Photo credit: azcentral.com
NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum:
1 Who would have thought — Sharks and Coyotes in key Pacific game
2 Blackhawks tip Wild in OT, have difficult decision to make on future
3 Flyers on a roll — beat Edmonton in OT for seventh straight win
4 Antoine Vermette retires after 14 NHL seasons
5 RIP Andy Hebenton — one time NHL record holder for consecutive games played
Daniel hosts the NHL podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
By Charlie O. Mallonee
The Sacramento Kings entered the game versus the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night as the underdogs. FiveThirtyEight.com projected them to be a six-point underdog with only a 28-percent chance to win. Vegas had the Sixers as the favorites minus three points. The Kings had other ideas.The Kings won their 27th game of the season as they defeated the 76ers 115-108.
Sacramento had a two-part game plan. The first part called for the Kings to use their speed and run with the ball. The Sixers were playing the final game of a long 10-day road trip. The second part of the plan called for the Kings to keep a big body draped on Joel Embiid at all times. SAC worked their plan, and their plan worked.
The Sixers were not able to stop the Kings 3-point shooting
Philadelphia beat the Warriors on Thursday night because they shut down the Golden State 3-point shooting game. The 76ers have become known for their very tough defense against the 3-point shot.
The Kings managed to hit 11-of-30 (36.7%) of their 3-point attempts on Saturday night. Buddy Hield led that charge sinking 7-of-11 chances from downtown. The Kings outscored the Sixers 33 to 21 from behind the arc.
It should be noted that Philadelphia played without their best 3-point shooter – JJ Redick – who was held out for rest.
Numbers tell the story of the battle
Kings leaders in the game
76ers top performers
Up next
The Kings will be back on the floor on Monday night when they will host the San Antonio Spurs.
The 76ers will be back on their home court on Tuesday when the will host their major competition – the Toronto Raptors.
Dave Joerger’s postgame comments
Willie Cauley-Stein talks about the win and how the team played together
MBIII talked about playing guys he had only seen on TV
Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks
By Mary Walsh
SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks returned from their post-All Star break to beat the Coyotes 3-2 in overtime. Sharks goals came from Kevin Labanc, Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns. Coyotes goals came from Josh Archibald and Conor Garland. Sharks goalie Martin Jones made 31 saves in the win, while Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper made 32 saves in the loss.
The first penalty of the game went to San Jose at 3:53, a slashing penalty to Brenden Dillon. The Sharks killed that off efficiently and came out of it with some energy. Offensive pressure from the Sharks produced a Coyotes penalty at 7:30, a holding penalty to Ilya Lyubushkin. The power play did not produce much
In the last three minutes of the first period, Evander Kane had a great chance which he pretty much created with his speed on the way to the net. Kuemper stopped most of the shot but it did slip underneath him. It would have gone in had the goaltender not spun around, spotted the puck and swatted it away.
In the final five seconds of the period, Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson was called for interference on Joe Pavelski. As a result, the Sharks finished the first and started the second period on a power play.
At the end of the first period, the shot count was 10-8 Sharks.
Tim Heed was carrying the puck out from behind the Sharks net when Christian Fischer came up behind him and knocked the puck off of his stick. The loose puck was snatched up by Conor Garland, who caught Martin Jones out of position for the first goal of the game. That was 9:56 into the second period.
The Sharks responded at 12:09. Kevin Labanc and Joe Thornton converged on the Coyotes net while Marcus Sorensen carried the puck around the boards. Sorensen gave the puck to Brent Burns in the middle of the blue line. Burns took a shot which got to Thornton but did not go in. Labanc found it as it came out on the other side of the goal mouth and knocked it in from a tight angle. Assists went to Thornton and Burns.
They added a second goal just 44 seconds later. Timo Meier attacked the net after Logan Couture poked the puck through the neutral zone for him. Meier’s shot did not go in but Joe Pavelski was a few strides behind Meier and he arrived in position just in time to shoot the rebound in. Assists went to Meier and Couture.
The Coyotes scored under 30 seconds later, but the goal was called back after a standard review for whether or not the net was off its moorings (it was not), followed by a coach’s challenge for goaltender interference. Richard Panik, the shooter, did make significant contact with Jones, pushing him into the net.
