Warriors, behind Thompson’s hot shooting and Cousins’ defense, knock off the Nuggets 122-105

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, facing questions about the play of the team after being trashed by the Boston Celtics Tuesday night, bounced back and beat the Denver Nuggets 122-105 at Oracle Arena Friday night. The Warriors entered the game leading the Nuggets by one game for the best record in the Western Conference. The Warriors’ win increased their lead to two with 17 games left to play in the regular season.

The Warriors now lead the Nuggets 2-1 and play once more on April 2nd at Oracle Arena. The task for the Warriors Friday night was to stop the Nuggets’ starting lineup. They needed DeMarcus Cousins to find a way to shackle the Nuggets’ big man Nikola Jokic. Jokic came into the game averaging a triple-double for the season. Wilt Chamberlain was the only other center to be able to do that for an entire season. The Warriors had to find a way to get off to a good start. They had lost five of the last eight games and trailed by more than 10 points at halftime in at least six of the last 10 games played.

Klay Thompson returned to the starting lineup after missing the last two games with a knee injury. Klay helped the Warriors to get off to a good start. His two-game hiatus gave him some needed rest, and he helped propel the Warriors to a 30-20 first quarter. Kevin Durant, Cousins, and Steph Curry all made shots while the Warrior defense kept Denver down. The one drawback in the quarter was the number of fouls the Warriors committed. Those fouls enabled Denver to go on a 12-3 run to close the gap to 10.

The Nuggets tied the game early in the second quarter at 34. From that point, the lead changed hands several times. The Warriors were leading 53-48 when they went on a 14-2 run to finish the first half with a 17-point lead 67-50. Klay made two threes and Curry helped out with one of his own. Denver’s Malik Beasley kept the Nuggets close as he made four threes and led the Nuggets with 14. None of the Denver starters were in double figures. Jokic was held to 8 points and 3 boards. Klay Thompson had 27 in the first 24 minutes. Kevin Durant had 16, Steph Curry 9, and Andre Iguodala had 5 coming off the bench.

The closest the Nuggets came was 79-70 after the Warriors made too many turnovers. The Nuggets capitalized, but the Warriors righted the ship and increased the lead to 15 90-75 at the end of three periods. In the fourth quarter, DeMarcus Cousins, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry increased the lead to 21, 105-84. Klay continued to make threes. Cousins hit a three and raised his hands upward as he had not hit one for several games. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr removed the starters and the second unit players finished the game as the Warriors won 122-105.

Game Notes and Stats: DeMarcus Cousins had his best defensive effort since his return from the devastating Achilles tendon injury he suffered last season when he was a member of the New Orleans Pelicans. He had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. He also had 3 steals and six blocked shots. It was, without question, an All-Star performance. He also held Jokic to just 16 points and handled the Nuggets other big, Mason Plumlee.

Klay Thompson led the team with 39 points. Thompson made nine threes in 11 attempts. Durant had 26, Steph Curry 17, and Kevon Looney had 9 points and 8 rebounds off the bench.

Malik Beasley led the Nuggets with 17. Beasley mad 5 threes, but was held to just 3 points in the second half. Jokic finished with 16. Will Barton had 5, Gary Harris 6, and Jamal Murray 11.

The Warriors are now 45-20 and own a two-game lead of the 43-22 Nuggets for the NBA Western Conference lead.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the very young and, suddenly, improving Phoenix Suns. The Suns upset the Milwaukee Bucks last week and cannot be taken lightly. Game time will be at 5:30 pm Sunday night.

The Warriors then go on the road for four games. They face the Houston Rockets Wednesday night for the fourth time this season.

The Rockets lead the series 3-0. They then go to Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Minnesota.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A look at this year’s A’s pitchers–can they stay healthy?

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On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 Oakland A’s pitcher Mike Fiers says he excited to be pitching opening day for the A’s against the Seattle Mariners in Japan.

#2 Talk about Marcos Estrada–he very well could be lined up to be the number two pitcher for the rotation.

#2 Is reliever Blake Treinen ready to close games and is he ready to relieve?

#3 Talk about free agent catcher Chris Herrmann, who will require arthroscopic knee surgery and will not ready for opening night.

#4 Former San Francisco Giants catcher Nick Hundley will be the A’s starting catcher and his backup will be Josh Phegley.

#5 A’s pitcher Jharel Cotton, who had Tommy John, has been throwing 40 pitches in bullpen sessions for the A’s.

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

NHL podcast with Joe Lami: Bruins get a one-goal win over Panthers; Pens shutout CBJ’s 3-0; Hawks shutout Sabres 3-0; plus more

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On the NHL podcast with Joe:

#1 The Boston Bruins just got by the Florida Panthers 4-3. Patrice Bergeron scored twice including the gamer for the Bruins.

