Sho-nuff got the right stuff: Ohtani unhittable in second outing versus the A’s

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dm_180408_OHTANI_RIP1430

By Morris Phillips

Years from now, the video chronicling the Major League Baseball career of Shohei Ohtani will begin with the Japanese star plowing through the Oakland A’s.

From Ohtani’s perspective, it will make for a rousing start to a multi-faceted highlight reel.

For the A’s, not so much.

Ohtani beat the A’s for the second straight Sunday–earning his first two big league wins–as he dominated from the start, retiring the first 19 batters he faced. For seven innings, Ohtani was in control, allowing just one hit with 12 strikeouts and no walks.  Only Jonathon Lucroy among those in the A’s starting lineup could avoid striking out at least once.

“It didn’t look like [the A’s] had a chance up there, the way he was throwing,” Angels infielder Zack Cozart said. “They got the (one) hit, but it didn’t diminish how he pitched.”

In Oakland, Ohtani clocked in the high-90’s and became nearly unhittable when those fastballs were mixed in with the pitcher’s confounding breaking pitches. But at least he was temporarily fallible, allowing a three-run homer to Matt Chapman. In Anaheim, the 23-year old executed from the first to the seventh, allowing only Marcus Semien’s solidly struck single in the seventh.

From the A’s perspective, their offense was left wounded and in need of an ambulance. The toll in the two Ohtani starts? 55 A’s plate appearances, six batters reached, four hits, two walks and 18 struck out.

“He’s got a deliberate delivery, and it makes his fastball play even better,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “And he has a really good (splitter). The difference in speeds between his split and his fastball and when he locates his split down in the zone, it’s very tough to pick up.”

Ohtani homered in three consecutive games earlier this week, the last of which came against the A’s Friday night. So that’s three home runs and two wins in the first 10 games of Ohtani’s MLB career. No one’s accomplished that combination of feats in the first 10 games of their career since Jim Shaw did so for the Washington Senators in 1919.

The A’s fell into the AL West cellar with the loss, their fifth in seven meetings with the Angels to start the season.

 

 

 

Warriors, behind the hot shooting of Klay Thompson, drub Suns 117-100

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors played the penultimate game of the 2017-2018 season Sunday night in Phoenix and they played the game to win even though a win or a loss would not affect their status as the number two seed in the Western Conference. Klay Thompson was on fire in the first quarter. If he were any hotter, the Suns would have had to call in the Phoenix Fire Department to cool him off. Klay missed his first shot but then went on a run that saw him score 19 consecutive points. He finished the game with 34, and the Warriors won 117-100. Steve Kerr had this to say about Klay’s performance. “That was fun to watch,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “He had the arena pretty excited. Every time he went up for a shot after that first few, you could hear the anticipation of the crowd. Yeah, he had it rolling.” Said Thompson, “It was good to get in a good rhythm, especially with one game left now [in the regular season], and to have some great momentum going into this playoff stretch.” That’s Thompson’s first 30-point performance since Jan. 17 when he scored 38 in Chicago. “I’m shooting a career high in three-point and field-goal percentage, so for me, that’s more valuable than a few big games,” he said.

Klay ended the first quarter with 22 points, and the Warriors finished the period with a four-point lead 33-29. Golden State kept the pressure on as they had the defense working and led by 18 at one point in the second quarter. They cooled off a bit but finished the first half leading 64-50.

The Warriors, as they have done so many times, this won the third quarter 27-22 and led by 19 heading into the fourth quarter. The Suns, missing six players due to injury, were unable to overcome the deficit and fell to the Warriors 117-100.

Game Notes and Stats- The Warriors were led by Klay Thompson’s 34 points. The Warriors beat the Suns for the 15th consecutive time. The Suns own the worst record in the NBA at 20-61. They have one game left to play, and the players probably will be happy to see the season end. The Suns are in the NBA draft lottery, and they will have more chances to get the number one pick.

Four of the five Warrior starters were in double figures. Draymond Green had 14, Kevin Durant 17, Quinn Cook 14, and Klay 34. JaVale McGee scored 11 in just 9 minutes of playing time, and Shaun Livingston pitched in with 10. Steph Curry, Patrick McCaw, and Andre Iguodala were not available due to injury.  The Suns were missing Devin Booker, T.J.Warren, Josh Jackson, Marquese Chriss, and Elfrid Payton. However, five of the Suns finished in double figures. Daniel House had a career-high 22 points, Dragan Bender 14, Alex Len 16, Tyler Ulis 15, and Jared Dudley, coming off the bench, 11.