Tim Heed was called for holding with just over five minutes to go in the second. The Coyotes had an extended delay on the penalty, before Barclay Goodrow finally blocked a shot and disrupted the unrelenting Arizona possession. The Sharks penalty kill was very aggressive, not giving the Coyotes any time to speak of in the o-zone. At 18:47, Justin Braun was called for holding, and that penalty kill was a little less effective. The Coyotes were able to set up and spend some time on the attack. The power play would carry over into the third period.
The shot count for the second period was dead even at 14 each.
The Sharks killed the rest of that penalty off but at 1:46, Brent Burns was called for high sticking. While he was trying to knock down a high puck, he caught Josh Archibald with the heel of his stick. With all but 40 seconds of that killed off, a line change between Logan Couture and Evander Kane caused a too many men penalty to the Sharks and a brief 5-on-3 power play for Arizona.
As the two man advantage ended, Brent Burns came out of the box at speed and caught a pass for a short-handed breakaway. Not long after, Couture and Hertl had a two on one short handed chance but they didn’t score either.
The ensuing even strength play tilted gradually in Arizona’s direction. Their fourth line finally broke through to tie the game with a goal from Josh Archibald at 7:10. Assists went to Mario Kempe and Lawson Crouse.
Arizona kept the pressure on and the Sharks had their hands full on defense for some shifts. As the period wore on, the game moved faster until the final couple of minutes during which there was so much north-south movement it almost looked like three on three. If that was an attempt to avoid overtime, it failed.
Arizona outshot San Jose in the third 11-9.
To start overtime, the Sharks seemed to have trouble making their passes connect. Luckily for San Jose, the Coyotes did not have much better luck in that regard. Finally, both teams tightened up, but it was San Jose who made it count. Tomas Hertl dropped the puck to Brent Burns, who pulled the puck in to draw the goalie to him, then pushed the puck back out in front of him and put it in the net off the far post. Hertl got an assist on the goal. The time of the goal was 3:14.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic returned to the lineup paired with Tim Heed, while Justin Braun was with Brenden Dillon. Vlasic had 23:59 of ice time, one shot on goal and finished a minus one in the game.
The Sharks will now head out for a four game road trip, starting on Tuesday in Winnipeg against the Jets at 5:00 PM PT.
by Jerry Feitelberg
Oakland- Klay Thompson scored 28 points Saturday night to lead the Warriors to a 115-101 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers were without the services of LeBron James. James returned to action after missing 17 games due to a groin strain suffered on Christmas Day in a game against the Warriors. James played 40 minutes in the overtime win over the Clippers Thursday night and woke up very sore. Lakers’ coach Luke Walton gave him the night off.
The Warriors got off to a good start in the first quarter. They had an early 14-point lead 22-8, but the Lakers got their offense going to make in 22-14. The Warriors shot a blistering 64% in the quarter and held the Lakers to 35%. However, they did not blow the Lakers away. They held a nine-point lead 33-24 at the end of the first twelve minutes of action. The Lakers won the second quarter 34-30 to finish the half trailing 63-58. Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 23. The other half of the Splash Brothers, Steph Curry, could not make a shot. He made just two free throws, and that was it.
The Lakers continued to double-team Curry and Kevin Durant in the third quarter. Lakers’ coach Luke Walton’s strategy was to not let Steph or KD get any open looks and force the other Warriors to beat them. The theory worked as the Lakers opened the third period with a 22-68run to take the lead 81-71. The Warriors behind the play of DeMarcus Cousins, Kevon Looney, and Andre Iguodala chipped away at the Laker lead until late in the third period when Iguodala nailed a three to give the Warriors a two-point advantage 88-86 after three-quarters of play.
Steph Curry, who was held to just two points and had missed all of his shots, came to life in the fourth quarter. He knocked down twelve points and the Warriors outscored the Lakers 27-15 to seal the win.
Game Notes and Stats- The Warriors needed help from DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Iguodala to pick up the lack of production from Steph Curry. Cousins responded with a double-double. He Scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds. Iguodala kicked in with 17 and he connected on three 3-point shots in four attempts. Klay Thompson finished with 28 and Kevin Durant had 21 points and 11 assists for another double-double. The Warriors recorded 31 assists on 41 field goals. They were moving the ball well.