#2 The Pittsburgh Penguins got a 3-0 shutout over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Pens’ Sidney Crosby scored a goal and Pens goaltender Matt Murray stopped all 25 shots.

#3 Chicago Blackhawks get a big win Thursday night in overtime 5-4 over the Buffalo Sabres. The Hawks’ Artem Anisimov scored twice and goaltender Corey Crawford stopped 35 of 39 shots.

#4 The New York Islanders’ Valtteri Filppula scored twice 4-2 as the Islanders defeated the Ottawa Senators.

#5 The Detroit Red Wings top the New York Rangers and that ended a eight-game loss streak for the Red Wings. Red Wings won in a shootout 3-2.

NHL podcasts with Joe Lami are heard each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast with Joey Friedman: Cal gives Stanford fits on home floor in season finale

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On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Joey:

#1 The Cal Bears, who couldn’t win a Pac-12 conference game to save their lives, took two games from the Washington Huskies and the Washington State University Cougars, and dominated Stanford on Thursday night at Maples Pavilion at Stanford.

#2 For Cal, Connor Vanover and Austin Paris led the Bears in scoring in the first half of Thursday’s game.

#3 It was Stanford’s home floor, the Cardinal normally don’t have too much problem at home. Is Cal a possessed team since getting those two wins against those Washington schools last week?

#4 What’s it going to be like for Stanford when KZ Okpala leaves for the NBA Draft?

#5 Talk about the job that Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase did against Cal on Thursday night in trying to back into the game.

Listen to the Stanford Cardinal podcasts each Friday with Joey at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose State closes out regular season at Fresno State Saturday

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By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball will play their final regular season game of 2019 on the road this Saturday. SJSU will take on Fresno State at the Save Mart Center beginning at 4:00 pm PST. Fans can stream the game online on the Mountain West Network and can listen to Justin Allegri’s radio call on the TuneIn app.

Game #30
San Jose State (4-25, 1-16) at Fresno State (21-8, 12-5)
Saturday, March 9, 4:00 pm PST
Save Mart Center (15,956)
Fresno, Calif.

Live Stats
Fans can view live stats of all SJSU men’s basketball games, home and away, by accessing the Live Stats feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the men’s basketball schedule page to follow the action.

What Would a Win Mean?
The Spartans are looking for win #5 on the season, which would be the most in the last two seasons since going 14-16 in 2016-17. A win over the Bulldogs in the Save Mart Center would be SJSU’s first win in Fresno since 2009.

Recapping Game #1 vs. Fresno State
Fresno State held a slim 29-25 lead with 6:34 to play in the first half before they scored the final 18 points of the half to take control. Although, they cooled off in the second half shooting and were just 3-of-15 from the 3-point range in the half, SJSU was unable to climb back into the contest and fell 73-53

Michael Steadman led the Spartans with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Newcomers Getting Things Done
SJSU has played nine first-year players this season, including regular starters Michael Steadman, Zach Chappell, Craig LeCesne and Brae Ivey. The newcomers are accounting for 69.4% of the Spartans’ offense (1,323-1,905).

Steadman alone is accounting for 20% of the team’s offense with 386 points (20.2%).

Baumann Like a Boss
Sophomore Noah Baumann is shooting lights out from beyond the arc this season, so good in fact that he leads the Mountain West and ranks 10th in the NCAA in 3-point percentage at 46.0%. Baumann also ranks in the top-10 in the MW in 3-pointers per game (2.6).

Baumann set a new school record of 22 consecutive games with a 3-point bucket made against UNLV on Feb. 16, breaking a tie with Robert Owens, who closed out 2009-10 on a 21-game streak, for the new record. His streak is currently at 27.

In SJSU’s loss to Utah State, Baumann had one of the most impressive performances of his career as he scored a career-high 29 points and tied the then-school record with seven 3-pointers (7-of-10). He also set career highs in 3-point attempts and field goal attempts.

Baumann has hit the school record in 3-point makes twice the season, the second time, however, vs. New Mexico, he broke the record outright with 8. He finished 8-of-12 from 3-point range to lead the Spartans to a win over New Mexico.

Not satisfied with just two, Baumann once again made seven 3s in the home finale vs. Wyoming. Six of his seven came in the first half. He finished the night with a game-high 27 points.

Baumann holds the first, second and third highest-scoring performances by a Spartan this season with 29 vs. USU, 27 vs. WYO and 26 vs. UNM. He is averaging 11.5 points in conference play, second-most on the team (Steadman). He is also averaging 15.0 points in the last five games.

Chappell’s Show
Freshman Zach Chappell has come on strong as of late, starting the last six games and averaging 9.0 points in the last five games. Against UNLV, Chappell finished with 11 points, a career-high six rebounds and nine assists – tied for the most by a Spartan this season. He had 10 points vs. Colorado State.

