Kings get winded at 5280 feet and lose to Denver 96-79

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Den-ZBo
Zach Randolph scored 11 points and grabbed 9 rebounds on Saturday night Photo: USA Today

NBA teams have only a 33-percent chance of winning the second game of a back-to-back set on the road. Sacramento won in Dallas on Friday night. The odds were against them going into Denver on Saturday which is why they entered the game as a -12.5 point underdog.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Kings had lost their second game of the season as the Nuggets outscored them 96-79. Denver   did not play that spectacular. They just played less sloppy than the Kings did in the game.

For all of the Sacramento rookies, this was their first back-to-back set of games on the road. Add in the fact that the game was played at “mile high” altitude” in Denver and it becomes a real learning situation. This is not an effort to make excuses for the Kings but rather an opportunity to explain the literal uphill battle they faced on Saturday night.

Rebound stats may explain the entire game

The Nuggets out-rebounded the Kings 58-39 in the game. There are very few games where a team can give up 19 more rebounds to their opponents and walk away with a victory.

When the rebounding stats are broken down even further, the impact of Denver’s efforts becomes even greater. The Nuggets pulled down 18 rebounds on offense which created 13 second chance point opportunities. Denver converted eight of the second chance situations which turned into 19 points.

The Kings had only 12 offensive rebounds that turned into 10 points. Eight of those rebounds on offense came in the second half when the Kings had a significant scoring deficit to make up so they did not have the impact they might have had earlier in the game.

The problem — tired legs. You could see that the Kings did not have the spring in their legs like they had in Dallas on Friday night. Fatigue and altitude can be brutal. Yes, the young players will to learn how to deal with these adversities, but that is why fans have been cautioned to remember this is going to be a season of learning.

Top Performances

Den-Skal
Labissiere came off the bench to score 13 points for SAC Photo: USA Today Sports

Kings

  • De’Aaron Fox continued to amaze on Saturday night as he scored a team-high (tied for game-high) 18 points shooting 8-for-13 from the floor. He sank one 3-pointer, grabbed five rebounds and had one assist. He did all of that while being double-teamed by the defense much of the game.
  • Skal Labissiere came off the bench and brought some offense to the game for the Kings. He finished with 13 points in 25-minutes on the floor. He shot 6-for-12 including one 3-pointer. Labissiere also pulled down four rebounds and dished out four assists.
  • Z-Bo showed the young kids how an “O.G” plays in a back-to-back on the road. He put up 11 points in 20-minutes. He also grabbed nine rebounds (four offensive). Randolph spent much of the game being very frustrated with the officials and the lack of foul calls.
  • Rookie Frank Mason III played in his first NBA game and scored seven points.
  • Malachi Richardson saw some playing time most of which came in the fourth quarter and scored eight points.
  • Coach Dave Joerger used all 13 of his active players in the game on Saturday night.

Nuggets

Den-Farid
Faried came off the bench to score 18 points for the Nuggets Photo USA Today Sports
  • Denver had two players who tied for team-high in scoring and game-high in scoring with De’Aaron Fox. Paul Millsap put up 18 points to go with nine rebounds. The hyperactive Kenneth Faried came off the bench to score 18 shooting 7-for-10.
  • Guard Gary Harris scored 17 points going 7-for-11 from the field including three 3-pointers. Early in the game, he just broke loose and worked the backdoor for easy buckets under the basket.
  • Will Barton quietly scored 15 points for the Nuggets. He shot 6-for-13 overall and went 3-for-8 from 3-point land.

Team Performances

It was not a beautiful game for either team.

Sacramento (1-2)

  • The Kings shot just 36.6-percent (31-for-85) for the game. They went just 8-for-23 (34.8-percent) from beyond the 3-point arc.
  • Free throw opportunities were in short supply again on Saturday night. SAC went to the line just 13 times in the game and hit nine of those opportunities. They have to increase the number of free throw attempts per game.
  • They dished out 15 assists but turned it over 14 times which resulted in 19 Denver points. That ratio is not acceptable.
  • Rebounding — that has already been discussed.

