Sharks Defeat Canucks 4-3, Granlund Scores Highlight Goal

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San Jose Sharks center Mikael Granlund (64) is congratulated by defenseman Mike Ferraro (38) and left wing Fabian Zetterlund (20) and defenseman Calen Addison (33) after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Nov 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 at SAP Center on Saturday. Ty Emberson, Fabian Zetterlund, Mikael Granlund and Mike Hoffman scored for the Sharks and Kaapo Kahkonen made 32 saves for the win. Filip Hronek and Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks and Casey DeSmith made 18 saves in the loss.

It was the Sharks’ fourth win of the season. After the game, Sharks defenseman Calen Addison said: “Obviously we played a real complete game tonight, I think we should have won last night too. So, obviously it’s huge for our group and a win is huge for confidence.”

The Sharks and their goaltender, Kaapo Kahkonen did not give up a goal at even strength Saturday. With their defense firmed up, their offense took on new life. Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “We’re looking different, right? We’re looking more cohesive, we’re playing faster, moving pucks, but, spending time in the o-zone feels good.”

Early in the first, Vancouver’s Sam Lafferty put the puck in the net but the goal was called back for goaltender interference. Lafferty’s skate connected with Kahkonen’s as the goaltender rushed back into the blue paint after playing the puck behind the net. As a result, Kahkonen fell before he could get in position.

After that close call, Ty Emberson scored the first goal of the game at 9:58. His slapshot off a Hertl pass was his first in the NHL and the first goal from a Sharks defenseman this season. Assists went to Hertl and Mike Hoffman.

Filip Hronek tied the game at 15:37 with a power play goal. The Canucks’ fourth-ranked power play held the zone and the puck for the full minute that it took them to score. Hronek’s shot went under Kahkonen off a cross-ice pass. Assists went to J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes.

Fabian Zetterlund made it 2-1 Sharks at 14:05 of the second period with a slap shot from the top of the faceoff circle. Tomas Hertl found him with a quick pass from below the goal line after carrying the puck behind the net.

Brock Boeser tied it up again with a power play goal in the final seconds of the period. A rebound from Miller’s shot went right to Boeser for a shot over the goaltender. Assists went to Miller and Hronek.

The Sharks took the lead back with their first shot of the third period just 22 seconds in. The teams were skating four-on-four during a penalty carry-over from the second period. Mikael Granlund carried the puck end-to-end, right up the middle of the ice, weaving his way through the Vancouver defense. He made it to the net for a move worthy of a shoot-out. It was his first goal as a Shark. Assists went to Calen Addison and Mario Ferraro.

Mike Hoffman padded the lead with a power play goal at 1:48. The teams were playing four-on-three. Granlund shot the puck to the net for a deflection. The deflection did not work but Hoffman swept it in with a second try. Assists went to Granlund and Addison.

With 3:11 left in the third, the Canucks pulled their goaltender for an extra skater. Brock Boeser was able to score with a quick shot through traffic. Assists went to Miller (his third of the game) and Elias Pettersson.

In the final minutes of the game, Nico Sturm blocked a shot, had some trouble getting off the ice (though he managed a shot at the empty net on his way) and had to go to the dressing room.

The shots were close in the first period, 10-9 Sharks, but tilted to Vancouver thereafter, ending at 34-22 Canucks. The Sharks had just one power play to the Canucks’ four. Their penalty kill went 2/4 against the proficient Vancouver power play.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 7:30 PM PT at home against the visiting Washington Capitals.

Cal’s comeback in overtime not enough; drop third-straight in SoCal Showcase to San Diego 76-67

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Cal Bears forward Fardaws Aimaq tries to get some offense going against the San Diego Aztecs forward Jaedon Lee (13) at SoCal Showcase at JSerra Pavilion in San Juan Capistrano on Sat Nov 25, 2023 (@CalMBBall photo)

Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023

JSerra Pavilion, San Juan Capistrano, California

California Golden Bears 67 (2-5)

San Diego State Aztecs 76 (5-1)

By Stephen Ruderman

The Bears came back late to force overtime, but they eventually lost their third-straight game in the SoCal Showcase, as the San Diego State Aztecs’ defense shined to beat them 76-67.

The Bears had dropped their first two games of the SoCal Showcase played in San Juan Capistrano, each by three points. Tonight, they were looking to bounce back against a strong Aztecs team.