The Warriors play the Utah Jazz Tuesday night in Salt Lake City. This will be the final game of the season for the Warriors, and they will not know who they will be playing in Round One of the playoffs until Wednesday.

 

Report: Warriors and Quinn Cook agree on multi-year NBA deal

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Photo credit: @AthleticDesires

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — One night after the Warriors waved veteran forward Omri Casspi, the team has reportedly agreed with two-way point guard Quinn Cook on a multi-year NBA deal, according to multiple reports.

News of the deal was first reported by Shams Charania of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports on Sunday, with Cook expected to sign the deal on Tuesday. Golden State plans to wait until their final regular-season game to sign Cook to a two-year deal.

While not official, the second year of the deal is not guaranteed according to league sources the report added.

Cook was signed before the start of the season and has had added much needed depth to Golden State’s roster, especially with starting point guard Stephan Curry missing the last few weeks with an MCL sprain.

In 31 games this season, Cook has averaged 9.4 points, 2.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game while shooting 49.4 percent from the floor, including 44.8 from 3-point range. Cook has made 16 starts this season for Golden State.

With Curry expected to miss at least the first round of the playoffs, Cook will have even more pressure placed upon him (depending on the Warriors’ first-round opponent) to help navigate the defending NBA Champions through the series.

Golden State (57-23) plays at Phoenix (20-60) Sunday after losing 126-120 to the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday night in Golden State’s home finale. The loss cost the Warriors a chance at their fourth consecutive 60-win season, which hasn’t been accomplished in the NBA since the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s, who did it from ’84-’88.

Cook finished with 21 points and seven assists on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor to go along with 5-of-7 from 3-point range against the Pelicans.

The Warriors play the Utah Jazz (47-33) Tuesday in Salt Lake City to close out the regular-season.

The Jazz clinched their second straight postseason trip Sunday with a 112-97 win over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers (42-38) at Vivint Smart Home Arena behind potential Rookie of the Year winner Donovan Mitchell’s near triple-double performance, finishing with 29 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Farmer’s Insurance: Dodger’s Farmer wins it in extras clutch RBI double for 2-1 win

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on twitter @thecaryoz photo: Los Angeles Dodger hitter Kyle Farmer takes a hack at an opposite field double that scored teammate Cody Bellinger in the tenth inning at AT&T Park in San Francisco

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Kyle Farmer was sitting on the bench for nine innings, and then Dave Roberts called his name.

Farmer hit an opposite field double over the head of Andrew McCutchen in the top of the 10th inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants 2-1 before a sellout crowd of 42,374 at AT&T Park.

The double off the right field wall scored Cody Bellinger, who came on in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement at first base for Kike Hernandez.

Bellinger doubled off of eventual losing pitcher Pierre Johnson to open the 10th inning, for the Dodgers, who gained a split in the brief two-game series.

Josh Fields pitched a perfect ninth inning for the victory, while Kenley Jansen came on to close it out for the Dodgers, as he picked up his first save of the season.

Despite giving up a base hit to Hunter Pence in the bottom of the 10th inning, Jansen struck out the other three batters he faced.

Matt Kemp’s single scored Yasmani Grandal with the first run that the Dodgers would get on the afternoon against Giants pitching.

It was a no-decision for Kershaw, who opened the season with two consecutive losses, his worst start to a season since 2009 when he also started 0-2.

Kershaw is 22-10 all-time versus the Giants in his career, and in 22 career games at AT&T Park, 21 of them being starts, Kershaw is still 13-4.

The Dodgers also helped out Kershaw on defense, as Chris Taylor robbed Kelby Tomlinson of extra bases in the bottom of extra bases, when he made a diving catch of the Tomlinson hit ball. Kershaw then helped out his own cause, as he pounced off the mound like a cat to get Ty Blach on a little dribbler up the third base line.

After retiring 11 in a row from the bottom of the second inning to the bottom of the sixth inning, the Giants began to get to Kershaw, as they picked up back-to-back singles; however, a great catch by Yaisel Puig in right field for the second out. Following the catch, Puig was able to get up and throw Gorkys Hernandez at third base for the final out of the inning.