Denver (1-1)

  • The Nuggets shot an acceptable 43.5-percent (37-for-85) from field. They hit 10-of-30 3-point opportunities (33.3-percent).
  • Denver went 12-for-20 from the charity stripe.
  • Their 58-39 rebound advantage really made the difference in the game for the Nuggets.
  • The Nuggets distributed 25 assists and turned the ball over 16 times. Those TOVs resulted in 13 points for the Kings.

Up next

Sacramento

The Kings will have Sunday off in the Valley of the Sun and then will face the 0-3 Phoenix Suns on Monday night. The Suns lost to the Clippers in Los Angeles on Saturday night 130-88. FiveThirtyEight.com gives the Suns a 66-percent chance to win the game. They make Phoenix -4-point favorite.

Denver

The Nuggets will return to action on Wednesday in Charlotte versus the Hornets. Denver is a 2.5-point underdog according FiveThirtyEight.

Final Note

Den-Malone
Denver head coach Michael Malone Photo USA Today Sports

The rivalry between Denver and Sacramento because they are facing former Kings coach Michael Malone is officially over. No player on the Kings roster was ever coached by Malone. Wow! How quickly things can change in the NBA.

Cal’s big comeback short circuits in double overtime against Arizona

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AP17295071200589
Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate, right, stiff-arms California cornerback Marloshawn Franklin Jr., second from right, during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–After overcoming adversity voluminous enough to pen a short novel, Coach Justin Wilcox elected to hand his own club one last helping of adversity, a two-point conversion attempt to win or lose on the final play of an exhausting, two overtime game.

In a game where the Bears trailed Arizona by two touchdowns in the third quarter, the final play would be Cal’s only chance to steal one they seemingly had lost much earlier.

But Wilcox’s gamble failed when Ross Bowers pass to Jordan Duncan was broken up by the Wildcats’ Colin Schooler underneath the goalpost, allowing Arizona to escape with a 45-44 victory. Pegged with an agonizing loss, the Bears could at least claim unity in support of Wilcox’s uncommon choice.

“I felt like that was the best choice for us to win,” Wilcox said. “In the end, we didn’t play well enough–especially on defense–to win the game.”

Bowers supported Wilcox’s choice, saying that his indecision–thinking he could run for the conversion before hastily throwing flat footed to Duncan in the back of the end zone–was the real reason Wilcox and the Bears weren’t gutsy winners.

Vic Enwere, whose second and third efforts on a fourth down touchdown run prior to the game’s final play, appreciated the decision as well, saying “that says he has confidence in us. I appreciate that.”

Wilcox explained that his defense’s gassed play in the first two overtimes greatly influenced the decision to go for the win, and forgo a third overtime. After Cal scored first in the extra period, Arizona’s Zach Green rumbled 25 yards to tie it on the Wildcats’ initial, offensive play.

The Bears then allowed a second score in just two plays, as brilliant Arizona signal caller Khalil Tate bought time rolling to his right before finding Bryce Wolma near the goal line for a 45-38 lead.

For Wilcox, the lightning scores were enough. Already Cal had overcome the loss of defensive playmaker Devante Downs, lost for the remainder of the season due to injury, and survived the Wildcats’ run game that produced 345 yards in regulation. How could Cal bring an end to the evening for Tate, and steal the win?

Don’t expose his defense one more time, Wilcox reasoned.

Tate, the instant Heisman candidate, would top 700 yards rushing over a three-game stretch after hanging 137 against Cal. His 76-yard run to break the 7-7, second quarter tie was simply ridiculous, and as advertised. First Tate scrambled to his right, but quickly circled back to his left with linebacker Alex Funches seemingly in position to close. But Tate ran past Funches and headed downfield like a blur with four Cal defenders in his vapor trail as he crossed the goal line. How Tate blew past four defenders needed no explanation. In the two, previous weeks, Tate ran for touchdowns from 71 an 75 yards and four, other shorter distances. This second quarter run was merely the capper.

