracle. The Warriors have the season edge 2-1, and a win would clinch the crown.

The Warriors led 68-54 at the half, and it looked good for them. The Warriors usually own the third quarter, but the T-Wolves turned the tables on Golden State and outscored them 32-18 in the period to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter. Each team scored 29 in the fourth, and the game went to overtime tied at 115.

The T-Wolves grabbed a nine-point lead with one minute and 41 seconds left in the overtime period when Curry went on a tear and hit three threes, and the Warriors went on an 11-2 run to tie the game at 130 with 0.5 seconds left on the clock.

All the Warriors had to do was make sure that no one fouled a T-Wolves player on the inbounds pass, and the game would go to a second overtime, but that did not happen as Kevin Durant fouled Karl-Anthony Towns, who made the first free throw. He missed the second and time, and the Warriors’ luck ran out. The Timberwolves won 131-130.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors are now tied with Denver with an identical record of 51-24. The Warrior play the Charlotte Hornets at Oracle Arena on Sunday, and then face the Nuggets on Tuesday.

Steph Curry led the Warriors with 37 points. Kevin Durant had a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins had 16 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson had 20 points. Andre Iguodala had 14 points coming off the bench. The rest of the Warriors’ bench contributed just 11 points.

The Timberwolves had eight players in double-figures. The T-Wolves’ bench had three players: Anthony Tolliver with 14 points, Gorgui Dieng 14 points, and Jerryd Bayless with 17 points. In Fact, the T-Wolves’ bench outscored the Warriors’ bench 49-25.

Up Next: The Warriors have seven games, four at home and three on the road. The only team with a winning record is Denver. They play the Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Clippers at home. Then, they face the Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Memphis Grizzlies on the road.

Barracuda dethrone the Reign in 5-0 shutout

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda fighting for their playoff lives, used the power play to their advantage and cruised their way to a 5-0 shutout win over their Pacific Division rival, the Ontario Reign, on Friday evening at SAP Center.

With the win coupled with San Diego’s loss to Bakersfield, San Jose is now in sole possession of second place in the division with 75 points, two points ahead of the Gulls with seven games left in the regular season.

San Jose (34-20-3-4) drew first blood halfway through the first period. Evan Weinger led a rush, where he sent a drop pass down to Jayden Halbgewachs, who threaded a pass over to John McCarthy at the left slot. The Cuda captain buried the puck past Reign goalie Cal Petersen (10-18-3) to the right side for a tic-tac-toe goal and his 12th of the season at the 10:39 mark.

The Cuda doubled their lead as they beat the buzzer at the end of the opening frame. Jacob Middleton sent in a shot from the point that was blocked. McCarthy seized the puck and snapped a back-hander past Petersen for his second goal of the evening and 13th on the season with 0.5 seconds left to give San Jose a 2-0 advantage heading into the first intermission.

The Cuda opened up the second period with a power play goal. TJ Hensick fed a pass over to Nick DeSimone, who fired a shot that ricochet off Reign defenseman Daniel Brickley that rattled into the back of the net for DeSimone’s 13th goal of the season at the 6:44 mark. Francis Perron was credited with the secondary assist.

The Reign (22-30-6-3) could not stay out of the sin-bin as San Jose continued their dominance on the power play just over two minutes later. It took them 16 seconds to score on the hooking penalty by Nikita Scherbak. Hensick found an open Jeffery Viel, who wasted no time beating Petersen with a wrist shot for his ninth goal of the season at the 9:10 mark.

Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (14-12-5) was sharp, despite the lack of shots he saw. He made two spectacular saves in the middle frame. First, he stoned an attempt by Sam Herr on a two-on-one odd man rush. Then, with a little over a minute left, he robbed Brett Sutter when he reached out along with his left arm to keep the puck out of the back of the net.

Anti Suomela completed the scoring with 22 seconds left in the game as fired a shot off the cross-bar and into the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season at the 19:38 mark. Viel and Matt Fonteyne received assists on the goal.

Bibeau has won back-to-back games as he stopped all 21 shots he faced to earn his 14th win of the season and his first shutout of the season. Petersen made 24 saves on 29 shots in suffering the loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 2/4 on the power play. Ontario was 0/1.

McCarthy played in his 251st game in a Cuda uniform, a franchise record.

San Jose went 5-3 in the season series against Ontario.

