Kings defeat the Pelicans 114-103 in NOLA to finish road trip with a 3-3 record

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings beat the Pelicans in New Orleans for the second time this season by downing the Pels 114-103 on Tuesday night. The victory allowed the Kings to finish their six-game, 13-day road trip with a surprising 3-3 record.

For the naysayers out there, yes the Pelicans were without DeMarcus Cousins who is out for the rest of the season after rupturing his left achilles last Friday versus the Rockets. The Kings were without the services of Willie Cauley-Stein, Skal Labissiere, Frank Manson, Malachi Richardson and their head coach Dave Joerger.

Why did the Kings win the game?

Two sets of stats really explain why Sacramento came away with the “W” Tuesday night. The Kings out-rebounded the Pelicans 49-36 but even more important than the over all numbers is the offensive rebound count.

SAC pulled down 14 balls off the offensive glass while NOLA grabbed just two offensive rebounds. The Kings scored 26 second chance points converting 10-of-11 opportunities. The Pelicans scored zero second chance points and literally had no second opportunities in the contest. It is virtually impossible to win a game playing one shot and done basketball in “the Association”.

Rebounding made the difference in the game for Sacramento in New Orleans.

Top Performers

Kings

  • Star of the Game honors go to Zach Randolph who scored a game-high 26 points and made it a double-double game posting 12 rebounds. Z-Bo shot 11-for-23 from the floor and hit 3-of-6 three-point attempts. The veteran big man also played very physical versus New Orleans star Anthony Davis.
  • Kosta Koufos earns Special Co-Star of the Game status by starting the game and playing 37-plus minutes to post a double-double of his own. Koufos put up 17 points and recorded 17 rebounds (seven offensive rebounds). Koufos hit 7-of-12 shots from the field.
  • Co-Star of the Game credit goes to De’Aaron Fox for scoring 15 points, hauling in six rebounds and dishing out four assists in 27-minutes of playing time. Fox had a +9 rating for his time on the court.

Pelicans

  • New Orleans Star of the Game honors go to reserve shooting guard Ian Clark who played over 29-minutes scoring 20-points while hitting 9-of-10 field goal attempts. Only one of his field goals was a 3-point conversion. Clark also recorded six rebounds.
  • Anthony Davis receives Co-Star credit for the game. With Boogie Cousins gone for the season, the weight of success falls squarely on the shoulders of Davis. He scored a team-high 23 points and made it a double-double by recording 13 rebounds. Davis went 9-for-10 from the free throw line.
  • Jrue Holiday gets a Best Supporting Player nod for contributing 20 points but he went just 9-for-20 shooting from the floor to score those points. Holiday did not post a single rebound.

Key Stats

Sacramento (16-34)

  • The Kings hit 46-of-97 shots (47.4-percent) from the field for the game. They took 20 more attempts than the Pelicans and made seven more field goals than New Orleans.
  • Sacramento converted 10-of-26 three-point attempts (38.5-percent) which was one more made 3-point field goal than the Pels hit in the game.
  • The Kings outscored the Pelicans in the paint 52-42.

New Orleans (27-23)

  • The Pelicans shot 50.6-percent from the field (39-for-77) for the game but it was 20 less attempts and seven less conversions than the Kings put in the books.
  • New Orleans won the battle of Fast Break points outscoring the Kings 23-22 for the game.
  • The Pels dished out more assists (26-22) than the Kings but they were not enough to turn the tide of the game.

Up Next

Kings

The Kings flew home after the game and were able to sleep in their own beds for the first time in 13 days. They will be off until Friday night when they have the unenviable task of hosting the world champion Golden State Warriors at the Golden 1 Center.

Pelicans

New Orleans will hit the road and will play the Thunder in OKC on Friday night.

San Jose State arrives in Las Vegas, ready to take on UNLV

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

LAS VEGAS — The San Jose State Spartans flew out of the Bay Area and arrived in Las Vegas Wednesday afternoon. They got ready for round two with the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center.