“He’s a really good player, really fast, really explosive,” said linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk. “We missed a couple of plays on him and he made us pay for it. Credit to Arizona. Credit to him.”

While Tate was his own wave of adversity, it was just a slice of what Cal was forced to digest Saturday night. Starting left tackle Patrick Mekari, the starter for Cal’s first seven games, was declared a late scratch, necessitating a shuffling of the line before kickoff.

Still Cal started fast, determined to impact the scoreboard first, they marched for a touchdown on their opening drive. Patrick Laird capped it with the clever run of Bowers’ Statue of Liberty handoff. The opening drive saw the Bears counter their tendencies, and keep the Wildcats’ defense off balance.

But Arizona recovered, first avoiding a huge fumble by way of a replay that captured Wolma’s catch and fumble came after he was down. Instead of Cal being in position to increase their lead to double digits, Arizona responded with a game-tying drive.

Tate’s big run would follow, then three Cal penalties would aid in a third Arizona touchdown drive at the outset of the second quarter. Cal trailed 21-7 with 11:20 remaining in the second quarter.

In the third quarter Tate was at it again, buying time with his feet before finding Shun Brown for a 56-yard scoring pass. Once again, Cal trailed by two touchdowns, 28-14 with 7:22 remaining in the third.

Offensively, the Bears were stingy with ball possession, running 35 more plays than the Cats, but without the string of big plays compiled by Arizona.  All four Cal touchdown drives in regulation consumed at least 11 plays.

Kicker Matt Anderson capped Cal’s comeback with a 52-yard field goal to tie with 3:22 remaining. The kick came after Wilcox initially chose to attempt a conversion on 4th-and-4. After a timeout, Wilcox reversed, and put his faith in Anderson.

With the loss, Cal falls to 4-4, 1-4.  They travel to Colorado next Saturday where an 11 a.m. kickoff with the Buffaloes awaits them.

 

Memphis Grizzlies coast to an easy win over the Warriors 111-101;Warriors fall twice in last three games

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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry reacts during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Memphis- The Memphis Grizzlies stunned the Golden State Warriors Saturday night as they beat the defending champs 111-101. The Grizzlies, who beat the Warriors twice year and own a 13-10 advantage over them since the 2011-2012 season. Memphis coach Dave Fizdale had his players ready to go, and they did not disappoint.

The Grizzly attack was led by veteran center Marc Gasol. Gasol tallied 37 points and had 14 rebounds. The Grizzlies lost Zach Randolph and defensive whiz Tony Allen, but that didn’t matter. The game was within reach for the Warriors at the end of the first half of play. The Warriors were outscored 31-25 in the first quarter and the teams each scored 25 points in the second quarter. The half ended with Golden State trailing by five 56-51.

The Warriors, who have blown away opponents in the third quarter, had a forgettable twelve minutes of play as they mad just six shots in 22 tries. The Grizzlies went on a 15-0 run to put the game out of reach. They led 88-71 at the end of the third period. The Warriors mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter but it was too little, too late and they lost by ten 111-101.

Game Notes- Steph Curry was ejected from the game with 43 seconds left in the game. Steph made a layup, and he thought he was fouled. When he did not get the call from referee Scott Wall, he slammed his mouthpiece on the floor underneath the basket. Wall tossed him from the game. Steph remarked “my pockets will be a lot lighter for sure. My frustration boiled over, did something stupid, deserved to be kicked out, and that’s what happened.” Steph denied that he was trying to hit Wall with the mouthpiece. “If I tried to throw it at him. I have a pretty good aim I would have been able to execute that.”

Kevin Durant continued to argue with the refs, and he too was tossed from the game. One could say that the Warriors did not have a good day in Memphis.

