Warriors use a strong third quarter to overwhelm Knicks as they cruise to 125-111 win

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors had a tussle on their hands for the first 24 minutes of the game against the New York Knicks Monday night at Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple.

The Knicks showed the Warriors a lot of gumption as they went toe-to-toe in the first half and led by one-point 64-63. The game resembled the one the Warriors played last week against the L.A. Clippers. The Warrior offense was clicking, but the Knicks kept pace as the vaunted Warrior defense could not shut down the Knicks’ attack.

The Warriors took control of the game in the third quarter when they outscored the Knicks by 21 and then cruised to a 125-111 victory.

The Knicks’ Emmanuel Emudiay, who was obtained in a trade with the Nuggets, scored 14 of his 20 points in the first quarter. The Warriors led 21-16, but the Knicks went on a 7-0 run to take the lead 23-21. The teams seemed to score at will, and the Knicks finished the first quarter leading 39-37.

The Warriors played better defense in the second period, but so did the Knicks. The Warriors won the period 26-25 and finished the first half trailing by one.

The Warriors, as they have done so many times this season, got their offense in sync and their defense stopped the Knicks cold. Steph Curry led the attack as he scored 14 points in the period to lead the onslaught. They finished the quarter with a 21-point lead, and the Knicks could not catch them. The Warriors won by a score of 125-111.

Game Notes and Stats: Jordan Bell played 13 minutes in his first action since injuring his ankle in January.

With the win, the Warriors improved to 47-14; while the Knicks drop to 24-38.

After the game, Curry was asked why the Warriors excel in the third quarter. Curry responded: “I still don’t have an answer as to why the third quarter is what it is, like anything specific, beyond just the fact that we can wear teams down over the course of 48 minutes.”

“And it might take 24, 26 minutes to really create that separation and gain that momentum, and we come out of the halftime with some juice, some energy, and it’s winning time. So that’s my best explanation for it, and hopefully, it continues.”

Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 26 points. Klay made four 3-point shots in six attempts. All the Warrior starters were in double figures. Kevin Durant had 22, Steph 21 including four 3s, Draymond Green and JaVale McGee each had 10. David West had 11, and Andre Iguodala added nine.

The Knicks were led by Emudiay with 20. Enes Kanter had 10 and Tim Hardaway, Jr pitched in with 14.

The Knicks, however, had four players coming off the bench to score in double figures: Trey Burke scored 18, Frank Ntikilini 13, Kyle O’Quinn 14, and Lance Thomas 11.

Up Next: The Warriors play the Washington Wizards Wednesday night in the Nation’s Capitol. Game time will be at 5 pm PT.

 

San Jose Sharks Podcast with Len Shapiro: Kane comes to SJ for O’Regan and draft picks in exchange with Buffalo

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Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

On the SJ Sharks with Len:

The San Jose Sharks dealt one of their young and upcoming stars Danny O’Regan to the Buffalo Sabers for forward Evander Kane. The Sabers would get from the Sharks a 2019 conditional draft selection, a 2020 conditional draft selection. This is a rare move Sharks general manager Doug Wilson almost never deals younger players especially someone of the caliber of O’Regan. Wilson did realize the Sharks needed more punch in there line especially after the team had had some rough road trips which included losing three out five at the beginning of January and then the most recent trip this week losing three out four.

Wilson said Kane’s physical presence and his ability to put the puck on net was one of the key reasons why he figures into the Sharks offense, “Evander is one of the top young power forwards in the NHL. He is a dynamic player who has a unique combination of size, grit, speed and goal-scoring ability,” said Wilson. “We wanted to add a player that could help this team but also was just hitting his prime. We feel that Evander fits both of those needs and we see this as a great opportunity for him to get to know our group and the city of San Jose.”  