 

Here are the game notes and stats you need to know: /

Spartans prepare for Runnin’ Rebels

San Jose State will take on UNLV on Wednesday night at 8 pm PT on AT&T SportsNet.

UNLV escaped with a 82-76 overtime win over SJSU in their first matchup this season at the Event Center.

Spartan fans can tune into KLIV 1590 AM to listen to Justin Allegri’s play-by-play. The pregame show begins at 7:30 pm PT.

Game #21
SJSU (3-17, 0-9 MW) at UNLV (15-6, 4-4 MW)
Wednesday, January 31, 2018, 8:00 pm PT
Thomas & Mack Center (18,000)
Las Vegas, Nevada
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: KLIV 1590 AM
Series: UNLV leads, 36-6
Last Meeting: UNLV defeated SJSU, 82-76, in overtime in San Jose on January 3, 2018.
Just some history

SJSU defeated UNLV in both meetings last season, making it the first time since the 1993-94 season. But the Runnin’ Rebels got revenge in San Jose earlier this season with an 82-76 overtime win.

UNLV holds a 36-6 lead over the Spartans in the all-time series. Prior to last season, they haven’t lost a game to SJSU since 1996.

Most recent meeting
SJSU made a 10-point comeback in the final 4:50 of regulation and forced overtime, but UNLV came out on top in overtime for an 82-76 win. The Spartans closed out regulation on a 12-2 run, thanks to Ryan Welage and Noah Baumann. However, some late miscues in overtime along with the failure to secure enough rebounds cost SJSU what could’ve been their third straight win over UNLV. Welage finished with a team-high 23 points and Baumann finished with 12 points–all from beyond the arc. Brandon McCoy led UNLV with 23 points.

The Ryan Welage show
Ryan Welage scored a new career-high 37 points in SJSU’s 80-76 overtime loss to Wyoming on Saturday. He scored 25 points in the second half, helping SJSU erase a 16-point deficit. He made 12-of-20 field goals–both career-highs–and knocked down 11-of-12 free throws. His 37 points are the second-most by an individual in the MW this season behind Chandler Hutchison’s 44-point performance against San Diego State on January 13. Welage was on the floor for all 45 minutes of the game against Wyoming.

Jalen James nearly gets triple-double
Senior point guard Jalen James is currently playing his best basketball of the season. He nearly got a triple-double in SJSU’s last game against Wyoming. He finished the night with nine points, nine rebounds and eight assists. He was the floor for a career-high 42 minutes and helped the Spartans get out of a 16-point deficit in the second half and force overtime. He took the ball the length of the court with 5.1 seconds left in regulation and made a layup to send the game into overtime. He’s averaging 6 points, 4.1 assists and 4 rebounds over his last three games.

Noah Baumann is league’s most accurate 3-point shooter

Freshman wing Noah Baumann is shooting 60.0 percent (18-30) from beyond the arc during league play, which ranks first among all MW players. He has been deadly all year long from downtown with an overall percentage of 51.7 (31-60).

UNLV got a taste of what Baumann could do in the first meeting this year when he hit 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc. Some defenses in league play have clamped down on Baumann including the last game against Wyoming where he only took one shot.  New Mexico and SDSU allowed him to take only six shots combined. However he’s had break through games of three-plus hits from deep in four MW games.

Field goal percentage defense remains solid 

SJSU’s current 43.1 field goal percentage defense is the best it’s had in a very long time. The Spartans took the MW’s fifth-ranked 42.4 field goal percentage defense into the beginning of last week before Boise State knocked down 53.1 percent of its shots on Wednesday, followed by 44.1 percent on Saturday by Wyoming.

If the season with that 42.4 percentage, it would be the best for any Spartan team since the 2000-01 season. Last season, Spartan opponents hit 46 percent of their shots. UNLV hit 47.3 percent of its shots against the Spartans in the first meeting of the season.