The Lakers had six players in double figures. Brandon Ingram led the Lakers with 20. Kyle Kuzman had 13, Rajon Rondo 10, Kentavius Caldwell-Pope 12, Ivaca Zubac 10, and Lance Stephenson, 10. Former Warrior JaVale McGee was presented with his 2018 championship ring prior to the start of the game. McGee received a nice ovation from the Warrior fans. The Lakers are 6-12 when LeBron James is not in the lineup.
The Warriors return to action on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm.
Photo credit: @SJSUMBB
By: Ana Kieu
SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball had yet to win a conference game and the fiery San Diego State Aztecs proved to be another tough opponent for the sluggish home team Saturday night at the Event Center.
Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau went with a starting lineup of Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Craig LeCesne, Ashtin Chastain and Michael Steadman.
SJSU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead as LeCesne hit a 3-pointer just 36 seconds into the first half. But SDSU took over for quite a while as four of their players (Matt Mitchell, Jalen McDaniels, Jeremy Hemsley and Devin Watson) hit back-to-back 3s in a span of two minutes and 44 seconds. The Aztecs continued pouring in the points as McDaniels knocked down two jumpers, but the Spartans put an end to the Aztecs’ 13-0 run as Chastain made a layup at the 14:18 mark.
Not only that, SJSU inched their way back into the game. Steadman made a layup, Brae Ivey hit a 3, Knight added a layup, and then Chappell hit a 3 to make it a 1-point game with 7:38 left. The Spartans temporarily took a 17-16 lead on Chastain’s layup, but Hemsley hastily responded with a 3 for a 19-17 Aztecs lead with 5:46 left. Watson knocked down a jumper to extend the Aztecs’ lead to 21-17 with 4:58 left.
The game remained in a back-and-forth affair to close out the first. Ivey knocked down a jumper, Aguek Arop knocked down a paint jumper and Steadman made a layup. However, SJSU was unable to carry a lead to the locker room at halftime as they trailed 25-21. SDSU definitely benefited from Watson’s layup, which extended the lead to 25-21 with 1:13 left.
It was all SDSU to start the second half. McDaniels knocked down a jumper and a paint jumper in a span of 36 seconds. It was SJSU’s turn when Ivey knocked down a jumper at the 18:19 mark. The Spartans went on miniature runs that helped them inch their way back into the game in subtle ways. But the Spartans turned the ball over three times in two minutes with 7:21 left.
Fast forward to the final media timeout of the evening. SJSU trailed 57-44 with four minutes left. The Spartans were still in it, but they had their work cut out for them. The Spartans went on a 6-0 run, thanks to Knight’s 3 and LeCesne’s pair of fastbreak free throws and then a free throw.
The game didn’t really end as a back-and-forth affair. If there was a silver lining for SJSU, it’d be Baumann’s 3 with 10 seconds left. But Baumann wasn’t enough to save the day for the Spartans, who lost 67-56 and dropped to 3-18, 0-9 MW. The Aztecs rose to 13-8, 5-3 MW.
SJSU kicks off a two-game road trip next Saturday against the Boise State Broncos at 11:00 am PT.
Photo credit: @sjbarracuda
By Marko Ukalovic
The San Jose Barracuda proved why they are the best team in the AHL. They had an answer for every Stockton Heat goal and swept the two-game home and home series with a 4-2 victory on Saturday afternoon at the SAP Center.
San Jose (25-8-42-4) drew first blood with a buzzer beater at the end of the first period. On the power play Calvan Fitzgerald sent a pass over to Kyle Woods with a few seconds remaining and Wood’s one-timer from the point went off Heat goalie Tyler Parsons’ (6-5-1) pad and past his five-hole into the back of the net with one-tenth of a second left on the clock. Anti Suomela received the secondary assist on Wood’s fourth goal of the season at the 19:59 mark.
Five minutes earlier, Stockton’s (18-21-4-1) best chance to get the game’s first goal belonged to Alan Quine and Buddy Robinson as they skated in on a 2-on-0 opportunity but would make one pass too many any Robinson’s shot on goal was quietly handled by Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (9-5-5) and the Heat were left frustrated.