Len Shapiro does the SJ Sharks Podcast each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears Podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal most likely will finish up in the Pac 12 cellar and headed to an all-time season loss record

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Photo credit: @CalMBB

On the Cal Bears Podcast with Morris:

BERKELEY–It’s very unlikely that the Cal Bears will avoid 12th place this season they have not finished last in the Pac 12, Pac 10, Pac 8 since 1980. They’re not going to avoid those couple of loses at home this week where they dropped games to Washington and Washington State. They head to Arizona State on Thursday and Arizona on Saturday. Wazoo has a one game lead over Cal for 12th place and they would have to lose twice to back into last if there’s a tie Cal would be saddled with that 12th seed in the conference tournaments.

These are very unusual times for Cal the next loss is the 22nd loss they’ve never lost 22 ball games in a season in 111 years in Berkeley of playing basketball but that looks absolutely assured this year unless they become hot and win out the national championship which would be quite a story within itself but very unlikely. Things are in flux in the Pac 12 Arizona, Utah, and USC are all caught up in this FBI college basketball scandal to varying degrees and obviously we’ve heard a lot about Arizona and head coach Sean Miller who offered freshman Deandre Ayton $100,000 to sign on with AZ. Miller in a FBI wiretap was reportedly recorded offering Ayton the money it will be interesting to see how much longer Miller will remain at Arizona who Cal plays this Saturday at the McHale Center.

Morris Phillips does the Cal Bears Basketball Podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Sharks Lose to Wild 3-2 in OT Again

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nhl/wild.com photo: The Minnesota Wild’s Jared Spurgeon (46) nets the overtime game winner past San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones (31) at Excel Energy Center in Minnesota

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks finished a four-game road trip Sunday at the Xcel Energy Center with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild. The last time these teams played, in San Jose, the Sharks came back to tie the game and lost 4-3 in overtime. This time, the Wild made the comeback but the general result was the same. The Sharks initially took a 2-0 lead with goals from Joakim Ryan and Chris Tierney. The Wild answered with goals from Matt Cullen, Eric Staal and Jared Spurgeon. Wild goaltender Devin Dubnyk made 26 saves for the win, while Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 38 saves in a losing effort.

“Their game got better as the night went on, ours kind of went the other way a little bit,” said Sharks captain Joe Pavelski. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made a number of critical saves during the game, keeping it closer than it looked like it should be. After the game, the Jones said: “They forechecked us hard, we had a tough time getting out of our zone with any kind of possession. So you just end up kind of dumping it out and defending a lot.”

“We took some penalties, I didn’t think we broke out well. I thought lines got caught on long shifts. Had opportunities to change, and guys stayed out there longer than they should have. That usually leads to tired legs,” said Sharks forward Logan Couture.

Joakim Ryan scored at 14:00 of the first period. Barclay Goodrow carried the puck into the zone and quickly made a drop pass to Jannik Hansen. Hansen found Ryan through the skates of a Minnesota defender and Ryan didn’t waste time getting the shot away. It was Ryan’s third of the season.

Chris Tierney’s goal came from a two on one 2:28 into the second period. Kevin Labanc carried the puck in along the boards and found Tierney in the slot for a perfect shot to Dubnyk’s right. It was Tierney’s 15th goal of the season and his 10th on the road.

The Sharks held that two-goal lead until the final minute of the second period, when Jared Spurgeon carried the puck in from the red line and got a shot off just above the faceoff dot. Matt Cullen was coming in fast and was able to tip it perfectly over Jones’ shoulder. Assists went to Spurgeon and Marcus Foligno.

The Sharks maintained the one goal lead for most of the third period, but they were on their heels. They took two penalties to the Wild’s one and they were outshot 10-6. With just over five minutes left in regulation, Eric Staal scored with a quick wraparound shot. Assists went to Ryan Suter and Jason Zucker.

Jared Spurgeon’s overtime winner came after Brent Burns had trouble clearing the puck out of the zone. Spurgeon was right there to pick up the puck and pass it across the slot to Zucker. Martin Jones had to move across to cover Zucker but could not get back when Zucker passed the puck back to Spurgeon.

With about five minutes left in the third period, Chris Tierney left the game briefly, but he returned for overtime. Justin Braun was out with the flu and Tim Heed played with Brenden Dillon while Dylan DeMelo slotted in next to Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The Sharks next play in San Jose against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday at 7:30 pm PT.