SJSU outshoots Wyoming

SJSU shot 48.4% (30-62) on Wednesday night compared to Wyoming’s 44.1% (30-68). It’s the sixth time in nine MW games that the Spartans have finished with a higher shooting percentage than the opponent and the fourth time have equal or more amount of made field goals.

Yet, the Spartans come into Wednesday’s tilt winless in league play. In games where SJSU outshoots its opponent, it’s generally turnovers and 3-point shooting that push the game in the opponents’ favor. The Spartans’ 17.6 turnovers per game are the most in Division I basketball, and MW foes have made an average of 8.2 or more three-point baskets per game than SJSU.

Welage continues to climb the SJSU career ranks

Ryan Welage became the 15th player in SJSU men’s basketball history (108th season) to score 1,000-career points on January 9, 2018, at SDSU. Since then, he’s worked his way up to 12th place on the all-time scoring list and is just 11 points shy of passing Sid Williams for 11th.

Welage now has 136 made 3-pointers in his career, ranking third on the Spartans’ all-time list. He is two away from tying Adrian Oliver with 138 made threes and then he’ll only be trailing the program’s all-time leader, Tim Pierce, who made 153.

1. 1,767 – Ricky Berry (84 games)
2. 1,750 – Adrian Oliver (80 games)
3. 1,504 – Stu Inman (123 games)
4. 1,432 – Wally Rank (102 games)
5. 1,272 – Justin Graham (119 games)
6. 1,236 – Chris McNealy (81 games)
7. 1,173 – Coby Dietrick (72 games)
8. 1,139 – Terry Cannon (97 games)
9. 1,136 – Johnnie Skinner (73 games)
10. 1,125 – Ken Mickey (82 games)
11. 1,095 – Sid Williams (111 games)
12. 1,085 – Ryan Welage (81 games)
13. 1,050 – S.T. Saffold (72 games)
13. 1,050 – Olivier Saint-Jean (51 games)
15. 1,049 – Carroll Williams (75 games)

Utah Jazz hit all the high notes as they blow out Warriors 129-99

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors had the best road record in the NBA, but ran into a buzzsaw Tuesday night as the Utah Jazz overwhelmed them 129-99 at the Vivant Smart Home Arena.

The Jazz started the scoring and led the entire way. The only time the Warriors came close was when the game was tied at eight apiece early in the first quarter. Utah’s head coach Quin Snyder found the recipe to shut down the Warriors’ vaunted offense. They pressured Steph Curry and hounded him at every turn. Curry was just one-for-seven from beyond the three-point arc. They also pressured Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. Their strategy was to let the other Warriors beat them.

Utah’s offense was led by guard Ricky Rubio and forward Joe Ingles. Rubio hounded Curry all night and finished the night with twenty-three points and 11 assists for a double-double. Ingles was on fire. Ingles made six three-point shots in 8 attempts, and the Jazz shot 58.25 from the floor and was 14-for-28 from 3-point range.

In the first quarter, the Jazz raced out to a 35-30 advantage. The Warriors were close, and if they could get their game going, they could take the lead. They didn’t do that. They had a bad night on defense, and they were sloppy handling the ball. The Warriors failed to gain ground and trailed by 13 at the half (69-56).

It was more of the same in the second half. The Jazz did everything right, and the Warriors did not look like a championship team at all. The Jazz increased the lead to 18, and the Warriors rested their stars in the fourth quarter as they could not mount a charge. The Jazz wins 129-99.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the Warriors drop to 40-11.

The Jazz improved to 22-28.

Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 27 points.

Kevin Durant had 17 while Steph Curry and JaVale McGee, of all people, tallied 14 each.

The Jazz controlled the boards. They made 16 steals and just 11 turnovers.

The Warriors, on the other hand, committed 19 turnovers. They just didn’t do a good job of handling the basketball Tuesday night. Donovan Mitchell, the high scoring rookie from Louisville, knocked down 20 and Derrick Favors, the other twin tower for Utah, had 18.