Evan Longoria picked up two of the hits for the Giants, as he doubled off of Kershaw in the bottom of the second inning with one out, but was left stranded at second base. Longoria then came up in the bottom of the seventh inning, but like in the second inning, Longoria was left stranded at second base, as Pablo Sandoval grounded out to Chase Utley to end the inning.

The Giants finally got to Kershaw in the bottom of the eighth inning, as Hunter Pence and Kelby Tomlinson each singled off of Kershaw and that would be the end of the day for Kershaw.

JT Chargois replaced Kershaw, and Buster Posey greeted the reliever with a base hit that tied up the game for the Giants. Austin Jackson then grounded into a double play, and then Joe Panik flew out for the third out of the inning.

Kershaw went seven innings, allowing one run on six hits, while walking no one and striking out six.

It was not a bad outing for Ty Blach, who pitched six innings, allowing one run on four hits, walking three and striking out just one.

NOTES: Derek Holland takes the mound on Monday night, as he looks for his first win of the season, while Zack Goldey looks to improve to 2-0 on the season for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Ohtani with three homers pitches today against A’s; Cutch snaps out of slump for Giants; Cleveland fans mad about no more Chief Wahoo

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@mlbonfox photo: What does the Los Angeles Angels Shohei Ohtani have in common with former Boston Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth? Find out today as Ohtani pitches against Oakland at Angels Stadium.

MLB Podcast with Daniel:

1 Ohtani makes second pitching start of the season today against the A’s

2 Andrew McCutchen breaks his slump with six-hit night and a walk-off homer

3 Giants’ Jeff Samardzija ready for a rehab start

4 Chief Wahoo debate continues at Indians’ home opener

5 99-year-old Pirates usher retires after 81 seasons, 6,000 games at three ballparks

Catch Daniel right here on the MLB podcast throughout the 2018 season at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Categories MLB

A’s beat the Angels 7-3 on Saturday night to even the series at one game apiece

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
LAA Sat
Graphic: @Athletics

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Seven was the magic number for the Athletics on Saturday night in Anaheim. The A’s scored seven runs on seven hits and recorded seven RBI en route to a 7-3 over the Los Angeles Angels in the second game of a three-game series. The series is currently tied at 1-1.

The A’s jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning and they never trailed in the contest. Oakland scored three runs in the second inning, one run in the fifth, two in the eighth and added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning.

The Angels scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it a 3-2 game which is as close as they would come to taking the lead. The Halos scored one more run in the home half of the seventh inning but that was not enough to catch the surging Athletics.

Oakland got a strong performance from their starting pitcher

LAA Triggs
Triggs warming up in Anaheim Photo: @Athletics

Andrew Triggs made his second start of the season for the Athletics and made the most his opportunity on the mound. Triggs worked 5.2 innings giving up just two runs (both earned) off four hits. He struck out six Los Angeles batters while walking just two. Triggs did give up one home run to Justin Upton – his third of the young season.

The A’s bullpen had Triggs back

Ryan Buchter came in to relieve Triggs and he struggled a bit. Buchter gave up one run (earned) on one hit in 0.2 innings worked. The run came off a home run hit by Luis Valbuena which was his second round-tripper of the year.

Emilio Pagan pitched 0.2 innings of relief and posted all zeroes except for one strikeout. Pagan earned his second Hold of the season.

Blake Treinen worked two innings to close out the game. He issued two hits but gave up no base-on-balls and no runs. Treinen struck four Angel hitters. He posted his second save of the year.

No Athletic batter had multiple hits

LAA starters
Graphic: @Athletics

The A’s seven hits were spread out among seven different Oakland players. 

Jed Lowrie hit his second home run of the season in the fifth inning off Akeel Morris. Matt Chapman recorded his first triple of the year in the game while Stephen Piscotty hit a double.

Piscotty, Semien, Lowrie, Chapman, Maxwell, and Olson all posted an RBI in the game.

The A’s went 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

Series wraps up on Sunday

The eyes of the baseball world will be on the game between the A’s and Angels on Sunday afternoon. Oakland will face the phenomenon of the MLB this season – Shohei Ohtani (0-1, 4.50) for the second time this season. Ohtani’s first ever win in the major league’s came over the A’s last Sunday in Oakland.

The A’s will counter with Kendall Graveman (0-1, 8.10). Graveman has been plagued by giving up the long-ball in both of his starts. He will not be able to issue home runs to the powerful Angels lineup and expect to come away with a victory.