NHL Podcast with Daniel Dullum: Olympic mens hockey not a draw; Trade deadline Monday; Sharks look to deal; Leafs Matthews day to day

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si.com photo: German and Russian players exchange handshakes following Russia’s gold medal win at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The NHL players not being allowed by the league to play was said to be the main reason for low TV rating for Men’s Olympic hockey.

On the NHL Podcast with Daniel:

1 Olympic hockey struggles to draw crowds without NHL players

2 NHL trade deadline on Monday, teams already making moves

3 What will the Sharks do at the deadline?

4 Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews day-to-day with shoulder injury

Daniel Dullum does the NHL Podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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NCAA Basketball Podcast with Michelle Richardson: FBI wiretaps, Sean Miller steps aside during investigation, Andy Miller company and major schools under Feds scrutiny

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mashable.com file photo: Arizona Wildcats Head coach Sean Miller who is under FBI investigation for promising to pay freshman Deandre Ayton to play for the Wildcats. Miller said he would  be vindicated

On the NCAA Basketball Podcast with Michelle:

1 Andy Miller and ASM Sports are under FBI investigation for paying college athletes and other school’s named are said to be paying recruits Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan State, also USC is back in the scandal

2 FBI wiretaps have been recorded Arizona head coach Sean Miller talking about offering freshman Deandre Ayton $100,000 to play for the Wildcats

3 Miller and Arizona were scheduled to play next week at Stanford and Cal. Miller did not coach on Saturday but said he will be cleared of these accusations

Michelle’s Finals Thoughts

Michelle Richardson does the NCAA Basketball podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Washington outclasses Cal late in the Bears’ home season-finale at Haas Pavilion

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okoroah
Photo courtesy of Al Sermeno/KLC Fotos

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Cal’s last line of defense featuring former walk-on Cole Welle and seldom-used reserve Roman Davis received a near immediate assessment of their abilities courtesy of Washington’s Naz Carter on Saturday in the heat of a close game between the visiting Huskies and the Bears.

Hint: Carter did not issue a ringing endorsement.

Carter’s vicious dunk over Welle with 14:13 remaining marked the conclusion of the competitive contest between Cal and NCAA hopeful Washington, and the commencement of a rout, as the Huskies pulled away emphatically for a 68-51 victory. Again, Cal’s uneven roster absent of frontcourt reserves, a true point guard, and ballhandlers was as responsible for the result as was the Huskies’ high-flying dunk artists.

“In the second half, I thought foul trouble completely took away our flow,” Cal coach Wyking Jones explained. “I had some lineups out there today that I thought I would never have to play but did because of foul trouble. Ultimately, it was foul trouble along with 50-50 balls and loose balls. We had just as much opportunity to get them as they did, but they beat us to a lot of 50-50 balls. At the end of the day, we lost to a very good basketball team.”

Jones was presented near impossible choices when both his shot blocking post players, Marcus Lee and Kingsley Okoroh picked up their fourth fouls early in the second half. With the possibility of losing either to fouls so early in a close game unpalatable, Jones elected to sit both. But that simply unleashed the Huskies, a team of drivers and slashers always on the hunt for point blank scoring opportunities. Carter’s wind up dunk came first, increasing UW’s lead to four, 47-43.

Noah Dickerson’s dunk came a minute later while Cal was in a drought at their end that would see them score just six points in the 13 minutes following Lee’s foul trouble departure with 16:19 remaining. When Don Coleman broke that string with a pair of made free throws with 3:11 remaining, the Bears trailed by 13.

How could Cal go from competing to not scoring so dramatically?

“Once Marcus and King got into foul trouble then I felt like their defensive focus was on Darius (McNeill), Don and Justice (Sueing),” Jones said. “The two guys who could hurt us inside are out of the game so they could focus on making sure the perimeter was tight, take away the driving lines and get over ball screens. Half of our attack was gone at that point, so they were able to focus in on the other guys.”