Stockton tied the game up in the second period. Curtiz Lazar fed a pass over to Anthony Peluso and his fired a slap shot past Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (9-5-5) that hit off the cross-bar and into the back of the net for his third goal of the season at the 7:41 mark.
San Jose regained the lead when Jeffery Viel fed a pass over to spring Evan Weinger, who raced into the Heat zone, split two Stockton defenders and beat Parsons with a wrister to the short side of the net for his eighth goal of the season at the 11:58 mark.
Despite being out shot 12-8 in the middle frame, San Jose headed into the second intermission with a one-goal lead.
In the third period, Stockton continued their success on the power play as they tied up the game in the first five minutes. Rourke Chartier was stopped on a short-handed 2-on-1 break by Parsons, who then fed the puck up to Ryan Lomberg. Longberg found Spencer Foo and Foo’s wrist shot sneaked inside the near post past Bibeau for his 12th goal at the 4:48 mark.
It wouldn’t take long for San Jose to regain the lead as Calvan Fitzgerald, who just came out of the penalty box was at the right place at the right time as the puck came right to his stick from Dylan Gambrell and skated in and fired a slap shot past Parsons for his third goal of the season at the 7:23 mark.
Jon Martin wrapped up the game for the Cuda with an empty-net goal at the 18:57 mark. The unassisted goal was his eight goal of the season for Martin.
Bibeau made 28 saves on 30 shots to earn his 10th win of the season. Parson stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced in suffering the loss.
GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/1 on the power play. Stockton was 1/2.
Cuda defenseman Jacob Middleton played in his 150th AHL game.
Alex True and Lazar exchanged fisticuffs with two minutes left in the second period.
San Jose wore a throwback jersey of the Kentucky Thoroughblades, one of the former minor leagues affiliates of the San Jose Sharks from 1996-2001.
Former San Jose Sharks Evgeni Nabokov and Dan Boyle served as honorary captains.
San Jose is 16-6 against Stockton at SAP Center.
UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the Iowa Wild on Tuesday, February 5 at 7:00 pm at SAP Center.
thehockeywriters.com photo: Tampa Bay Lightning’s Victor Hedman scores on New York Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss.
On the NHL podcast with Matt:
#1 The Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and the New York Islanders Thomas Greiss were top stars as both teams played to a 0-0 regulation battle and forced a shootout when Victor Hedman scored the game winner for Tampa Bay.
#2 The Washington Capitals tipped the Calgary Flames 4-3 Evgeny Kuznetsov got the go ahead goal with 57 seconds left and the Caps snapped their seven game losing streak.
#3 Carolina rolled over the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2. Jordan Martinook got the go ahead goal for the Hurricanes. It was Martinook’s first go ahead goal since signing an extension with the Canes.
#4 Viktor Arvidsson scored twice for the Nashville Predators and the Preds scored all of their four goals in the third period to top the Florida Panthers 4-1.
#5 The Pittsburgh Penguins Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel each had two goals in their victory over the Ottawa Senators on Friday night 5-3. The Penguins Teddy Blueger pick up his first NHL goal and the Pens goaltender Casey DeSmith saved 37 shots.
Matt Harrington does the NHL podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
mercurynews.com file photo: Sharks forward Joonas Donskoi (27) looks to score Calgary Flames goaltender Mike Smith (41) in a Nov. 11 game at SAP Center. The Sharks are hoping to catch the Flames for first place in the Pacific Division
On the Sharks podcast with Len:
#1 It’s down to just 30 more games after the NHL All Star break as the Sharks most likely will coast to post season.
#2 The Sharks will be playing in their 14th playoff in 15 seasons in April quite an accomplishment for the franchise.
#3 The Sharks are scheduled to play 15 of it’s next 25 games in San Jose and can take advantage of home ice.
#4 The Sharks goaltender Martin Jones hopes to improve his goals against 2.98 going into the second part of the season. He’s had a game where he gave up six goals in a Sharks 7-6 win January 22 against the Washington Caps.
#5 Sharks host the Arizona Coyotes last time the clubs met Jan 16th the Yotes got a two goal win over the Sharks 5-3. The Sharks again are looking to protect the front of the net but also Jones looking to shut the Coyotes offense down.
Len Shapiro does the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
By Shawn McCullough