Game Notes- Steph led the Warriors with 37 points. KD added 29, and he had 13 boards. Klay Thompson knocked down just 14. Draymond Green had 3. Zaza Pachulia, Andre Iguodala, Patrick McCaw, and Nick Young were all scoreless. Marc Gasol paced the Grizzlies with 34 points and 14 boards. Michael Conley was held to just ten points.  The Grizzly bench outscored the Dubs’ bench 41-18, and that was enough to cement the win for Memphis.

The Warriors are now 1-2 for the season, and Memphis owns a 2-0 start. The Dubs travel to Dallas to face the Mavericks Monday night. Game time is at 5:30pm.

Sharks Fall to Islanders Again, 5-3

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by Mary Walsh

NEW YORK — In spite of Logan Couture’s hat trick on Saturday, the Sharks lost to the New York Islanders by two goals, for the second time this season. Islander goals came from Andrew Ladd, Josh Bailey, John Tavares and two from Anders Lee. Thomas Greiss made 28 saves for the win, while Aaron Dell made 18 saves for San Jose. The game was the second of back to backs for the Sharks, and the same skaters were in the lineup as the night before. The only only change from Friday’s game was in net, with Dell in for Martin Jones.

Sharks defenseman, Brent Burns, who had eight shots in the game, said of Couture’s recent success: “He’s a great player. He’s an elite player and that’s huge for us.” On how Couture and linemate Tomas Hertl have played together this season, he said:

They’re both great players. I think Hertl is very under-rated on his puck control and his battle level. Great at controlling the puck in the zone and making little plays. He’s just hard to play against, obviously huge that he’s got a great shot and great hands. Battles hard, and I think it’s good to see them getting chemistry.

An uneventful first period was followed by a four goal second period. The Sharks scored first, on a power play at 6:26. Brock Nelson was in the box for hooking Kevin Labanc. The goal came 35 seconds into the power play, starting with a faceoff win by Joe Thornton. Thornton won the faceoff and then passed the puck back to Brent Burns at the point. Burns hesitated briefly, then shot it for Logan Couture to redirect it in. Assists went to Burns and Thornton.

The Islanders responded with two goals, the first less than two minutes later. Nick Leddy got around Boedker to get to the puck behind the Sharks net. From there he sent the puck back to Anders Lee for a neat shot past Dell. Leddy and John Tavares got the assists.

The next Islanders goal came less than a minute later at 8:31. Josh Bailey took advantage of a takeaway and stick handled around Joe Pavelski to beat Dell one on one.

Logan Couture tied the game back up at 12:44. Jannik Hansen followed the puck over the line and had to reach for it. He managed to pass it to Couture as he was approaching the faceoff circle. From there, Couture could shoot without interference and he hit the mark. Assists went to Hansen and Brenden Dillon.

Early in the third period, the Islanders took the lead again with a goal from Andrew Ladd. Mathew Barzal carried the puck around behind the net, driven there by a lot of Sharks defenders. Possibly Barzal got too much attention because Ladd was able to skate into an open space in the slot and when he got the pass from down low he was ready for it. Dell was not quite ready for the shot. Assists went to Barzal and Josh Bailey.

Moments later, Joe Pavelski was hit in the wrist area and appeared to be in some distress. He stayed on the bench and did not leave the game.

The Sharks had some good chances during a power play in the third, in particular the unit of Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Tomas Hertl, Joonas Donskoi, Mikkel Boedker and Kevin Labanc. The Sharks had plenty of chances in the third. Half way through the period, the shots were 13-2.

The Islanders scored twice more in the third period. The first came on a two on one after Joakim Ryan got tangled up on the boards with 15, while trying to keep the puck from escaping up the boards. The two were John Tavares and Anders Lee, with Brent Burns back. Tavares’s pass went through Burns’s skates right on to Lee’s tape. Assists went to Tavares and Cal Clutterbuck.

Couture closed the gap with just under two minutes left in the game. He was at the net when Burns sent a shot from the blue line, and after a little scramble, redirected it into the net.

Incidentally, that third goal from Couture won $100,000 for Wanda Lockwood in the Safeway Score & Win contest.