The Bears fell to 8-21, 2-14 with the loss, tying the record for most Cal losses in a season with 21, which had happened only once (1979) in the 111-year history of the program. The Bears haven’t finished last in the conference since 1980, but that appears to be a certainty barring a pair of major upsets in Arizona next weekend.

Career night for Caldwell-Pope lifts Lakers past Kings, 113-108

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By: Jordan Chapin

wcs-vs-lakers.jpg

SACRAMENTO- Saturday night at Golden 1 Center the Lakers faithful made there presence known in a very loud, very exciting game that the Lakers came out on top of 113-108. The always anticipated, Lonzo Ball vs De’Aaron Fox match-up was put on hold due to Ball sitting out due to injury, but that did not stop the Lakers guards from putting on a show. The combination of Thomas, Hart, and Caldwell-Pope combined for 61 points, about half of which came from Caldwell-Pope.

After struggling two nights ago, Bogdan Bogdanovic came out of the gates firing on all cylinders. He led all Kings scorers in the first quarter with seven points, and then got a bit of a lift from his “big man” – Willie-Cauley Stein who went into the locker-room at halftime already having a double-double and helped the Kings to an eight point lead after the first 24 minutes.

Sacramento did get a bit of help from the bench, led by Buddy Hield with 21 points, but the second half belonged to Lakers Caldwell-Pope who scored 17 points in the third quarter and didn’t seem to miss any shot. The Lakers led the rest of the way until Bogdan Bogdanovic finished a 4-point play that knocked the Lakers lead to just one with 12 seconds to play. Sacramento had a chance to tie the game after a pair of Isiah Thomas free-throws, but they could not capitalize as Bogdanovic missed a driving lay-up to seal the game for the Lakers.

The Kings will finish there home-stand Monday night as they face a Minnesota Timberwolves team who just lost Jimmy Butler to a knee injury and don’t know when or if he will return this season. Once again, without their first-round draft pick, Lonzo Ball, the Lakers were able to pull off their 25th win of the season and continue to build their young talent for future

Player of the Game: Willie Cauley-Stein

Willie set the tone early grabbing rebounds and scoring around the rim. He finished his first half with a double-double, 10 points and 11 rebounds. It did not stop there for Cauley-Stien. He continued his aggression in the second half, totaling 37 minutes and  finishing with 18 points and 15 rebounds to go along with 2 blocks.

Key Stats

  • As a team, the Kings shot 52% from 3-point land and a respectable 45% from the field.
  • Frank Mason and De’Aaron Fox led the team with six assists a piece
  • “Rising Stars” Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield led the Kings with 21 points each
  • Willie Cauley-Stien had a season high 15 rebounds
  • Vince Carter “Slamage”- ONE

Los Angeles Lakers

Player of the Game: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

KCP has had a bigger role since Lonzo Ball has been hurt, but something that we all know is that he will shoot his shots. He finished his night 12-for-20 from the field and racking up a season high 34 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Caldwell-Pope was the reason the Lakers were able to stay in the game early, and hold the lead late.

Key Stats

  • Had seven players in double digits including all starters
  • Julius Randle finished with another Double-double, after having a Triple-double last night
  • Season high in 3-pointers made with 17
  • Caldwell-Pope’s eight 3-pointers made, is the highest for his career

Warriors play defense from start to finish as they knock off Thunder in 112-80 blowout win

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Golden Warriors decided to play defense for the entire 48 minutes of Saturday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder as they won 112-80 at Oracle Area. The Thunder had embarrassed the Warriors in the two previous meetings this season. Thunders’ stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George sent the Warriors down to a 17-point defeat in Oklahoma City on November 22, and they routed the Dubs 125-105 at Oracle Arena on February 6. The Warriors have not lost the season series to the Thunder since the 2012-13 season, and they played Warrior basketball Saturday night.

The Warriors won the first quarter 24-19 and the second quarter 28-26 to finish with a seven-point advantage 52-45 at the end of the first half. The Thunder closed the gap to one, but the Warriors went on a 37-11 run that included 30 points in the last 8:48 of the third quarter. They continued to shut the Thunder offense down as they outscored OKC 28-14 in the fourth quarter to 112-80.