The Bears jumped out to a 5-0 lead early, as Jaylon Tyson laid one in, and Jalen Cone hit a three. The Aztecs quickly matched it to tie it at 5-5. Fardaws Aimaq hit a three to give Cal an 8-5 lead, but Micah Parrish hit a three to tie it at 8-8.

The Aztecs got to 16-11 lead with 12:06 left in the first period, but Cal scored five unanswered points, as Tyson hit a three-ball to tie it at 16-16 with 10:49 left. The score remained neck and neck for a couple of minutes, but San Diego State was able to hold a steady lead throughout the latter half of the first period, as they went into the half up 39-34.

The teams traded baskets to start the second period, as Cal got to within three at 45-42 three minutes and 21 seconds into the second period. From there, the Aztecs began to pull away, as they scored seven unanswered points to open up a 52-42 lead. It was the beginning of a 14-5 run for San Diego State that put them up 59-47 with 9:24 to go.

Cal refused to concede, and was able to slightly cut the deficit to 63-54 with 6:15 to go. Aimaq hit a pair of free throws with 5:19 to go to cut it to 63-56, and Rodney Brown Jr. hit a three with 4:35 left to cut it close at 63-59.

The Bears were back in it, but neither team scored for over two minutes. Brown then hit another three with 2:23 to go, and suddenly, it was a one-point game at 63-62. Aimaq hit the second of two free throws to tie it at 63-63, and neither team scored in the minute and 42 seconds left, as the game went into overtime.

Cal had miraculously come back late to send the game into overtime, but just as soon as they had done so, the Aztecs took the momentum right back. The Bears won the jump ball to start overtime, but Jaylon Tyson had the ball stolen by Reese Waters, and Grant Newell traveled.

Waters was fouled by Newell, and hit a pair of free throws to put San Diego State back ahead. Aimaq missed a layup, and San Diego State capitalized on it, as Jaedon Ledee rebounded it and made a jumper in the paint to put the Aztecs up 67-63.

Tyson and Aimaq each made a free throw to make it 67-65, but another jumper by Ledee made it 69-65, and the Aztecs took control. Darrion Trammell made a pair of free throws with 1:17 to go, and by then Cal had run out of time. The Aztecs ended up winning it by a final of 76-67.

Cal falls to 2-5, and they will return home for a week off. They will try and bounce back on Saturday, Dec. 2 at Haas Pavilion, as they will welcome in the Santa Clara Broncos for a 4:00 tip.

San Jose State Spartans Earn Possible Shot At Mountain West Title Game With 37-31 Victory Over UNLV Rebels

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A happy group of San Jose State Spartans leave the field after playing against the UNLV Running Rebels at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sat Nov 25, 2023 (San Jose State University image)

Saturday, November 25th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

The San Jose State Spartans won its fifth straight game and earned a shot at the Mountain West Conference title by beating the UNLV Rebels 37-31 in this final week of the season. Thanks to Chevan Cordeiro’s two touchdown passes and Kairee Robinson’s two touchdown rushes the Spartans made a big statement headed into the championship week. 

This loss for UNLV leaves a three-way tie for first place in the Mountain West between them SJSU and Boise State and computer rankings will determine which two teams will play in the conference championship game. Updates coming soon. 

SJSU took control early in this game and didn’t let up. Cordeiro’s 56 yard passing TD to Sam Olson was the fourth play from scrimmage and grabbed the lead. A UNLV fumble on the following kickoff that Jay’Vion Cole recovered at the 23 yard line set up a Spartans field goal. 10-0 SJSU.

Robinson scored a 25 yard touchdown making it 17-0 Spartans, but UNLV responded with a rushing TD of their own thanks to Jai’Den Thomas that put them within ten points at the end of the first quarter. 

Each team hit a field goal in the second quarter making it 20-10 Spartans at halftime. In the third quarter UNLV was able to cut the deficit with another Thomas rushing TD early in the third quarter, but Cordeiro came right back with a toss to Isaac Jernigin, and then another field goal by SJSU made it 30-17 by the end of the third quarter. 

The final quarter started with Robinson scoring on a 40 yard touchdown giving the Spartans a three score lead. UNLV in back to back drives was able to score and cut the lead to 37-31 with 1:27 left in the game. Spartans ran the clock down and ended the game with 37-31 and now the rankings have to decide which one the three teams in this tie will play in the conference championship game next week.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks lose in shootout to Montreal 3-2; Sharks host Canucks tonight

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Montreal Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau (30) defends against a shot attempt by San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin (11) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 William Eklund scored a shootout goal for the San Jose Sharks (3-15-2) against the Montreal Canadiens (9-9-2) at SAP Center on Friday afternoon it wasn’t enough as the Canadiens Nick Suzuki and Jesse Ylonen scored on Sharks goalie MacKenzie Blackwood for the win 3-2.