The final goal of the game went into an empty net at 19:04, off of Tavares’s stick. Assists went to Lee and Calvin de Haan.

After the game, Burns was asked if Joe Thornton got a get out of jail free card after a bad turnover during the game. He responded:

Every goal happens, there’s always three or four breakdowns that happen before. I mean I don’t even know which one you’re talking about to be honest. Hockey’s pretty fast, this team especially comes hard so it’s usually not on the puck controller, usually it’s the support and guys talking to him. I honestly don’t know which one you’re talking about but, I assume, there’s a lot of other things that happen on every goal. We don’t really have get out of jail free cards or blame game.

The Sharks next play on Monday against the Rangers at 4:00 PM PT in New York.

Monsters Devour 4-1 Win Over Barracuda

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Alexandra Evans

CLEVELAND, OH—The San Jose Barracuda traveled to the Midwest to face the Cleveland Monsters, AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets, on Saturday, October 21, where they fell 4-1.

The offensive lines and defensive pairs stayed the same as they had the previous game against Stockton, with one small change; forward John Martin stepped in for Bryan Moore on the line with Colby McCauley and Tim Clifton. The lines were as follows:

Offense:

  • Adam Helewka, Danny O’Regan, Rudolfs Balcers
  • Marcus Sorensen, Alexander True, Brandon Bollig
  • Brandon Mashinter, John McCarthy, Filip Sangberg

Defensive pairings:

  • Jacob Middleton and Julius Bergman
  • Cavan Fitzgerald and Nick DeSimone
  • Radim Simek and Mike Brodzinski

Troy Grosenick started in goal for San Jose.

The match had a slow start to begin with; 35 seconds into the first period, Cleveland’s Carter Camper effortlessly made his way past the Barracuda’s defense and fired a shot over Grosenick’s shoulder, giving the Monsters a 1-0 lead off the bat.

In the second period, the Monsters brought the lead up to 2-0 when John Ramage scored 12:56 minutes in. The Barracuda had sufficient opportunity to score on the power play, which Helewka came close to; however, Monsters goaltender Brad Thiessen was clearly in a “hail Mary” mindset and successfully blocked the shot.

Bollig notched San Jose’s only goal of the game a few seconds before the two minute mark of the third period. Middleton and Sorensen provided the assists. However, Cleveland came back when Miles Koules scored a power play goal, followed by Tyler Motte successfully taking advantage of the open net with 53 seconds left in the game.

The Barracuda took three penalties in the first period, one during the second, and another three in the third, which Coach Roy Sommer has referred to as “bad decisions.” Additionally, Grosenick failed to stop three shots out of 21, while Thiessen stopped 18 shots out of 19.

The Barracuda are now 2-3 and will face the Monsters again tomorrow (Sunday, October 22) in Cleveland.

Stanford Cardinal Football Podcast with Matt Harrington: Cardinal fired up in effort to get fifth straight win at OSU

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Oregon State University Interim Head Coach Cory Hall takes the field for the first time as head coach during a college football game between the Colorado Buffaloes and Oregon State Beavers on October 14, 2017 at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

By Matt Harrington

If the 49-7 defeat over the Oregon Ducks at Stanford Stadium was an indication of things to come then Oregon State University whose on a five game losing  streak going into this game might have some concerns. On the flipside the Cardinal are coming into Thursday’s game with a four game win streak at OSU. The Cardinal won big last season past the Ducks 52-27 at Autzen Stadium .

The Cardinal had another opportunity to show the Ducks a good time last week as the Cards didn’t waste anytime out of the shoot scoring on a six play 77 yard offensive series at Stanford Stadium. On defense the Cardinal were able to hold the Ducks down to just a touchdown considering they were missing two defensive stars Harrison Phillips and Peter Kalambayi in the first half of the game.

OSU Beavers cornerbacks coach Cory Hall will serve as the interim head coach after head coach Gary Anderson quit. The Beavers needless to say are facing lots of problems on both sides of the ball considering they played one of their best games during this five game losing streak just losing by three to the Colorado Buffaloes 36-33 last Saturday.