In SJSU’s win over UNM, Chappell finished with a career-high 17 points and dished out 9 assists. He now has two games with 9 assists on the season, which is tied with Craig LeCesne for the most by any Spartan.

Chappell then scored 14 points at San Diego State.

Chastain Taking Over
Junior Ashtin Chastain has been tasked to fill in the gap in the starting lineup with senior Oumar Barry sidelined by injury. Chastain has started the last 12 games in his stead.

Reviewing SJSU’s Big Win Over UNM
SJSU’s 89-82 win over UNM was a historic night in the Event Center. Not only did it break a 17-game losing streak, it also featured a plethora of records.

The win was the second all-time against the Lobos and the first-ever in SJ.

Baumann broke his own school record with eight 3-pointers on 8-of-12 shooting. He finished with a team-best 26 points.

Brae Ivey tied a school record with six steals on the evening. He is 1 of multiple players to tally 6 steals, but just the first to do so since Justin Graham vs. Santa Clara (12/10/10).

Steadman had his second-straight game with 21 points as well as his second-straight double-double. He had 10 made field goals and 20 field goal attempts, both the most by a Spartan this season.

Steadman and Baumann became the first duo to score 20 points this season and were the first to do so since Ryan Welage and Jaycee Hillsman vs. Wyoming in the Mountain West Tournament last season (3/7/18).

Ch-Ch-Changes
Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason as he brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach and promoted director of operations Ryan Cooper to assistant coach.

Starry Knight
Freshman Seneca Knight has upped his game recently as well. In his last five games, he is averaging 9.0 points, fourth-best on the team in that stretch. Against CSU, he led the team with a 14-point performance. He followed with 12 points at Air Force and had 12 more at SDSU.

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has made a big impact this season as a leader on and off the court. He is averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game and ranks fifth in the MW with 8.5 rebounds per game. He has 11 double-doubles on the season, ranking third in the MW and has scored in double figures in 21-of-28 games. He also has 13 games with double-digit rebounds.

He leads the Spartans with five games with at least 20 points, and has twice achieved the feat in back-to-back efforts. First was against AF and USU. He put up a career-high 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the loss to AF. He then followed up with 20 points at USU.

His second such streak started with a career-best 17 rebounds to go with 21 points at AF. He followed with 21 points and pulled down 11 boards in the win over UNM.

He is averaging 14.8 points per game in the last five games and is averaging 13.2 in MW games.

He is currently riding a four-game streak with a double-double. In his last outing, he scored 12 points to go with 10 points vs. WYO. He is averaging 16.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in the streak.

Changes
Prioleau has used 10 different lineups throughout the season with no one player starting each time out. Barry had started the first 17 games before an injury kept him out of the lineup the last four games. Seven newcomers have made starts, including Knight, Chappell, Trey Smith and Christian Anigwe.

Importance of Baumann and Steadman
In SJSU’s four wins this season, there have been two critical factors: Baumann and Steadman.

In those four games, the pair is averaging 15.3 points each. Steadman has pulled down 11.3 rebounds in those games, while Baumann has been red-hot from 3-point range in each game, averaging 69.6% from the 3-point range (16-23).

On the Board(s)
SJSU ranks third in the MW in offensive boards with 11.0 per game. They rank fifth in defensive boards with 26.2.

Series History: Fresno State
The longstanding rivalry between SJSU and Fresno State will see the 173rd game of the series played on Saturday. The series dates back to 12/18/16 in a 58-32 Spartan victory. In the first of two games this season, the Spartans fell to the Bulldogs 73-53 in the Event Center.

The Bulldogs enter the game currently third in the MW standings at 12-5 in MW play. They lead the conference in 3-point shooting at .375 and also lead in 3-point defense at .301. Braxton Huggins and Deshon Taylor both rank in the top six in scoring in the NCAA, while Nate Grimes is the third-best rebounder with a 9.4 per game average.

Baumann Chasing History
Noah Baumann is having a season to remember in his second season as the Spartans’ sharpshooter. In addition to breaking two school records already (consecutive games with a 3 and single-game 3-pointers), he is quickly ascending the single-season mark for made 3-pointers.

He is 75-163 from the 3-point range with one regular season games to go. His 75 makes are currently tied for the second-most in school history.

He hit seven 3s against WYO in his last outing, moving up from a tie for sixth on the list to a tie for second.