#2 The Canadiens Cole Caufield attempted to score on Blackwood in the shootout but Blackwood made a save and had 22 saves for the game.

#2 It was Caufield in the third period who tied up the game 2-2 beating Blackwood at 3:25 with a wrist shot to send the game into the shootout.

#3 The Sharks were hoping to get back in the win column after getting crushed by the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday in Seattle 7-1. The Sharks head coach David Quinn said despite the loss the veteran players led by example making it a much closer game this time around against the Habs.

#4 For the Sharks Mike Hoffman scored his fifth goal in five games, Eklund’s goal was a power play goal so the scoring has improved over the last two games. Hoffman’s goal came from an assist from Eklund 5:06 in the second period.

#5 The Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks Saturday night at 7:30pm. The Sharks lost to the Canucks 3-1 last Monday. The Canucks have lost three of their four games their last game coming against the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 on Wednesday.

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Reign comeback from two-goal deficit to upend Barracuda 4-2

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Ontario Reign’s Kevin Connauton and San Jose Barracuda’s Nathan Todd battle in front of the net at Tech CU Arena on Saturday NOV 25, 2023. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Ontario Reign erased a two-goal deficit with four unanswered goals to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 4-2 on Saturday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose finished their seven-game homestand with back-to-back losses. Ontario have won four in a row and have points in eight consecutive games as they swept the two-game series.

San Jose (4-8-4-0) drew first blood early in the first period on its first shot in the game. Leon Gawanke fed Jacob Peterson in the Reign zone. Peterson skated into the middle where his shot deflected off of Wyatte Wylie’s leg past Reign goalie Erik Portillo for his third goal of the season at the 2:37 mark.

Peterson’s second goal in three games snapped a 188:54 shutout streak by Ontario.

The Barracuda doubled its lead with an even strength goal just under six minutes later. A shot from the point by Bradely Marek was initially saved by Portillo he never secured the puck as it laid loose near the crease. Danil Gushchin who cleaned up the rebound for his fifth goal of the season, his first since being reassigned to the ‘Cuda, at the 8:09 mark.

Ontario (11-4-1-1) were shellshocked by the ‘Cuda’s quick start and did not play with a disciplined manor as they took two penalties late in the opening frame.

The Reign cut the deficit in half early in the second period fresh off a penalty kill. A shot from the point by T.J. Tynan was picked up at the crease by Samuel Fagemo who deposited a wraparound past ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona for his seventh goal of the season at the 1:48 mark.

Fagemo scored the equalizer, his second goal of the game, late in the middle frame while the teams were playing 4-on-4. Fagemo cruised by the net after taking a pass from Tynan. His initial shot was stopped by Chrona but Fagemo’s rebound attempt caromed off of Chrona into the back of the net for Fagemo’s team leading eighth goal of the season at the 18:08 mark.

Fagemo has caught fire for Ontario with three multiple goals games in his last four contests.

Ontario went ahead seconds after killing off a penalty to start the third period. A giveaway inside the Reign zone by the ‘Cuda led to an odd man rush counterattack. Andre Lee found Akil Thomas with a rink wide pass and he buried a one-timer past Chrona for his third goal of the season at the 1:37 mark.

Brandt Clarke concluded the scoring with an empty net goal, his fifth of the season with 28 seconds remaining in the game to ice the game for Ontario.

Portillo (5-1-0) finished the game stopping 40 of the 42 shots the ‘Cuda peppered him with to earn the win. Chrona (1-4-2) made 27 saves on 30 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-5 on the power play. Ontario was 0-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Fagemo 2) Gawanke 3) Tynan.

UP NEXT: San Jose finished the month of November when they take on the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Wednesday 11/29 at 7:00pm at Acrisure Arena.

UNI routs Cardinal 73-53 for 7th in Battle 4 Atlantis

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Stanford Cardinal James Keefe (right) blocks the shot of the Northern Iowa Panthers Cole Henry (left) at the Battle 4 Atlantis Men’s Tournament at Paradise Island, The Bahamas (Tim Aylen Bahamas Visual Services via AP)

By Daniel Dullum

Friday, November 24, 2023

Stanford fell short in its attempt to salvage its third game of the Battle 4 Atlantis men’s basketball tournament, as Northern Iowa handily defeated the Cardinal 73-53 in the seventh-place game at Paradise Island, The Bahamas.