Up Next: The Warriors travel to Sacramento to face the Kings Friday night.

They will want to gain a measure of revenge as the Kings beat them the last time they met which was at Oracle Arena.

Sharks’ glitches lead to Penguins’ gifts, wins 5-2

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~ Photo credit – NHL.com

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ The San Jose Sharks’s two turnovers tilted the game as the Pittsburgh Penguins earned a split in the season series with a 5-2 win at PPG Paints Arena Tuesday.

The Sharks had a 2-1 lead after a hard-fought period, but inadvertently gave the Penguins a hand to cancel the advantage they had as the momentum turned.

Evgeni Malkin earned a hat trick and fellow teammate Bryan Rust had two goals for Pittsburgh. Brent Burns and Logan Couture tallied for San Jose.

Both teams’ main goalies returned after extended absences, Martin Jones (physical) and Matt Murray (personal). Murray emerged the winner this time, as he made 40 saves.

Pittsburgh scored first. Chris Tierney tried to clear, but Ian Cole poked the puck away and Rust was the first to recover it. After he exchanged passes with Riley Sheahan, Rust charged the net and was able to avoid Justin Braun’s stick as Rust put the Penguins on the board at 11:09.

The second period was more of a mixed bag. San Jose was all business as they outshot 23-10 and scored two power play goals.

Burns continued where he left off, with points in eight straight now, 10 if you continue the two All-Star games. The shot from Burns went down the slot as players on both sides flinched at 10 minutes.

After a 5-on-3, the Sharks capitalized on the 5-on-4. when the puck traveled to Couture as he struck from the left faceoff circle. It was Couture’s 200th career goal.

Nearing the end of the period, Burns made a no-look pass, unfortunately to Phil Kessel. Kessel then sent the puck to Malkin, who made it 2-2 in front of Jones at 19:55.

The mishaps continued in the third.

Jones went to retrieve the puck and his pass was intercepted by a swiftly moving Patric Hornqvist. Hornqvist then made a slick pass to a wide open Malkin for the eventual game-winner.

Pittsburgh made it 4-2 at 13:58 and 5-2 at 18:47.

Kris Letang’s shot went off Jones’ pad and Tom Kuhnhackl shot the puck back between his legs to Rust who earned his second by lifting the puck into the net.

The last goal came on an empty-netter. Rust hit iron in his bid at a hat trick after a cross from Sidney Crosby before Rust passed to Malkin for a successful goal.  

Game notes: San Jose’s Dylan DeMelo played in his 100th NHL game. The Sharks held the Penguins scoreless on the power play (0 for 3).

Up next: San Jose will look to get back on track versus the Detroit Red Wings Wednesday at 5 pm PT.

Super Bowl LII Podcast with David Zizmor: Brady “Don’t fire talk show host” for insulting Brady’s daughter

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photo by csnne.com: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady carrying five year old Vivian Brady following football game

By David Zizmor

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said today that WEEI Radio in Boston talk show host Alex Reimer should not lose his job after commenting and being indefinitely suspended for saying that Brady’s five year old daughter Vivian is a “annoying little pissant” when Brady was recording his reality show in his kitchen while his daughter was in there with him.

Brady talking on WEEI Tuesday morning was emotional about Reimer’s remarks saying with the talk show hosts at the time how can anyone say anything like that on live radio to a full audience listening about a five year kid? Reimer was immediately suspended for making the remark and is not expected to return to the airwaves anytime soon. Brady said that the station shouldn’t fire Reimer although what he said was hurtful and made many question why he would attack little Vivian on the taping of the reality show. Further Brady will not be returning to do anymore talk shows on WEEI at least for the time being.

