Warriors come back from 22-point halftime deficit to beat Sixers 124-116

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Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, top, shoots as Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, of Cameroon, bottom, defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017, in Philadelphia. The Warriors won 124-116. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

by Jerry Feitelberg

The big question on everyone’s mind is this: How do they do it? How do they get pummeled by 22 points in the first and still come back to win? The Sixers outplayed the Warriors in the first half. They outscored the Warriors 47-28 in the first quarter and led 74-52 at the end of the first 24 minutes of play. The Warriors–still smarting from the 92-88 loss to Boston Thursday night–regrouped and took control of the game in the third quarter as their defense held the Sixers to just 15 points while they scored 47. The Warriors did not relinquish the lead and won 124-116.

The young Sixers appeared to be blowing the Warriors out of the building in the first half. They shot 74% from the floor in the first quarter and finished the first half at 58% The Warriors shot 47% from the floor which isn’t terrible, but they could not stop the Sixer attack. The Sixers made seven 3-point shots while the Warriors connected just on one. The Sixers had four starters in double figures at the end of the half. Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 17. Ben Simmons had 15. J.J.Redick also had 15. Robert Covington knocked down 12, and Dario Saric pitched in with 9. Steph Curry led the Warriors with 15, and Kevin Durant followed with 14.

The Warriors trailed by 22 at the start of the third quarter.The Sixers increased the lead to 24 (76-52). The Warriors–as they have done so many times–found their game and started to make stops and played Warrior basketball. They found a way to move the ball and were able to find the open man. Durant and Curry led the offense, Nick Young made a big 3-point shot. Kevon Looney came in and helped energize the team on defense. The Warriors trailed by 10 87-77 with 5:30 left in the period. They continued to attack as Curry made a three to close the deficit to just one (89-88). The Warriors took the lead for good when Curry made two free throws to make it 90-89. Looney made a bucket, Curry connected on another 3-pointer, and Draymond Green finished the scoring in the period with a two-point bucket. The Warriors turned the game around outscoring the Sixers 47-15 and ended the third quarter leading 99-89.

The Warriors, behind David West and Klay Thompson, were able to increase the lead to 117-97. The Sixers fought back as they cut the lead to seven (120-113), but they ran out of time as the Warriors held on to win 124-116.

Game notes and stats — With the win, the Warriors improve to 12-4 and are 1-1 on the four-game road trip. The Sixers fall to 8-7. The Warriors had five players in double figures. Curry led the team with 35 points, five assists, and five rebounds. Durant tallied 27. Klay Thompson had 17, David West had 14, and Zaza Pachulia had 10. Green scored eight points and had eight assists along with seven rebounds.

Scoring leaders for Philadelphia were Dario Saric with 13, Robert Covington with 20, J.J.Redick with 20, Joel Embiid with 21, and Ben Simmons with 23.

The Warriors held Embiid to just four points in the second half. The Dubs held Redick to 5, Saric 4, and Simmons 8.

After the game, Curry said this about the win: “We got stops which is key.” We “found a way to give ourselves some life.” He noted that the Warriors just didn’t play well in the first half but “we moved the ball a lot better” in the second half as the Warriors found a way to score 47 points in the third quarter and put the clamps on the Sixers offense.

Steve Kerr remarked this about the play of his team in the third period: “We were more poised in the third quarter.” “They dominated the first half, but we corralled them in the second half.”

The Warriors play the Brooklyn Nets Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn. Game time is at 3 pm.

Roy Scores First Pro Goal To Help Cuda Steal Crown From Reign, Beating Ontario 1-0

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Photo: @sjbarracuda

By Alexandra Evans

SAN JOSE—It’s rivalry weekend! The Barracuda had their first match of a weekend-long doubleheader against the Ontario Reign on Saturday afternoon. In hopes of a retaliation against the Reign’s 4-2 win on November 1, the Cuda stole their crown and shut them out 1-0.

Roster updates: Danny O’Regan was called up to the Sharks this morning from the Cuda, and Johnny Brodzinski, brother of Cuda defenseman Michael Brodzinski who scored a hat trick against the Cuda, was called up to the Kings from the Reign yesterday.

Both the Reign and Cuda defense were strong in the first period, and the Cuda appeared to be good on offense as a number of their shots were aimed directly between the posts of the net (in contrast with the Reign, most of whose shots ended up hitting the wall), though Jack Campbell managed to shut them all out. At the end, the Cuda outshot the Reign 11-9 and the score was 0-0, neither team having taken advantage of the power play.