With the victory, Panthers coach Ben Jacobson picked up his 337th career win, tying him with former Creighton and Saint Louis coach Eddie Hickey for second on the Missouri Valley Conference’s (MVC) all-time wins list.

Northern Iowa’s offense tied season-highs in both field goal attempts and made shots as it dominated Stanford off the glass, holding the Cardinal under 40 percent shooting to snap a three-game skid.

Northern Iowa (2-4) jumped out to an early lead despite Stanford’s first eight points coming from Maxime Raynaud. The Panthers used a 19-4 run to take control of the game, leading at the break 49-27.

The Panthers maintained a healthy double-digit lead the remainder of the night, never letting the Cardinal pull within less than 19 points in the final 20 minutes of play. Stanford (3-4) held the Panthers to just 24 points in the second half on 32.1 percent shooting and 14.3 percent from beyond the arc, but the Carinal deficit was too large to overcome.

UNI’s defense continued to apply pressure on Stanford, which shot 32.1 percent in the second half and finished with a 36.5 shooting percentage on the night. The Panthers outrebounded the Cardinal 41-33, 9-4 in offensive rebounds, finishing the night with a bang to secure the 22-point victory.

Raynaud led the Cardinal with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Michael Jones scored nine points; Brandon Angel and James Keefe had eight apiece.

Nate Heise finished the night with a game-high 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting, while Jacob Hutson tallied a 12-point, four-rebound performance. Bowen Born recorded 11 points with a pair of assists, Tyton Anderson scoring ten points while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds, and both Trey Campbell and Kyle Pock finishing with six points each.

The Stanford offense came into the game averaging nearly 84 points per game, but struggled from the field in shooting 36.5 percent from the floor and 19.2 percent from 3-point range.

The Cardinal return home to Maples Pavilion to face San Diego on Sunday, Dec. 3. Tipoff is 4 p.m.

Warriors Hand San Antonio Spurs Eleventh Loss in a Row 118-112

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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) takes a jump shot over the San Antonio Spurs forward Zach Collins (23) in first half action at Chase Center in San Francisco on Fri Nov 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Golden State Warriors (8-9) were very lucky to escape with a win against the San Antonio Spurs (3-13) 118-112. The Spur put out a great effort forcing turnovers but the youngsters came up just short. The Warriors were struggling with 24 turnovers but the 35 points from guard Stephen Curry sealed the win.

Friday night the Warriors welcomed the Spurs to Chase Center. The Spurs are the bottom dwellers of the Western Conference right now with a lot of season left ahead of them. The Warriors come into this game after losing to the Suns Wednesday 123-115. The Spurs also lost in their last game to the Los Angeles Clippers 109-102.

Game recap: The Spurs came out fast leading after the first quarter 35-32. Golden State battled back with a 22 to 9 run in the second quarter. The Warriors trailed until 6:18 when they took their first lead of the second quarter 50-49.

The Spurs had led by as much as nine points in the quarter but trailed at the half 59-55 in this hotly contested half. The Warrior run in the second quarter made all the difference in this game. Gary Payton II was back for the team and his defense was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Going into the third quarter, both offenses were lackluster through the first three minutes. Each team registered a couple of points in those three minutes but it was an ugly quarter so far for both sides. The Warriors took a time out and when play resumed, Kevon Looney hit a two. The Warriors had caught their breath and came out on fire.

The Spurs were pretty fired up tying up the game at 66 mid-way through the quarter. It had been very difficult to get any type of separation in this game for the Warriors. At 4:38 the Warriors went on a 11-0 run taking a 77-68 lead and finding the separation that had eluded them so far in this game. The Curry flurry had begun with 4 of 8 from downtown.

Golden State had put a lot more pressure on the Spurs offensively and defensively hitting 16 unanswered points in the third quarter. The Spurs had a strong finish in the quarter pulling to within five points 86-81. They scored the final nine points going into the fourth quarter.

The Warriors started off the fourth quarter with a couple of shots from downtown. The Golden State bench was really rising to the occasion going on a 8-0 run extending their lead to 94-81. It was truly a sight watching Chris Paul doing his best to defend Victor Wembanyama.

The Warriors bench did a great job in the first half of the fourth quarter escalating their lead to 101-87. The Spurs fought hard to avoid their eleventh loss in a row but came up short losing 118-112.