DeSimone now has a current seven-game point streak, a career-best for the Cuda defenseman.

Bibeau has 16 career shutouts.

The announced attendance was 4,187.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda travel down to Bakersfield to take on the Condors on Saturday, March 30 at 7:00 pm at Rabobank Arena.

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Quakes have been getting some work done

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. The Earthquakes lost to the Monterrey Rayados 2-1 in a friendly at Avaya Stadium last Saturday.

2. Do you feel that the Quakes’ lineup changes affected the outcome of their friendly vs. Monterrey?

3. JT Marcinkowski and Jackson Yueill made the Quakes proud Sunday.

4. Richard Mulrooney and Dave Obenour were inducted into the Quakes Hall of Fame Monday.

5. The Quakes caught a lot of flak on Twitter for their recent tweet asking fans to join them in defending their home.

Ana does the San Jose Earthquakes podcasts each Friday for SportsRadioService.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: On Fiers, A’s get pitching and a shutout on Opening Day

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Photo credit: @anda_chu

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 How uplifting is it that the A’s not only got a 4-0 win on Opening Day against the Los Angeles Angels, but also got a shutout from their Opening Day starter Mike Fiers?

#2 Fiers went six innings and surrendered just one hit. Did he look good enough to complete the game?

#3 The A’s bullpen came through with a shutout after Fiers left the game.

#4 The A’s, who won 4-0, got their runs early, and by the end of four innings,, they already had a 3-0 lead.

#5 After watching this opener, was this a surprise considering how the club struggled so badly and getting swept by the Seattle Mariners in Tokyo to open the season?

Jerry Feitelberg does the Oakland A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Bummed out–Giants and Bumgarner get shutout 2-0 in opener

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

On the SF Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Madison Bumgarner started for the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day and was able to keep the San Diego Padres’ Manny Machado under control, but the Padres still won it 2-0.

#2 The Padres’ Fernado Titas got two hits to help contribute towards the win. The Padres’ Wil Myers got a home run off Bumgarner and the Padres had a 2-0 lead.

#3 This was Machado’s first game as a Padre playing in Opening Day. Although Machado didn’t get a hit, the game was a win and it should be memorable for Machado.

#4 Padres starter Eric Lauer (1-0) pitched six innings of shutout ball against the Giants, surrendering four hits, a walk and three strikeouts.

#5 Giants starter Madison Bumgarner (0-1) pitched seven innings along with five hits and two runs and posted nine strikeouts for the loss.

Michael Duca does the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Joe Lami: Sharks’ problems just beginning, face Vegas-Calgary this weekend; Three NHL shootouts Thursday; plus more

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the NHL podcast with Joe:

#1 The San Jose Sharks lost another one on Thursday night but they didn’t lose by two or three goals in a 5-4 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Did the Sharks look improved over their last seven loses or did they look just as bad.

#2 The Washington Capitals Nic Dowd scored on a deflected pass which was good enough for the win. The Caps defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2.

#3 It went to a shootout and the Dallas Stars topped the Edmonton Oilers 3-2. The Stars Jami Benn scored the game winner.

#4 In another shootout the Vancouver Canucks Tanner Pearson scored a fourth round goal to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 Thursday night.

#5 The Montreal Canadiens didn’t stand a chance as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated Montreal 6-2. Oliver Bjorkstrand got two goals and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 27 shots. The Jackets are in the Eastern Conference wild card spot.

Join Joe for the NHL podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings fall hard in the “Big Easy” as Pels pull out a last-second 121-118 win

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NO starting 5
Kings starting five in New Orleans Photo @SacramentoKings

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings are now on the verge of mathematical elimination from playoff contention after losing to the Pelicans in New Orleans 121-118 on Thursday night. The Kings chances of making the playoffs were remote, but now, they are non-existent.

The Kings are just 14-23 on the road after the loss in New Orleans. That really is not surprising for a young team like Sacramento. Learning to win on the road in the NBA is one of the most difficult lessons to learn for a young team.

The biggest lead in this game was nine points by the Pelicans. The game was tied 13 times and the lead changed between the teams 15 times. This was the very essence of what is defined as a “close game”.

Julius Randle put a driving layup through the basket for the Pelicans with 8.7-seconds to go in the game to give New Orleans a 121-118 lead.