Offense picked up in the second period as defenseman Jeremy Roy scored just after the 2:00 mark with an assist from Tim Clifton. This was Roy’s first goal of the season, as well as his first professional one. The Cuda held the Reign scoreless throughout the second, who outshot them by one. However, the Cuda were not able to succeed on the man advantage yet again. The Cuda kept a 1-0 lead through the third period.

“Jeremy is getting better and better every game,” Coach Roy Sommer said after the match. “This is why [the Sharks] drafted him… his thing is producing points. He did that in juniors, that’s why he was such a high pick (31st overall in 2015). He’s not only defensive. He gets out of trouble, but he’s also got some offense to his game.”

Cuda goaltender Antoine Bibeau recorded his second shutout of the season (side note: I asked Bibeau, in French, how he feels after a shutout. He responded that it provides him with feelings of great satisfaction and contentment); Bibeau blocked all of the Reign’s 31 shots, whereas Reign goaltender Jack Campbell stopped 30 shots out of 31 (which still exemplifies strong netminding).

The Cuda, who are now 6-6, are back on tomorrow against the Reign at 3:00 p.m.

Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Matt Harrington: Cardinal shoot for the Axe and a big bowl game

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Stanford Cardinal running back Bryce Love (20) runs over Washington Huskies defensive back JoJo McIntosh (14) to score a touchdown, during a NCAA Football game between the Washington Huskies and the Stanford Cardinal at the Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. Stanford won 30-22. Valerie Shoaps/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

By Matt Harrington

PALO ALTO–Last Saturday’s game at Stanford Stadium was the reemergence of Stanford Cardinal running back Bryce Love that really helped in that game. The Cardinal picking up that upset and helped in their cause in the Pac 12 title or at least in the Pac 12 North. Right now it’s a three way race between Washington, Washington State and Stanford. Washington and WSU play each other today in the Apple Cup and the Big Game coming up so each one of those teams will lost out.

As long as Stanford keeps the wins coming they have a shot at a bigger bowl game like the Pac 12 Championship or the Rose Bowl. They’re on a path to a big title game and looks like they have a shot at winning the whole thing. Doing what Love did last week against Washington it brought a lot of attention to his Heisman Trophy possibilities. Not to over look head coach David Shaw and his offensive line they had the best game offensively in a long time.

There’s more on the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Matt at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

There’s no place like home … Kings beat Portland 86-82 in SAC on Friday night

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Portland Kings win
Cauley-Stein and Koufos helped lead the Kings to victory over Portland Photo USA Today Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO–After the horrific loss suffered by the Kings in Atlanta on Wednesday night, Dave Joerger knew he had to do something to stop the bleeding (losing) immediately or it could become a way of life for his young team. On Friday night, Joerger shook things up and it worked as the Kings beat the Portland Trail Blazers 86-82.

The loss not only shocked the Blazers but it stopped their two their two-game winning streak. Plus, Portland has to face this same Kings team on Saturday night at home. Which Kings team should they prepare for? Not necessarily the same Kings team they saw on Friday night. Sacramento is in experimental mode, so what happens one night may not be an indicator of what is going to happen in the next game.

Critics have been pointing their fingers at Sacramento saying they cannot win games in the NBA if they scoring in the eighties every game. They scored just 86 on Friday night but they played tenacious defense holding Portland to just 82 points. The infamous Rip City Ballers shot just 37-percent (30-for-81) overall and just 28-percent (7-for-25) from behind the 3-point line. Hard nosed defense was the key to the Kings victory.

Kings head coach Dave Joerger called it an emotional, bounce back win

De’Aaron Fox said defense was a point of emphasis going into the game

Willie Cauley-Stein said he had been waiting for the coaching staff to put Koufos and him together on the floor

The odds are against Sacramento on Saturday night

Road teams in the second games of back-to-back sets lose more often than they win. However, this road game has some advantages. It is only a 90-minute flight away. Portland is in the same time zone, and the Kings are coming off an emotional win that they might be able to ride for another 24 hours.

The game in Portland tips-off at 7 p.m.

The Trail Blazers will be back in Sacramento on February 29, 2018.

Northeastern Trails Close Throughout, Stanford Comes Out With 73-59 Win

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By Alexandra Evans

PALO ALTO — The Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball team faced the Northeastern Huskies this afternoon, who traveled to the Golden State from chilly Boston.

Both teams were strong on offense and defense in the first half; almost no rebounds were missed on both sides. Stanford managed to exceed Northeastern in points by nine after the first 20 minutes. With Stanford’s six team fouls (compared to Northeastern’s four), Northeastern had three opportunities for free throws, all of which were missed. Northeastern’s Donnell Gresham Jr. made a three-pointer from the center of the court in the last three seconds. The ending score was 33-24 Stanford, who managed to keep a lead over the Huskies throughout the first half.