Super Bowl LII kicks off at 3:30 PM PST this Sunday in Minnesota with the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles

 

Categories NFL

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News and Commentary: Can Moss fill the void that Healy left at first; Butcher could be the pitcher the A’s are looking for

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photo by puckettspond.com: The Oakland A’s are hoping to see newly acquired Brandon Moss take his hacks like these this spring as he returns to Oakland for 2018

On That’s Amaury’s Podcsast for today:

1 The Oakland A’s who traded for Brandon Moss from the Kansas City Royals hit .207, 22 hits, 50 RBIs in 401 plate appearances with the Royals last season

2 The A’s acquired Ryan Butcher a left hander from the Royals in the Moss deal Butcher in 2017 had a 2.98 ERA, 65 strikeouts, 26 walks, in 65 1/3 innings,

3 The A’s dealt pitcher Jesse Hahn to the Royals ERA 6.02 in nine starts in 2017 and had a ERA of 5.30 as a reliever in 13 appearances.

4 The Cleveland Indians are getting rid of their Chief Wahoo logo not because it’s racist or for morale reasons but for as Cleveland put it commercial reasons

5 Today will be the first Blue Moon since 1866 the solar eclipse can be seen in North America and John “Blue Moon” Odom who pitched for the Oakland A’s from 1964-1975 and also made an appearance at the 2018 A’s fanfest over the weekend had a lifetime ERA of 3.70

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish talent for the LA Angels TV network and the Spanish talent for the Oakland A’s radio network and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks Podcast with Len Shapiro: Jumbo problems for Sharks as they embark on five game roadie without Thornton

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insidethecagewithrossmckeon.com photo: San Jose Sharks Joe Thornton

On the San Jose Sharks podcast:

1 The Sharks who dropped two straight home games before Sunday’s All Star break are looking to make amends as they start back to back road games tonight in Pittsburgh and then in Detroit on Wednesday night.

2 With the knee surgery for the Sharks Joe Thornton the Sharks had to reshape their lines a bit. Don’t look for Sharks general manager Doug Wilson to rent a player for the post season

3 The Sharks defense was all the talk after last Thursday’s game at SAP Center after San Jose allowed six goals in the visiting New York Rangers 6-5 win as goaltender Marty Jones remains questionable.

4 It was a good night on offense for the Sharks goal scoring with Logan Couture who scored twice, Kevin LaBance three assists, Marc Edouard Vlasic, Tomas Hertl, and Barclay Goodrow all scored for San Jose

5 The Sharks fade the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight who they beat earlier this month 2-1 at SAP Center in San Jose. Len takes a look how both teams match up tonight

Len does the Sharks Podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose State men’s basketball podcast with Ana Kieu: SJSU fall short in effort vs. Wyoming; face UNLV in Sin City Wednesday; plus further info

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

On the San Jose State men’s basketball podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. San Jose State returned home to host Wyoming Saturday afternoon. What can you say about that game?

2. Spartans’ Jalen James sliced through the Cowboys’ full court press and made a twisting layup with 0.5 seconds left in regulation. What went wrong in overtime?

3. The Ryan Welage show aired at the Event Center. Welage scored a career-high 37 points. Tell me more about the Spartans’ flaws that cost them the game.

4. Turnovers continue to be a huge problem for San Jose State. Just how important are the possessions?

5. San Jose State takes on UNLV tonight at 8 pm on AT&T SportsNet and KLIV 1590 AM. Give us your three keys to the game.

6. What’s your score prediction for tonight’s game?

Ana Kieu does the San Jose State men’s basketball podcast each week on sportsradioservice.com

 

Cal Bears Men’s Basketball Podcast with Morris Phillips: Opposition cutting through Cal’s defense like butter; Bears open two game homestand Thursday against Ducks

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photo credit: @cal_bb_fanly

On the Cal Bears Podcast with Morris:

1 Like butter the Cal defense failed again to stop another team’s offensive and paid dearly dropping the their eight eighth straight loss to USC to 77-59 at Galen Center in Los Angeles

2 Cal head coach Wyking Jones said after the game that the Bears can’t continue beating themselves with 20 turnovers Sunday