Cal Bears basketball Thursday recap: What a difference a day makes; Cal dominates Stanford for third straight win 64-59

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photo from calbears.com: The Cal Bears Matt Bradley (20) drives on the Stanford Cardinal (0) KZ Okpala in Thursday night’s game at Maples Pavilion

By Morris Phillips

PALO ALTO — The Cal Bears’ Connor Vanover led Cal in scoring with 24 points on Thursday night at Maples Pavilion, helping the Golden Bears to their third straight victory in one of the most exciting, shocking turnarounds for this season in the 64-59 victory. With 56.7 seconds left, Vanover hit a three-pointer after Stanford cut the lead to just four points. Vanover hit nine out of 12 shots and had five three-pointers and blocked six shots.

The Bears, who set a school record of 16 straight losses, have re-invented themselves and have won three straight against three difficult opponents: Washington, Washington State University, and Stanford. On offense, Paris Austin had 15 points and Matt Bradley had 14 points. Bradley was a scrapper all night he had seven rebounds and fouled out of the game. For the Cardinal, KZ Okpala led Stanford with 21 points and eight rebounds and Josh Sharma had 11 points and 13 rebounds. The Cardinal’s Justin Sueing had nine points and 10 rebounds.

Cardinal Cormac Ryan hit two three-pointers, which helped cut the Bears lead down to 58-55 after Vanover’s three-pointer. Sharma then scored on a dunk. Grant Antecevich and Sueing also hit free throws to add to the score.

It was 17-0 run for Cal that made the difference and showed why this team is fired up. The Bears’ offense dominated and put the Bears up from three points to the five-point victory. The Bears went from zero to hero going from 16 straight losses to three straight wins, making them the hottest team in the Pac-12.

The Bears head to the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas next week. If the Bears could win two or three in Vegas it might secure head coach Wyking Jones’ job situation, which at one time was questioned and more over vocalized by the fans at Haas Pavilion during some home games.

The Bears will head to Vegas for the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament and face the fifth seed, which is yet to be decided.

Morris does the Cal Bears podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com each Monday

Sharks continue home dominance over Canadiens with 5-2 win

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, March 7, 2019

San Jose continued its two-decade home dominance over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at SAP Center, winning 5-2.

The Sharks haven’t lost a home game to the Habs since Nov. 23, 1999, winning 12 straight over Montreal during that span. It was also San Jose’s eighth straight win overall in the series.

Tomas Hertl scored his career-high 30th goal of the season to spark the Sharks’ offense, and goaltender Martin Jones recorded 37 saves. In addition, Marcus Sorensen and Timo Meier each scored for the third straight game, Joe Thornton scored a goal, and Gustav Nyquist tacked on an empty-net goal for his first tally since joining San Jose.

With Calgary’s loss to Arizona, the Sharks pulled to within one point of the Flames in the NHL Pacific Division race with a game in hand.

Scoring for Montreal was Artturi Lehkonen and Andrew Shaw. The Canadiens remain two points ahead of Columbus in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race. Habs goaltender Antti Niemi made 20 saves.

San Jose won despite being outplayed for most of the contest, in part because of a flu bug that’s hit the team recently. The Sharks led 3-1 in the second period despite being outshot 23-8 at that juncture. Montreal also outshot the Sharks 16-5 in the first period.

By assisting on Sorensen’s goal, San Jose defenseman Brent Burns picked up his 60th helper of the season.

Erik Karlsson (groin) and Evander Kane were injury scratches for the third straight game for San Jose. The Sharks host St. Louis on Saturday.

Cal fends off Stanford 64-59 in final game of regular season

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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.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Will the Baer situation be a distraction for S.F.?; How much heavy lifting will it be for Zaidi?

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On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 How much of a distraction will the Larry Baer situation be on the team?

#2 San Francisco Giants general manager Farhan Zaidi is part of the Giants’ needs now that Baer is on leave. How much of the load will be expected out of Zaidi?

#3 Giants outfielder Cameron Maybin apologized for being caught for DUI early last Friday.

#4 Will expanding the MLB rosters to 26 players to trim the call up rosters from 40 to 28 players and a maximum of 13 pitchers be a good idea?

#5 How important is it not only for Giants pitching instructor Lee Smith to be in the MLB Hall of Fame, but also being another Giant being a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame?

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

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Struggling Canadiens face Sharks at SAP Center Thursday

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Photo credit: @CanadiensMTL

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Montreal Canadiens (36-24-7) come into San Jose having won two of their last five games. They’ve been a struggling team, you might almost say the Sharks don’t very much to worry about.

#2 Amongst the Habs offense leading the team with goals by Brenden Gallagher (30 goals), Max Domi and Tomas Tatar — both with 22 goals.

#3 How relieved does Erik Karlsson have to be to get out of groin surgery?

#4 In the NHL power rankings, the San Jose Sharks are in the top five.

#5 Can the Sharks close in on the Calgary Flames for first place in the Western Conference? The Sharks are only three points back.

Marylisa does the Sharks podcasts each Thursday at sportsradioservice.com