Buddy Hield took a potential game-tying 3-point shot from 28 feet away from the basket with 4.0-seconds remaining on the clock. Unfortunately for the Kings, the shot was not good and the Kings would lose by three points.

The loss dropped the Kings record to 37-38 on the year with seven games to play on the schedule. The Pelicans are now 32-45 for the season.

Key Performers in the Game

NO Kosta
Koufos drives on Randle Photo @NBCS

Kings

  • Buddy Hield – the Pels former first-round draft pick – was Sacramento’s leading scorer with 27 points. He shot 11-for-21 from the floor but went just 1-for-8 from 3-point range.
  • De’Aaron Fox recorded a double-double by scoring 25 points and dishing out 12 assists. Fox hit 11-of-22 his shots from the field. He also grabbed five rebounds, made three steals, and had one blocked shot.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein also put a double-double in the book by scoring 18 points and hauling in 12 rebounds. WCS who has struggled at the charity stripe went 4-for-4 at the free throw line on Thursday night.
  • Bogdon Bogdanovic scored 14 points in just over 18 minutes of playing time.
  • Marvin Bagley III and Harrison Barnes each scored 10 points.
  • The Kings were outscored in the paint 74-64.
  • The Pelicans won the battle of 2nd chance points 14-9.

New Orleans

  • Julius Randle was the leading scorer in the contest with 34 points. He hit 12-of-24 shots from the floor and went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Randle made it a double-double game by pulling down 10 rebounds.
  • Christian Wood came off the bench and scored 25 points in just over 27 minutes on the floor. He sank 11 of his 16 shots.
  • Elfrid Payton put 16 points up on the board shooting 50-percent from the floor (7/14). He also recorded nine rebounds.
  • Anthony Davis did not play due to “lower back spasms”.

Up Next

The Kings traveled to Houston after the game and will take on the Rockets on Saturday night.

The Pelicans will host the “hapless” LA Lakers on Sunday.

Hawks Jump On Sharks Earlier, Hand San Jose Seventh Straight Loss 5-4

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

For a portion of their game Thursday night, the San Jose Sharks looked on their way to losing for a seventh straight time, a lackluster effort yet again highlighted by poor goaltending, scoring droughts and poorly executed hockey. Then, a 3-0 deficit was trimmed and turned into a 4-4 hockey game and suddenly it looked like Team Teal had found the intestinal fortitude required to steer a ship drifting towards a waterfall. Though, the late-game magic of the Sharks’ mid-season magic run has definitely run up.

The Sharks ultimately fell to the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 and trail the Calgary Flames for the Pacific Division lead by six points with just five games remaining. Chicago took a 3-0 lead into the second period, San Jose rallied back, scoring three in the second period to tie the game 4-4 late in the second, but a Chris Kunitz goal late in a five-goal second period wound up the difference maker as San Jose couldn’t find a touch for the net in the third period.

Alex DeBrincat opened the scored 4:10 into the first on a 5-on-3 power play, and after a brief review for goaltender interference, had his 39th goal stand. Connor Murphy’s goal deflected past Sharks goalie Martin Jones just over two minutes later and Jonathan Toews scored his 33rd goal of the year with 11 minutes gone in the first.

Lukas Radil, firmly in the lineup with the glaring absence of captain Joe Pavelski, scored his seventh goal of the season a minute later to give the Sharks some late life in the first, then Gustav Nyquist scored a power play goal 2:33 into the second. Tomas Hertl picked up his second assist of the game after picking up the primary helper on his countryman Radil’s first goal since January.

DeBrincat broke the 40-goal plateau in his sophomore 4:21 into the middle stanza, but Hertl added a goal for a three-point night on another Sharks power play goal 6:29 into the second to cut the lead 4-3. The Sharks’ power play accounted for two goals, but still felt like it missed opportunities on five chances.

Timo Meier picked up his 29th goal of the year with 3:54 left in the second, but Chris Kunitz had the puck bounce of his body and into the net off Patrick Kane’s shot with 1:52 left to play. The Sharks threw just nine shots on a perfect Hawks keeper Corey Crawford in the third to drop the contest. In total, he stopped 26 of 30 Sharks shots.