Curry had the high in the game with 35 points and off the bench Dario Saric was terrific with 20 points. The team is still struggling with turnovers committing 24. The Warriors were lucky indeed to get out of this game with a win.

Next Tuesday night the Warriors will play the Sacramento Kings up at Golden 1 Center. The Warriors will not play before then having a few days off. Sacramento will also come into the game rested having three days off. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Ten lost games in a row for Spurs

Reign rule over Barracuda in 3-0 shutout win

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The Ontario Reign bench celebrates one of the three goals they scored against the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Friday NOV 24, 2023. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Ontario Reign might want to change their name to the blanks or zeroes.

The Reign took down the San Jose Barracuda in a 3-0 shutout victory on Friday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has lost three of its past five games. Ontario has won three games in a row, with three consecutive shutouts, and have points in seven straight games.

Ontario (10-4-1-1) drew first blood on the power play past the halfway mark of the first period. Alex Turcotte made touch pass back to Akil Thomas up near the point. Thomas sent a rink wide pass over to Samuel Fagemo who buried a one-timer past ‘Cuda goalie Eetu Makiniemi for his sixth goal of the season at the 11:50 mark.

San Jose (4-7-4-0) were busy on the penalty kill during the opening frame as they weren’t able to establish their forecheck with only generating four shots on goal.

The Barracuda dominated the second period as they outshot the Reign 15-8. Despite having Ontario on their heels for the majority of the period, San Jose had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard as Reign goalie David Rittich kept the puck from going in during the middle frame.

“We knew they were a stingy team defensively,” said ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy regarding his team being shutout. “We knew were going to have to work for our (scoring) chances. I think we did have some chances on par with what that team gives up.”

Ontario doubled its lead 24 seconds into the third period. A shot from the right side by Brandt Clarke was redirected by Turcotte for his fourth goal of the season. Taylor Ward picked up the secondary assist.

San Jose was behind the eight ball when Ontario had a full two-minute 5-on-3 power play advantage when Thomas Bordeleau and Jacob Peterson both went off for high sticking at the 6:59 mark. However, Makiniemi and the penalty kill kept the deficit from growing any larger.

“Our (penalty) kill has been good the last stretch here. Everybody bought in. I thought we had some big blocks on that (5-on-3), kinda got the bench into it,” McCarthy said.

TJ Tynan, who leads the AHL in assists with 15, scored an empty netter with 1:32 remaining in the game for his second goal of the season to ice the game for Ontario.

Rittich (6-3-2) stopped all 32 shots he faced to earn his third shutout of the season. Makiniemi (0-2-0) made 20 saves on 22 shots in the losing effort after making his first since being called up from Wichita.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-2 on the power play. Ontario was 1-for-5.

Ontario has outscored their last three opponents 13-0.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Turcotte 2) Rittich 3) Fagemo.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Ontario conclude their two-games series on Saturday 11/25 at 2:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The Legacy of the Cuban Giants

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Original Cuban Giants 1886-1990 who played in St Augustin Fla and Trenton NJ (photo provided by Amaury Pi Gonzalez)

The Legacy of the Cuban Giants

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Sixty-two years before Jackie Robinson became the first black player in the major leagues, with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Cuban Giants were the first salaried African-American professional baseball club in the United States.

The team got its name because they played in Cuba during the winter of 1885-1886. There are 21 countries in Latin America, including Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean. All the players with the Cuban Giants were born in Cuba.

Throughout history, Cuba has been the first Latin American country with proven baseball talent. Not only the Cuban Giants ball club, but many US-born black players (who could not play in the US because of segregation) went to Cuba and played there and were welcome there.

Cuba, the country, has always been linked with the origins of American baseball. Anybody who researches baseball history will find that the Cuban League was one of the oldest baseball leagues in the world.

For decades, American major leagues kept black players off their roster. They were integrated into Cuba after the Spanish-American War in 1900. This increased after Cuba won its independence from Spain in 1902.

Esteban Bellán, a Cuban-born player of white skin, was the first Latino to play in a US-organized professional baseball league in 1871 with the Troy Haymakers; Bellán later served as player-manager in 1878 for the home Havana side and led his team to three championships in 1878-1879, 1879-80 and 1882-83. As a winter league in Cuba, the season begins in late winter one year and ends during early winter of the next.