The second half commenced with fast-paced back-and-forth action. After a Stanford foul 18 seconds in, both teams took turns making each attempted basket in the first five minutes, bringing each of their scores up by more than 10 points.

Northeastern made numerous three-pointer attempts in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but none were successful until Huskies’ Bolden Brace notched one just after the 10-minute mark. Northeastern would then score three more three-pointers in the remainder (comprising part of their 59 points at the end of the match). Stanford only had two three-point shots, but managed to overthrow Northeastern with numerous two-pointers.

Almost three-quarters of the way into the second half (nearing the 14-minute mark), the Huskies only trailed the Cardinal by four points, and then only by two points at 14:30. Isaac White then made a three-pointer to bring the score to 60-55 Stanford at 14:45, then Michael Humphrey made both free throws after Brace was fouled.

A great block by (#13 S) prevented the Huskies’ Devon Begley from making a shot-clock beating basket. #13 then made a three-pointer with just under a minute left in the match, barely beating the shot clock.

The final score was 73-59 Stanford. Both teams finished with 36 rebounds (the only even statistic of the game).

Stanford forward Michael Humphrey and guard Daejon Davis shared their thoughts on the match in a post-game conference. Despite the win, both believed there is substantial room for overall improvement.

“In the middle of the second half [the whole team] got caught up in the emotions of the game,” Humphrey noted. “But all of us calmed down and ended the game strong, which is what we needed to do.”

“Northeastern is a great offensive rebounding team, but we can’t give up that many offensive boards. Especially with a team our size and our athleticism…If we don’t make the boards, we have a really good chance of winning.”

Davis added, “Any time we come out with a win, I’m always up, no matter who contributed and how we got it done. A win makes everyone feel good, but we, as a team, definitely have so many things to improve on. We can’t have that dip we had in the second half; we need to keep our energy up for 40 minutes. I am just waiting for us to put together a full game on both the offensive and defensive ends all the way through, with energy and effort.”

Coach Jerod Haase expressed excitement when Northeastern managed to score a buzzer-beating three pointer before halftime. Haase was curious as to how much effort the team would put into bouncing back and cultivating a lead in the double digits again. To him, this was the biggest testament.

“[Responses as such are] a very, very important step, when [the team] can believe that when things go a bit south, we can respond to that,” Haase contended.

Next up, Stanford will face the North Carolina Tar Heels on Monday, November 20 at Maples Pavilion.

Matt Williams joins the A’s as the new third base coach for 2018

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Photo credit: @Athletics

by Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics announced today that Matt Williams, former All-Star third baseman and former manager of the Washington Nationals, is joining the A’s as the new third base coach, replacing Chip Hale.

Williams was an excellent fielder who won four Gold Gloves as a player. The A’s defense was not very good last year as they led the Major Leagues in errors. The A’s defense improved in the second half of the season, but they gave away too many games due to their crummy defense. Matt was the leading home-run hitter in the National League in 1994 and was on pace to break Roger Maris’ record of 61. Unfortunately for Williams, the players went on strike on August 12th and for the rest of the season, along with the World Series, was wiped out.

Williams’ bio follows below:
Williams spent five seasons on the Arizona Diamondbacks coaching staff as a first base coach (2010) and a third base coach (2011-13, 16). He also managed the Washington Nationals for two seasons.  He was named National League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) in his first season as a manager in 2014, guiding the Nationals to a 96-66 record and an NL East title.  He went 83-79 in 2015 for a 179-145 (.552) record in two seasons as a manager.

Williams played 17 seasons in the majors with San Francisco (1987-96), Cleveland (1997) and Arizona (1998-2003).  He was a .268 career hitter with 378 home runs and 1,218 RBI in 1,866 games.  Williams was a five-time All-Star and won four Gold Gloves as a third baseman.

San Francisco 49ers Podcast with Joe Lami: Can Niners grab two straight at home? Seattle in for division game at Levis Sunday

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard (3) passes against the New York Giants during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

By Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA–It was a big win over the New York Giants in a much needed win for the San Francisco 49ers. The Giants were dominated in pretty much in every aspect of the contest they had a couple big plays it was a big win a much needed win. They were very much in jeopardy with getting that win under their belts. There was much riding on this game and if the 49ers had lost to the Giants they could have got a much higher pick. They didn’t have to cave they wanted that first win and they didn’t want to go 0-16 for this season.

They didn’t want to go winless for the entire season and it had been a while since the 49ers had won a game the last time the won was on opening day of the 2016 season and it was at Levis. It was more than 360 days later they finally won a ball game. Going into the bye their going to get much more healthy the win will build some confidence and they can turn things around and string out a couple more victory.