Sharks Lose 6-3 to Wild, Will Start Playoffs On Road in Anaheim

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photo from at mnwild: San Jose Sharks Timo Meier (28) tries to put the puck on net is defended from behind from the Minnesota Wild’s defenceman Jonas Brodin (25) while the Wild’s goaltender Devan Dubnyk (40) watches

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The Sharks lost 6-3 to the Minnesota Wild for their final regular season game of 2018. Goals for Minnesota came from Matt Cullen, Jonas Brodin, Mikael Granlund, Eric Staal, and two from Jason Zucker. Sharks goals came from Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns, and Timo Meier. Devan Dubnyk made 27 saves for the win. Martin Jones made 14 saves on 19 shots before being replaced by Aaron Dell, who made 4 saves on 4 shots for San Jose.

The loss puts the Sharks in third place in the Pacific, so they will start the playoffs on the road in Anaheim. The Sharks came close to falling into a Wild Card spot, but the Los Angeles Kings lost to the Dallas Stars Saturday. Of starting the playoffs on the road, Sharks Captain Joe Pavelski said:

I mean, home ice is always nice. It’s not do or die by any means for us, for this group. We’ve always believed in our road game here, we’ve backed it up. We have some results, past results. But this is a new team and this is a team that has to find that identity each and every night. You know, that’s what it takes to win on the road, is just a hard-nosed detailed game. And it’s not something I don’t think we’re up to the challenge for.

The Sharks stumbled through the first period, getting only three shots on goal while giving up two goals to Minnesota. After the game, Pavelski said: “Obviously, they were on us. We weren’t very good the first ten, twelve, fifteen minutes. It was really good to see the guys settle down and get a couple, answer right back. It felt light we had a lot of momentum at that point.”

The first Minnesota goal came at 10:53 from Joan Brodin. Charlie Coyle evaded the Sharks defense along the boards until he could get the puck to Brodin at the blue line. Brodin’s shot went right by Sharks goatender Martin Jones. Assists went to Coyle and Tyler Ennis.

Four minutes later, Matt Cullen put the Wild up by two. A scramble around the net drew attention away from Cullen as he moved away from the crowd and shot into an almost open net. Assists went to Tyler Ennis and Louie Belpedio.

The period looked like a complete loss until Brent Burns cut the lead in half with a shot from the blue line. Dylan Gambrell helped win the puck along the boards in the offensive zone and went to the front of the net. He may have screened Burns’s shot, and at first it looked like he had tipped it in. One review, the goal went to Burns with assists going to Marcus Sorensen and Joel Ward.

With just 3:28 left in the period, Pavelski tied it up. Mikkel Boedker, under defensive pressure, sent the puck in Pavelski’s direction as Pavelski skated in from the blue line. Pavelski caught the pass with his skate and moved it to his stick for a quick shot, beating Dubnyk on his glove side.

At the end of the period, the shot count was 12-5 Minnesota, with the score tied at 2.

The score remained tied until 11:19 of the second when Mikael Granlund made it 3-2, using Dylan DeMelo as a screen. Assists went to Jordan Greenway and Nick Seeler.

Jason Zucker made it 4-2 just 29 seconds later. Niederreiter caried the puck in on a quick entry and made a made across the slot to Zucker. Zucker was moving across in front of Jones and his backhand shot caught Jones moving. Assists went to Neiderreiter and Matt Dumba.

Zucker went on to make it 5-2 3:22 later. Zucker and Eric Staal escaped the Sharks zone with the puck and went in against Justin Braun two on one. Assists went to Neiderreiter and Belpedio.

The shot tally was even during the second period, just seven shots from each team.

Aaron Dell replaced Martin Jones for the third period. The Sharks pushed hard, ultimately outshooting the Wild in the third 18-5. Still, most of the period was scoreless.

In the last two minutes of the period, Kevin Labanc took a slashing penalty during a Sharks power play. The teams played for almost a minute four on four, and when that time expired, Pete DeBoer pulled Dell. With the net empty, playing five on five, a Dylan DeMelo shot was tipped by Timo Meier, bringing the score to 5-3. Assists went to Dylan DeMelo and Brent Burns.

The point was DeMelo’s 20th, making him the fifth Sharks defenseman to reach the 20 point mark this season.

Eric Staal scored into the empty net to make it 6-3 Minnesota at 19:34.