Matt Harrington does the Stanford Cardinal podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Warriors rally to win their first game of the season as they down New Orleans Pelicans 128-120

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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) blocks a shot by New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (11) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Friday, Oct. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

by Jerry Feitelberg

New Orleans- The Golden State Warriors had their hands full with the spirited New Orleans Pelicans Friday night in the Crescent City. The Dubs rallied from a fifteen-point deficit halfway in the second quarter and looked like the champs that they are as they won 128-120

The Pelicans, without question, outplayed the Warriors in the first quarter. They shredded the vaunted Warrior defense as they scored at will and poured in thirty-nine points to lead 39-26. The Pelicans increased the lead to 57-42 halfway through the second quarter before the sleep-walking Warriors woke up and exerted themselves. The Warriors went on a 19-7 run to end the first half and trailed by three 64-61.

The Warriors surge carrier over into the third quarter. As they have done so many times last year, they owned the third quarter and went on a 26-7 run and finished the third quarter with an eight-point advantage. The Pelicans kept the pressure on in the fourth quarter, but Golden State refused to wilt. Each time scored thirty points in the final stanza, and the Warriors finished the night with the win.

Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant paced the Warriors to victory. Klay led the team with thirty-one points. Steph followed with twenty-eight, seven assists, and three board. Kevin Durant added twenty-two points, seven rebounds, and a career-high six blocks. Draymond Green pitched in with ten points, eight assists, and five rebounds.  The two big men for the Pelicans, Anthony Davis, and DeMarcus Cousins, each scored thirty-five points. Davis had seventeen boards and Cousins pulled down fourteen. Other Pelicans in double figures were Jrue Holiday, Jordan Crawford, and former Warrior Ian Clark. Clark finished the night with thirteen points.

Game Stats- The Warriors shot 52.2% from the floor and knocked down eighteen three-point shots in forty attempts. They also recorded thirty-one assists. The Warriors defense came through with five steals and eight blocks.

After the game, Steve Kerr remarked that Klay Thompson “was on his game right away.” Klay did not start well last year, but his performance has been stellar so far this year. Kerr said this about the defense:’ I thought we had a much better defensive stretch than we ever had in the Houston game.”

The Warriors play the Memphis Grizzlies Saturday night in Memphis. Game time is at 5 pm.

Kings post first win of 2017-18 on the road Friday night beating Dallas 93-88

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

Dal Hill
George Hill was the Kings scoring leader with 21 points Photo: USA Today Sports

Sacramento won the game because they played with intensity

Nothing may illustrate that point more than the sequence that took place with 34.1-seconds left to play in the game and the Kings leading 89-86. Zach Randolph missed a 16-foot fadeaway jump shot. Buddy Hield made a hustle rebound under the basket to keep the possession alive for Sacramento. George Hill ultimately hit a 17-foot jumper that for all intensive purposes sealed the win for the Kings.

This was a game of runs

In the second quarter, the Mavs went on a 12-0 run to go up 38-26 and it looked like Kings were going to be in real trouble on the road before halftime. The Kings woke up and went on to outscore the Mavericks 20-8 in the final 5:22 of the period. George Hill was the leader with help from Z-Bo, Cauley-Stein and Buddy Hield.

Sacramento came back to floor ready to go after halftime. They won the 3rd quarter by posting 25 points to just 14 for Dallas. Buddy Hield led the scoring barrage with eight points while Hill added seven points and Randolph put up six. The Kings went into the 4th quarter with a 71-60 lead.

Another run started immediately at the beginning of the final quarter. Unfortunately for the Kings, it was the Mavericks who went on an 11-0 run to take a 72-71 lead with 9:38 to go in the game. Dirk Nowitzki — yes the old guy — and J.J. Barea were the players who fueled the run for Dallas.