3 Cal drops it’s win loss record to (7-15) the fourth worst record for a Cal team 22 games into the season

4 In your column your mention Cal is facing inbalance, unrelenting lessons facing the highest level in NCAA Basketball

5 The Bears are back at it again at Haas Pavilion facing the Oregon Ducks on Thursday night

The Cal Bears Podcasts with Morris Philips can be heard each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

The turnover factory: Cal coughs it up in loss to red-hot USC

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1100x619
USC point guard Derryck Thornton (5) and Cal’s Justice Sueing battle for a loose ball in the first half on Jan. 28.
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

By Morris Phillips

Well, we’ve seen this before. And not just once or twice.

On one hand, Cal’s season-long struggles are indicative of their imbalanced roster and the unrelenting lessons an inexperienced team faces at the highest levels of college basketball.

But on the other hand, USC’s story is far more uplifting. The Trojans began the season in the rare clutches of the FBI and a far-reaching probe into the seamy underside of college recruiting. But despite the firing of a trusted assistant coach and the loss of one of their most beloved teammates, the hottest team in the Pac-12 has hit its stride, fueled by a deep and athletic roster that could be termed a fastbreak waiting to happen.

“We’re a 55-foot buzzer beater away from being in first place in the league but we’re 8-2,” USC coach Andy Enfield said. “It’s a compliment and credit to our players.”

That’s the backstory regarding USC’s 77-59 runaway victory over Cal on Sunday at the Galen Center. Turnovers–bunches of them–rate as the story’s headliner.

USC forces turnovers as if they were running a manufacturing company with the aforementioned as their primary product. Unfortunately, Cal can’t hold on to the basketball in normal circumstances, and facing the Trojans takes that flaw to an extreme level.

Even in a competitive first half in which Cal shot 47 percent from the floor, and led briefly by eight, the Bears turned it over 14 times. Leading 29-28 just before halftime, the Bears shots stopped falling while the turnovers continued unabated.

As Cal (7-15, 1-8) failed to prop up their sloppy ballhandling with made shots, the USC track meet commenced. Just six minutes into the second half, the Trojans’ lead hit double digits. USC’s leading scorer, Chimezie Metu capitalized on a second shot opportunity with a dunk, and the Trojans led 44-34 with 13:56 remaining.

“Once we get our defense going, we get steals, we get into transition and that generates our offense, and the rim looks bigger,” USC senior guard Elijah Stewart said. “We had more energy in the second half, we had ball movement and played together.”

Enfield felt his team took difficult shots early, as a scoring drought nearly six minutes in length allowed Cal to gain confidence and establish a lead. Cal coach Wyking Jones felt his team lost its stride as USC began to dictate the pace.

“We have to do a better job of not getting sped up,” Jones said.

Marcus Lee led Cal with 23 points, but 17 of those came in the second half as USC pulled away. Also Lee and guard Darius McNeill were credited with 12 of Cal’s 20 turnovers.

Stewart and Jonah Mathews led USC (17-6, 8-2) with 16 points a piece. Stewart’s scoring all came in the second half, and the Trojan leaders both canned four 3-pointers.

Cal’s loss was their eighth in a row, their worst run since 1992. The Bears continue to compete, and they’ve put to rest their issues with slow starts. But real improvement can’t commence without better ball security and overall consistency.

“We have to be able to but together a 40-minute game,” Jones said. “Not just halves.”

The Trojans have won six straight, and eight of nine. With play concluded for the month of January, the Trojans have seven wins, the first time they’ve done that since 1982.

Just last week, USC fired assistant coach Tony Bland after he received a federal indictment right before the season opener that focused on illegal payments to players and their families and advisers. De’Anthony Melton, the Trojans’ sophomore guard and NBA prospect, was suspended in the wake of Bland’s indictment. In the wake of Bland’s firing, the USC athletic department announced that Melton’s suspension would be extended through the remainder of the season.

The Bears return to the hardwood on Thursday when the Oregon Ducks visit Haas Pavilion.