The going gets tougher for San Jose over the weekend, as they face the Vegas Golden Knights Saturday night, sitting just five points ahead of the 2018 Western Conference Champions. After that, they go back-to-back, facing the Calgary Flames in a must-win game at home on Sunday if they hope to bridge the distance for the Pacific Division lead.

Offense flounders as Giants drop season opener to Padres 2-0

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

There were two positives that came out of Thursday’s season opener: Madison Bumgarner looked rather sharp and gave the Giants every chance to win, and Evan Longoria will not start the season with an extended 0-fer, which was the case in 2018.

Bumgarner surrendered only a pair of run over seven solid innings to go along with only five hits allowed. Meanwhile, Longoria went 2-for-4 at the plate, including a single in his very first at-bat of the season.

The rest of the day was rather forgettable at best, as the San Diego Padres beat the punchless Giants, 2-0, at Petco Park Thursday afternoon.

Wil Myers did all of the damage for the Padres at the plate, driving in both runs to send the Giants reeling right out of the chute. It started in the third inning, when Myers took Bumgarner deep to right-center to give San Diego a 1-0 lead.

Three innings later, he struck again, blooping in a single into shallow left-center to bring Ian Kinsler in and double the lead.

The Giants never posed a serious threat, as they never got any more than one hit in a given inning and did not get a runner safely to second base the entire game. Padres starter Eric Lauer was brilliant on Thursday, going six innings and giving up only four hits, walking only one while striking out three.

They hope to bounce back very quickly in this weekend series against the Padres by getting their bats to wake up. However, if this is any indication of things to come, it will be a very long season for the Giants.

Fiers pitches the A’s to their first win of 2019

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Photo credit: @nbcbayarea

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — It was the second Opening Day for the Oakland A’s Thursday at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s started the season in Tokyo with two losses to the Seattle Mariners, and they were eager to get their first win of the year. Mike Fiers, who didn’t pitch well in Tokyo, redeemed himself as he went six innings and allowed just one hit. Fiers improved to 1-1 for the season. The A’s bullpen came through, as they did last year with three scoreless innings, and the A’s won 4-0.

The A’s scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the second. Jurickson Profar, making his home debut for the A’s, tripled to right field leading off. Chad Pinder hit a sacrifice fly to center to drive in Profar with the run. The A’s led 1-0 after two complete.

The A’s added a run in the third. With one out, Robbie Grossman singled to left. Grossman stole second and Angels’ starter Trevor Cahill walked Matt Chapman to put men on at first and second with one out. Stephen Piscotty doubled to drive in Grossman with the A’s second run. Cahill pitched his way out of the jam when Chapman tried to score on a ground ball to third. He was thrown out at home for the second out of the inning. Cahill then retired Profar on a flyball to left. The A’s shortstop Marcus Semien hit his first home run of the year when he sent Cahill 91 MPH sinker over the fence in centerfield. The A’s led 3-0 after four.

The A’s DH Khris Davis led off the bottom of the sixth with his second dinger of the year. Cahill had Davis in an 0-2 hole when he threw another 91 MPH sinker that Davis did not miss. The A’s led 4-0 heading into the seventh.

The A’s bullpen did their job as they held the Angels scoreless and preserved the first win of the year for Oakland. The A’s won 4-0.

Game Notes: Marcus Semien and Khris Davis each hit a solo home run for the Green and Gold. Leadoff hitter Robbie Grossman singled in his first two at-bats in his first game at the Coliseum as an Oakland Athletic. Jurickson Profar tripled in his first trip to the plate in the second inning. Stephen Piscotty has hit safely in all three games this year and had an RBI double in the third inning.

Mike Fiers had his best career outing against the Angels, allowing one hit in six scoreless innings.

The A’s are now 1-2, and the Angels are 0-1.

The A’s line was four runs, seven hits, and one error.

The Angels’ line was no runs, three hits, and no errors.

In the eighth inning, the Angels’ Mike Trout survived a scare when he slid into second base. He came up holding his knee, and everyone in the ballpark held their breath as it appeared that he was injured. Fortunately, he hook it off and stayed in the game.

Time of game was two hours and 18 minutes and 22,691 fans watched the A’s win their first game of the season.

Up Next: The A’s and Angels play game two of the four-game series Friday night at 7:07 pm at the Coliseum. Marco Estrada will make his second start for Oakland and Matt Harvey, the former New York Met and Cincinnati Red, will go for the Angels.