Game Notes and Stats: After the game, Kevin Durant commented about the team’s performance: “We’re champions. We’re 46-14, and we’ve got one of the best road records in the league,” Durant said. “We’ve been doing this the last two years. We’ve got to be us.”

Draymond Green was hit with his 15th technical foul of the season. If he gets one more technical, he will be suspended for one game. Warrior coach Steve Kerr said he is not concerned at all about the situation. Green commented: “I’m an emotional guy. I play with high emotion, I love this game of basketball. I play it with passion. I’ll continue to play with passion.”

The numbers show how good the defense was. Russell Westbrook, the defending NBA MVP, was held to just 15 points. Westbrook did have a double-double, but the Warriors shut down him down. PAu George, who tallied 38 in the last game at Oracle on February 6, was held to just five points. Carmelo Anthony had 14, and Raymond Felton added 11. The Warriors held the Thunder to  33% from the floor, and the Thunder made just nine 3-pointers in 34 attempts. The Warriors outrebounded them 54-43, and the Dubs had eight steals and six blocked shots.

The Warriors were led on offense by Kevin Durant. Durant knocked down 28. Steph Curry had 21, Klay Thompson 11, Draymond Green 10, and Nick Young chipped in with 16.  The Warriors are now 46-14 for the year.

Kevin Durant received an honor Saturday night.

Durant received the January NBA Cares Community Assist Award for his giving off the court to help kids, families and other charitable causes for education and communities. He donated $3 million last month to the University of Texas where he played and matched Colin Kaepernick’s $10,000 in the quarterback’s “10 for 10” campaign, Durant’s contributions helping a local organization doing community-based justice work.

“I’ve got to continue to leave my mark off the basketball court as well,” Durant said. “Look forward to doing that.”

Up Next: The Warriors head East for a three-game road trip. They play the New York Knicks Monday night in New York. They meet the Washington Wizards on Wednesday and finish the trip in Atlanta against the Hawks.

San Jose State suffers 71-59 loss to San Diego State

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Photo credit: @DoublePumpHoops

By: Ana Kieu

There’s not much left to salvage for the San Jose State Spartans, and the numbers prove it. Still, the Spartans hosted the San Diego State Aztecs in one of the biggest games of the season Saturday night in the Event Center in San Jose, California.

Before the first timeout of the game, San Jose State trailed San Diego State by one, 10-9, at the 11:47 mark of the first half. The score continued to remain close as the Aztecs held a one-point lead, 23-22, with 3:30 left in the half.

Then, SJSU had a big finish, which gave the hapless team some hope against SDSU. Ashtin Chastain helped the Spartans take the lead and Jalen James beat the halftime buzzer. Yet, the Spartans continued to trail the Aztecs 28-24 at the half.

Isaiah Nichols hit a 3-pointer–his third of the game–to cut the Aztecs’ lead to 45-41 at the 12:51 mark of the second half.

The Spartan defense faltered and that was one of the reasons why they got blown out by the Aztecs. The Spartans were overpowered by the Aztecs’ power of threes. Spartans’ Jaycee Hillsman made a pair of free throws and hit a three, but it didn’t matter.

The Spartans lost to the Aztecs 71-59 on Walt McPherson court. Keith Fisher III led all scorers with 29 points. Ryan Welage had nine points and eight rebounds.

With the loss, SJSU lost their 16th straight game and its record is now 3-24, 0-16 MW. Meanwhile, SDSU improved to 17-10, 9-7 MW.

Notes
Spartans’ starting lineup: Ryan Welage, Keith Fisher III, Oumar Barry, Jalen James and Jaycee Hillsman.

Aztecs’ starting lineup: Matt Mitchell, Nolan Narain, Jalen McDaniels, Trey Kell and Devin Watson.

Up Next
The Spartans host the Utah State Aggies in their final home game of the season Wednesday night at 7 pm PT.