The Kings retook the lead when Skal Labissiere hit a 19-foot jumper (assist Fox) at 8:46 to make it a 73-72 game. The Kings would never relinquish the lead again in the contest. They did not have an easy time in those final minutes but they played them with a lead.

Top Performers

Dal z-bo
Zach “Z-Bo” Randolph made his presence known in Dallas Photo: USA Today Sports

Sacramento

  • George Hill was the man again on Saturday night with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. He shot 9-for-12 from the floor and was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line.
  • Zach Randolph got the start at center in Dallas after having to miss the home opener due to oral surgery. Z-Bo showed off his toughness on both ends of the court as he scored 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Three of those rebounds came on offense — think second chance point opportunities.
  • Buddy Hield recorded 13 points and 6 rebounds but it was that one offensive rebound with under a minute to go in the game that was really clutch. He did not have a great shooting night going 4-for-11 from the floor (1-for-6 for 3’s). Hield was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. He also dished out 3 assists.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein or maybe we should call him “Mr. Double-Double”. He scored 10 points and hauled in 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double game.
  • “The Fox” was hot again on Friday night. How about 10 assists in the game coming off the bench? He scored 9 points, had 6 rebounds and 1 steal in 26-minutes on the floor.
  • Other contributors: Labissiere 8 points + 5 rebounds, Temple 8 points + 6 rebounds,  Vince Carter 6 points, Koufos 3 points + 5 rebounds and Justin Jackson 2 points + 4 rebounds.

Dallas

  • Top scorer for his team and the game — Harrison Barnes 24 points on 8-for-18 shooting.
  • Yogi Ferrell hit some key baskets to keep his team in the contest and finished with 14 points.
  • Dorian Finney-Smith scored 14 points coming off the bench and was a big factor late in the game.
  • J.J. Barea — who started at point guard because Dennis Smith, Jr. was held out due to swelling in a knee — scored 9 points and distributed 10 assists.
  • Dirk Nowitzki — first vice president of AARP — played 29-minutes scoring 10 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. He really is my hero.

Team Stats

Dal WCS
Mr. Double-Double Willie Cauley-Stein Photo: USA Today Sports

Kings

  • SAC shot 42.5-percent from the field (37-for-87)
  • They hit 10-of-23 from 3-point range. That is 43.5-percent shooting. Joerger has to pleased with that.
  • The Kings made 9-of-13 free throw attempts. They had only 10 attempts versus Houston. The 13 on Friday was an improvement but that total needs to get up into the 20s.
  • Kings out-rebounded the Mavs 57-36. More importantly, they owned the offensive glass 16-7.
  • The team had 20 assists and 14 turnovers giving up 14 points off those TOVs.
  • Second Chance Points Kings 14 vs Mavericks 6

Dallas

  • The Mavericks shot 41.3-percent from the field (31-for-75)
  • They were 11-for-33 (33.3-percent) from beyond the arc
  • Dallas went to the FT line 21 times and converted 15 of those attempts
  • The Mavs posted 19 assists while turning the ball over 12 times (6 points for Kings)

Both teams play Saturday night on the road

Sacramento

The Kings (1-1) head north and will play at a “Mile High” in Denver when they will face the 0-1 Nuggets. This will be the first road back-to-back set for the Kings rookies. Denver is 0-1 this season. Game time is 6 p.m. PDT.

Dallas

The 0-2 Mavericks will head south to face the 2-0 Houston Rockets in their home opener. They will not have to see Chris Paul who will be out 2-4 weeks due to his knee injury.

Sharks Shut Out Devils 3-0

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

The San Jose Sharks started a five-game road trip on Friday, with a 3-0 win in New Jersey. Melker Karlsson scored the first goal of the game, with Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi adding to the score. Martin Jones made 28 saves for the shutout, while Keith Kinkaid made 30 stops for the Devils.

Asked if starting the trip a day early helped prepare the team, Sharks Captain Joe Pavelksi said:

Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. We won, so it helped. Coming off our home stand which wasn’t the best, I think it was good for us to get on the road an extra day and realize it’s a business trip for sure but we’ll have some fun, and it’s a great way to start it tonight.