In the last couple minutes of the third period, Logan Couture was struck by a Brent Burns shot in the wrist. He left the ice briefly but did return to the game. He said later that he had gotten the all clear from the doctor before returning.

San Jose Sharks-Anaheim Ducks playoff schedule:

#1 Thu Apr 12 @ Anaheim

#2 Sat Apr 14 @ Anaheim

#3 Mon Apr 16 @ San Jose

#4 Wed Apr 18 @ San Jose

#5 Fri Apr 20 @ Anaheim (if necessary)

#6 Sun Apr 22 @ San Jose (if necessary)

#7 Tue Apr 24 @ Anaheim (if necessary)

 

McCutchen walks it off in the bottom of the 14th in Giants’ 7-5 win over Dodgers

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Welcome to one of the biggest rivalries in all of major league baseball, Andrew McCutchen of the San Francisco Giants.

McCutchen hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 14th inning, helping the Giants defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 before a sellout crowd of 42,302 at AT&T Park Saturday.

It was the sixth hit of the game for McCutchen, whose previous career high was five that he picked up on May 14, 2010, while playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

The three-run home run by McCutchen capped a 12-pitch at-bat against Wilmer Font to give the Giants a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

McCutchen was down 1-2 against Font and then fouled off seven consecutive pitches, and then on the 12th pitch of the at-bat he launched the pitch into the left-center field seats for the victory.

Kelby Tomlinson and Joe Panik each singled off of Font before McCutchen’s first home run as a member of the Giants.

“I was just trying to fight him off, fight him off, until I got comfortable enough to whatever he threw up there I was ready to hit,” McCutchen said. “He didn’t elevate it too much there, and I was able to elevate.”

It was a four-RBI game for McCutchen, who saw his batting average raise from .083 to .258.

“Finally showed up today. Finally,” McCutchen said. “It’s only what, Game 7, but when you’re not getting hits, it feels like it’s forever. Feels good to show up today and do the job.”

Buster Posey also hit his first home run of the season for the Giants, as they improved to 4-3 on the young season, while the reigning National League Champion Dodgers fell to 2-6 on the season, their worst start in 42 years.

The Giants led on three different occasions, as they led 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3; however, the Dodgers tied it up every time and took the lead for the only time in the top of the 14th inning.

Roberto Gomez pitched the 14th inning to pick-up his first major league win, as the Giants used all nine relievers.

The Dodgers took their only lead of the game in the top of the 14th, as Logan Forsythe drove in Yasiel Puig with a single.

After just the sixth rainout in the history of AT&T Park, and first since April 11, 2006, the two old rivals played a 14th inning, five hour 16-minute game that started at 3:05 (local time) and ended at 8:21 (local time).

Font was the last reliever for the Dodgers, as manager Dave Roberts used Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu as pinch hitters.

Chase Utley tied up the game in the top of the seventh inning, as he launched a pitch that landed on the arcade in right field. Utley’s double play mate, Corey Seager picked up two hits and reached five times and Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger also picked up two hits.

“We just came up short again,” Roberts said. “That’s five runs in 14 innings. You have to look at each at-bat and the quality needs to get better. There needs to be a better pitch-to-pitch focus.”

Chris Stratton pitched five innings for the Giants, as he gave up two runs and walked four in a no-decision.

Veteran Rich Hill gave up three runs on five hits, while walking just two and striking out six.

NOTES: Kershaw, who came up as a pinch hitter will start the brief two-game series finale on Sunday for the Dodgers. Ty Blach will take the mound for the Giants in a rematch for opening day at Dodger Stadium.

The Giants struck out 18 times against Dodgers, tied for the second most in team history. This was the second time in team history that they struck out 18 times in the same game.

They struck out 18 times on September 1, 1967 against the Cincinnati Reds, and it ties the most ever against the Dodgers, as the Dodgers also did to the Giants on August 31, 1959.

The San Diego Padres struck out 20 Giants on June 18, 2001.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Dodgers conclude the series Sunday afternoon at 1:05 pm PT.

Warriors waive Casspi, clearing way for Cook to join postseason roster

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — In a move that was expected, the Warriors waived veteran forward Omri Casspi Saturday night.

With Casspi’s release, the move creates a roster spot for backup point guard Quinn Cook, who has stepped in nicely for Golden State as the team’s starting point guard while Stephan Curry has been sidelined with a MCL sprain in his left knee.

The Warriors signed Casspi to a one-year deal last July, but has dealt with injuries for most of the season. Casspi has fallen out of the rotation in recent weeks, and has not played since sustaining a sprained right ankle on March 14.