As a young kid in Cuba, I remember going with my father to the Cuban Winter League games and watching such stars as Cuban-born Orestes “Minnie” Miñoso, the first black Latino player in MLB with the Cleveland Indians as a rookie in 1949, who later found his stardom with the Chicago White Sox. Miñoso played with the Marianao Tigers.

Many US born black players went to Cuba to play in this popular league. With the Cienfuegos Elephants, I remember outfielders Lou Jackson and Jim Williams, both African-American players. Cienfuegos had such established Cuban major league stars as Camilo Pascual and Pedro Ramos.

At the end of the 2023 season, there were dozens of Cuban players in the major leagues; many established stars and among the best, like Yordán Alvarez, José Abreu, Adolis García, Randy Arozarena, Yandi Díaz, Aroldis Chapman, Luis Robert Jr., Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

The great Willie Mays signed with the Almendares Alacranes, (one of the most popular teams in Cuba) in the winter of 1950, but he would never go to play in Cuba (then as a top prospect) because the United States Army drafted him to serve in the Korean War.

Quote: “I played in Cuba; it was the best winter league back then, not only because of talent, but they paid the best” -Bill Werle, told me personally. He pitched in the majors with the Pirates, Cardinals, and Red Sox. Born in Oakland, he lived in the Bay Area and worked as a major league scout for various organizations after he retired. Bill pitched in Cuba for the Marianao Tigers and won a championship in 1957-58 season.

Kings Deliver Beating Minnesota 124-111; Fox leads Sac with 36 pts in win

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Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) is thrilled after drilling a three point shot against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first half, during an in season tournament game at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Fri Nov 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Despite blowing a 22 point lead in the second quarter, the Sacramento Kings (9-6) beat the Western Conference leaders 124-11. The Kings had a great second half staying one step ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves (11-4) through both quarters

Game recap: The Kings took the lead in the first quarter of play with a 38-31 advantage. They really got going in the second quarter and at 7:34 they had a 22 point lead. Despite the healthy lead the Kings had, the Timberwolves fought back trimming that lead to six points at the half.

Sacramento had blown this quarter letting Minnesota back in the door although leading 70-64. After trailing by 22 points, Minnesota won the second quarter 33-32. This was an amazing comeback by the Timberwolves. It had started to look like the Kings had turned things around but their defense really let them down.

Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards had 21 points at the half and Karl-Anthony Towns had 16. With a great defensive effort in the second quarter, these two guys squelched the Sacramento lead.

Sacramento’s Malik Monk had an amazing half off the bench with 17 points. Starters De ‘Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter each had ten points in the first half. The Kings would have to find a way to stop the Minnesota offensive onslaught and pick up their own offensive effort. Chris Duarte would have to step up in the second half putting up a goose egg in the first half.

The Timberwolves threatened to take the lead at 9:11 in the third quarter trailing by two points 72-70. The Kings pushed back and extended their lead to 78-70 with 7:21 left in the quarter. After three quarters Sacramento had a 94-79 lead. Against the Timberwolves practically no lead is safe and the Kings had to keep their foot on the pedal throughout the fourth quarter.

The Kings did indeed keep their foot on the pedal through the final quarter. Every time the Timberwolves threatened, the Kings answered hanging onto a double digit lead throughout the fourth quarter. The final was 124-111 in favor of the Kings and Sacramento had broken the Minnesota home streak. More importantly Sacramento had beaten one of the best teams in the NBA.

De’Aaron Fox shot the high for both teams with 36 points. Domantas Sabonis had another double double with 11 rebounds and 15 points. Monk had 17 points off the bench. Despite the huge lead they had mid-way through the second quarter, the Kings battled through the second half. They had a great defensive effort and their offense closed out this game.

Game recap: It’s been a rough week for the Kings, they got blown out last Monday night losing to the Pelicans 129-93 followed by a close loss to New Orleans in a back to back. Fox struggled from the field in Monday’s game with 14 points but bounced back in their game against the Pelicans Wednesday night with 26 points.

Friday night Sacramento traveled to Minnesota taking on the Timberwolves (11-4). Minnesota lost their bid for their eighth straight home win. The Kings would got back on the winning track and slamed the door shut on the Timberwolves win streak. This was tough match-up for the Kings and they got the starting roster back on course with a 13 point win on Friday.

Sacramento will have some well-deserved time off before taking on the Golden State Warriors at Golden One next Tuesday. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7:00 PM. The Kings will come into this game with a lot of confidence after their win over the Timberwolves as well as a successful road trip with only two losses.