The New Jersey Devils have had an excellent start to their season, winning six of seven games before the loss to the Sharks. Two of their young stars, forward Nico Hischier and defenseman Will Butcher get some credit for the early season success. In Friday’s game, Butcher led his team with five shots on goal. So far this season, Butcher has nine assists, while Hischier has two goals and five assists. After the game, Martin Jones described the Devils’ game as “They’re quick, they’re really good around the net. They make a lot of quick little plays in and around the net, so they’re definitely a dangerous team.”

The Sharks lineup looked the same as it had in their last game, one of just two wins this season. After the game, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

We need our depth, I thought our depth guys were good tonight. I thought all the guys on Tierney and Carpenter’s line were solid and we got good contributions from them. If not offense, then zone time and offensive zone play. So that was a good sign… It was the best that our depth forwards I think have played as a group, which is what we need.

The first goal came in the first period at 14:11. Tim Heed shot the puck in and the Sharks forwards swarmed the net. After Kinkaid made a couple of stops, Hertl made a quick pass from behind the net that found Karlsson right on the edge of the blue paint. From there he was able to put the puck into the far corner. Assists went to Hertl and Heed.

During that sequence, Logan Couture seemed to take the a shot off of his ankle and he left the game for the rest of the period. He did return to play the second period, but then missed some minutes at the start of the third.

The second goal came early in the second period. The Devils had the Sharks stuck in their own zone for a spell, but when the Sharks broke out they moved quickly. Defenseman Justin Braun sent the puck down low to Joe Thornton, who sent it right back as Pavelski got to the net. Braun took the shot from the blue line and Pavelski tipped it in. Assists went to Thornton and Braun. Of the goal, Pavelski said after the game:

I was a little surprised it went in, I was really tight to the goalie at the time. A lot of times they’ll be able to shut those down. Actually, one of my uncles passed yesterday and that was the one thing, you know, from family that they said, get a goal for that. And I don’t think that goal probably should have went in so I’m sure he had a little bit to do with it.

In the final two minutes of the second period, Joonas Donskoi showed off his skill and tenacity with the third goal. He carried the puck over the line, accompanied by his linemates Jannik Hansen and Ryan Carpenter. Donskoi took a shot from the faceoff circle which Kinkaid stopped and kicked back out. Donskoi caught the rebound on his backhand and threw it back in. An assist went to Justin Braun. Of Donskoi’s performance, DeBoer said:

He’s a very good player. Whether he plays with Thornton and Pavelksi or whether he plays with Tierney or Carpenter, he comes to work every game and he’s got to find a way to create offense for us. So I thought he was good tonight, played well. He’s just got to keep building on that.

The Sharks play again Saturday in Brooklyn against the New York Islanders at 4:00 PM PT.

Sports Headlines with London Marq: Houston forces game seven series all knotted at three a piece; Dodgers chilling waiting for their next opponent

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Houston Astros’ Carlos Correa and George Springer celebrate after Game 6 of baseball’s American League Championship against the New York Yankees Series Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, in Houston. The Astros won 7-1 to tie the series at 3-3. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

On the Sports Headlines Podcast with London:

1 The Dodgers swimming in bubbly on Thursday night after taking four out of five from the Chicago Cubs will wait for a winner out of the ALCS as the Houston Astros topped the New York Yankees 7-1 on Friday night at Minute Maid Field in Houston.

2 The Dodgers Enrique Hernandez was the game hero with three home runs, a grand slam and seven RBIs in the 11-1 laugher to close out the series

3 It’s the Dodgers first visit to the World Seris since 1988 when they beat the Oakland A’s for the championship

4 In the ALCS the Houston Astros saved themselves with a 7-1 victory at Minute Maid Field to even the series after the Yankees came back to win three straight from the Astros at Yankee Stadium

5 The Yankees and Astros play the deciding game at Minute Maid Field on Saturday for game seven

London Marq does the Sports Podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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