In 53 games this season, with seven starts, Casspi has averaged 5.7 points, 3.8 rebounds in 14 minutes per game coming off the bench.

Earlier Saturday night, Golden State (57-23) lost to the New Orleans Pelicans (46-34) 126-120 at Oracle Arena. The aforementioned Cook finished with 21 points and seven assists on 8-of-14 shooting.

Cook, who is still under contract as a two-way player, is expected to sign a standard NBA contract within 48 hours, after which he becomes eligible for the playoffs.

Warriors play better, but not good enough as they lose to the Pelicans 126-120

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Golden State Warriors, having been routed by the Indiana Pacers Thursday night, played a very entertaining and thrilling game against the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday night at Oracle Arena.

The Pelicans, fighting to get into the playoffs, came out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter. The Warriors regained their composure and trailed by two at the end of the first half. Kevin Durant took charge in the third quarter, and the Warriors were able to own the lead by four heading into the fourth quarter. The Pelicans refused to be beaten. They outscored the Warriors by 10 in the period and beat the defending NBA champs 126-120.

New Orleans came into the game tied with San Antonio and Oklahoma City for fifth place in the NBA’s Western Conference. Every game is a must-win for New Orleans as they could end up in ninth place behind Minnesota or Denver. They started the game by making the first nine shots they took. They were 10-for-13 in the first six minutes of the game, and they poured in 40 points and held the Warriors to 32. The Pelicans finished the first quarter on a 10-2 run.

The Warriors started to play defense in the second quarter and were able to tie the game at 65 late in the quarter. The Pelicans made a bucket to finish the first half leading 67-65. The Pelicans were led by Anthony Davis, Nikola Mirotec, and the veteran guard Rajon Rondo. Quinn Cook paced the Warrior offense with 15. Kevin Durant had 11, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green each had nine, and Nick Young tallied eight coming off the bench.

In the third quarter, the Pelicans extended the lead to 80-72. It was at this point in the quarter when the Warriors went on a 17-2 run to take the lead for the first time in the game 89-82. The Pelicans regained their composure, but the Warriors finished the third quarter leading 92-88. Kevin Durant led the Warriors, and it looked as if they had the momentum to carry them to a win. However, Anthony Davis, Nikola Mirotec, and the rest of the Pelicans had other thoughts as they came back to take the lead 99-97.

The Pelicans caused the Warriors to turn the ball over eight times in the fourth quarter, and the Pelicans recorded 15 points off those turnovers. The teams were tied at 105 when New Orleans went on a 14-3 run to secure the win. One of the key plays for New Orleans came when Rajon Rondo picked Kevin Durant’s pocket as he stole the ball and that led to a big bucket for the Pelicans.The Pelicans win 126-120.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Pelicans improve to 46-34. San Antonio and Oklahoma City also won, and those three teams are 46-34. The Denver Nuggets also won, and they are 45-35 and tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are 45-35. The last two games of the season will be critical to these teams, and the Warriors probably will not know who they will be playing in the first round of the playoff until Wednesday.

Kevin Durant led the Warrior offense with 41 points, five assists, and 10 rebounds. Durant committed four turnovers Saturday night.

Draymond Green had a double-double with 11 points, nine assists, and 10 rebounds. Green had trouble handling the ball as he was charged with seven turnovers and the team as a whole committed 17 in the loss to the Pelicans. The eight turnovers in the fourth quarter cost them 15 points, and that cost them the game. Quinn Cook finished the night with 21, Klay Thompson had 18, and Kevon Looney, starting at center, pitched in with 10.

The Pelicans’ Anthony Davis, who outplayed Kevin Durant in the fourth quarter, finished with 34 points and 12 boards, Nikola Mirotec had 28, and he made five three-point shots. Jrue Holiday kicked in with 25, Rajon Rondo 12 and he had 17 assists, too. The Pelican defense had 15 steals and six blocked shots. The Warrior defense had no blocked shots and just three steals.

The Warriors drop to 57-23, and they have two games left on the schedule against Phoenix Sunday night in Phoenix and Tuesday night in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz. Utah is battling with Portland for the third seed in the Western Conference. The Warriors want to finish the season on a winning note but they know that the Utah game will not be easy.

Up Next: The Warriors take on the Phoenix Suns Sunday night at 6:00 pm PT.