Joe Lami does the SF 49ers podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sports Headlines Podcast with London Marq: Schaff likes Jack London Sq location for A’s while MLB Commish says Lake Merritt just fine

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Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred delivers remarks during a news conference at the annual MLB baseball owners meetings, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

On the Sports Headlines podcast with London:

On the issue of moving the Oakland A’s new stadium Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said that she still likes the Howard Terminal location at Jack London Square. Schaaf said that the issue with the A’s chosen location at Lake Merritt is concerns of the infrastructure, that neighbors and businesses would have to relocate, that it would impact traffic in the neighborhood, property owners will have a tough time getting in and out of their homes, and that nearby Laney College students and faculty will have their share of traffic issues during A’s day games and pre games for the evening.

Major League Commissioner Rob Manfred said that he had talks with Schaaf and said that he didn’t hear anything contrary to the Lake Merritt location, “my conversations with the mayor have led me to believe she’s supportive of a plan to keep the Oakland A’s in Oakland. She’s been unwavering in that position.”

London also talks about the MLB MVP Awards for the Houston Astros Jose Altuve and the Miami Marlins Giancarlo Stanton. Join London each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com for the Sports Headlines podcast

 

 

 

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Oakland Raiders Podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Raiders set to battle Patriot’s attitude and Mexico City’s altitude Sunday

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People stroll past an exhibition of giant footballs and NFL helmets painted by Mexican artists, on Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017. In anticipation of a Nov. 19 NFL match-up between the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots in Mexico’s capital, the central boulevard is showcasing the NFL’s annual “ball parade.”(AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

On the podcast with Joe:

1 Azteca Stadium has an above sea level of 7200 feet. The New England Patriots have been working out all week at Colorado Springs where the altitude is identical to Mexico City’s. Meanwhile the Raiders have been working out at their home offices in Alameda where they will be thrown into the thin air on Sunday with very little environment adjustment time.

2 With the Pats working out in Colorado Springs all week they fly directly to Mexico City the transition for the Pats not much difference the Raiders could be huffing and puffing by half time. They’ve done this before playing in Mexico City but the difference and it’s a huge difference the Pats will have been in high elevation environments for going on almost two weeks

3 Joe talks about how spent the Raiders will be with oxygen tanks nearby after taking in the first or into the second quarters and how much it will determine how it will play into their game plan

4 For Raiders quarterback Derek Carr he’ll have to be concerned about his receivers and running backs and be careful not to exhaust them in the high elevation while trying to get them on the scoreboard

5 Joe picks his favorite in this match up that is critical to the Raiders post season hopes and for the Patriots a win can improve them to 8-3

Joe Hawkes Beamon has your Raiders podcasts each Friday and Jeremy Kahn has your Raiders game coverage each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal more cohesive in home win over Wofford 79-65

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California’s Marcus Lee, right, shoots over Wofford’s Cameron Jackson, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Three outings into their 2017-18 season, the Cal Bears have been incrementally better each time out. On Thursday, the Bears rode a big, second half to a victory over Wofford, the pre-season favorite to win the Southern Conference, 79-65.

Darius McNeill and Marcus Lee led the Bears with 17 points apiece, as Cal overcame a one-point halftime deficit to win by 14. The Bears shot 55 percent for the game and 16 of 20 from the free throw line to overcome 19 turnovers in the win. But according to Coach Wyking Jones the difference was Cal’s play at the defensive end, and getting a handle on Terriers’ leading scorer Fletcher Magee.

“Really good second half,” Jones said. “We went into the locker room as a staff and made a couple of adjustments to the press. Obviously, we didn’t let Fletcher touch the ball as much in the second half. He really shot the ball well in the first half. We focused on not even letting him [Fletcher] catch. That was the game plan.”

Magee scored 24 of his game-high 32 points in the first half to give Wofford a 37-36 lead. But Magee attempted only six shots–making two–in the second half as the Bears pulled away. Cal paraded to the free throw line after halftime, making 13 of 16 to supplement 52 percent shooting from the field.

McNeill exploded for 15 points in the opening half after he scored just three against UC Riverside and five against Cal Poly. The 6’3″ guard started in the Bears’ backcourt along with Don Coleman and Justice Sueing on the wing. McNeill, who replaced fellow freshman Deschon Winston in the starting lineup after the opener, rewarded Coach Jones with his patience and aggressiveness.

“Today, Coach just kept telling me to play my game, and play through the system and be really aggressive, really let the game come to me,” McNeill said. “I took that advice and good things happened today.”

The Wofford game was a part of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational that continues in Maui on Monday. The Bears were already guaranteed a quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 Wichita State giving the Terriers motivation to play spoiler in their visit to Haas Pavilion.