Warriors overcome 17-point deficit to beat Pelicans 108-99

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Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) tries to get past New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones during the first half at Chase Center in San Francisco on Fri Mar 3, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

My oh my. How do the Warriors do it? For the fourth straight game, the Warriors overcame a double-digit deficit to win. The script was the same. The Warriors start slowly, then get the offense in gear and stop the opponent’s offense. They did that against Minnesota, Portland, and the LA Clippers.

Friday night’s foe, The New Orleans Pelicans, came into town with the NBA’s best defense against the three-point shot. Steve Kerr’s answer was for the Warriors to drive to the basket, get fouled, and have the Warriors defense stop the Pelican offense.

The Warriors didn’t get the message in the first quarter as the Pelicans led by 17, 35-18. Jonathan Kuminga made a three at the end of the period to get the Warriors closer, 35- 21. The Warriors started the comeback in the second quarter, holding the Pelicans to 22 points.

As they did in the games against Portland and LA, the Warrior defense allowed the Pelicans 21 points in the third quarter and 21 points in the fourth. The Warrior offense perked up, and behind the play of Klay Thompson, Kuminga, and Jordan Poole, The Warriors won a thriller 108-99.

Trailing by 15 points starting the second period, the Warriors outscored the Pelicans 33-22. JaMychal Green, coming off the bench, tallied eleven points to help the Warriors get back into the game. Thompson had 11, Kumina had nine, and Poole and Kevon Looney had eight. The Warriors finished the first half trailing 57-54. The Pelicans had four players in double figures in the first half Naji Marshall led the Pelicans with 12. Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy, and C J McCollum each had ten.

In the previous two games, Golden State owned the third quarter. The Warriors did win the quarter 28-21 to end the third quarter with a four-point lead 82-78. Thompson led the surge by making three threes. The Warriors defense put the shackles on the Pelican’s Ingram.

A four-point lead is relatively easy to overcome in the fourth quarter. The Pelicans had to find a way to break down the Warrior defense. The Pelicans wanted to get the ball to McCullom or Ingram. Draymond Green, Kuminga, Looney, and Donte DiVincenzo was tasked with stopping the Pelicans.

Things did not go well for the Warriors. The Pelicans fought back and regained the lead 93-89. Anthony Lamb made a three to make it a 93-92 game. Thompson made his fourth three of the night to put the Warriors ahead 95-93. DiVincenzo made his first and only basket of the night.

It was a three-pointer. DiVincenzo spent most of the night playing defense against the Pelican’s two big stars, Ingram and McCollum. The Warriors defense made the stops, and the offense carried them to a hard-fought 108-99 win.

Game Notes: The Warriors won their fifth straight game. They are now four games over the .500 mark with a record of 34-30. The Pelicans fall to 31-33.

The Warriors had six players in double figures. Thompson led the team with 27 points and four threes. Kuminga had another big game. The young star finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. He played well on both ends of the court. Poole did not make a three.

What Poole did was take the ball to the basket. He was fouled several times, and he knocked down 12 free throws. His point total for the game was 18. Looney had a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds. JaMYchal Green had 14 points and six boards. Anthony Lamb made three threes and finished with 11. 

Instead of winning the game from behind the three-point arc, the Warriors won by outscoring the Pelicans 52-36 with points in the paint.

The Pelicans’ leading scorer was McCollum with 25. Ingram had 17. Trey Murphy had 16, and Naji Marshall finished with 14.

The Warriors meet the Los Angeles Lakers in LA on Sunday. Warriors guard Stephen Curry will be returning to the Warriors lineup. The game will start at 12:30 pm.

No. 19 Bruins stun No. 6 Stanford 69-65 in Pac-12 women’s semis

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UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) drives to the basket under pressure from Stanford guard Haley Jones (30) during the first half  at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas on Fri Mar 3, 2023 at the Pac 12 Tournament (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Thursday, March 2, 2023

In a Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament that has already seen its share of upsets, UCLA pulled off the latest one on Friday. The 19th-ranked Bruins used a furious second half to overtake No. 6 Stanford 69-65 in the semifinal round at Las Vegas.

It was only the second time in program history that Stanford lost a semifinal game in the Pac-12 tournament. UCLA becomes the first 5-seed to reach the title game.

Kiki Rice led the Bruins (25-8) with 22 points, five rebounds and five assists in addition to hitting 12 of 13 free throws. Emily Bessoir was next with 14 points and six rebounds, Charisma Osborne had 12 points followed by Gina Conti with 11 points, including 3 of 6 3-pointers.

Cameron Brink was the top scorer for Stanford (28-5) with 19 points to go with 11 rebounds and two blocks. Haley Jones was next with 15 points, 10 boards, three assists and two blocks. Hannah Jump and Francesca Belibi each contributed three assists.

Stanford led 17-8 after the first quarter and built a 35-22 halftime advantage. The Bruins erased a 16-point deficit in the second half, outscoring the Cardinal 29-15 in the fourth quarter.

UCLA used a 20-9 run to surge ahead 60-59 after Jones was called for a shoving foul which led to a Rice jumper with 2:07 remaining, Stanford had a chance to tie or take the lead after Rice missed the second of two free throws with 21 seconds to play and the Bruins leading by two. But Conti got the rebound, was fouled and hit two free throws to give UCLA a four-point lead.

The Bruins move on to the championship game on Sunday, facing Washington State, which has defeated No. 3 Utah and No, 20 Colorado in the tourney. Stanford now waits to see where they will be seeded in the NCAA tournament.

Barracuda kick off two game home stand with win over Reign 4-2

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda. Andrew Agozzino celebrates a goal against the Reign on March 3rd 2023.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE–At Tech Cu arena the Barracuda walked away with a win against a conference rival the Ontario Reign by a final of 4-2.

In between the pipes for San Jose was Aaron Dell while Ontario had Matthew Villalta starting for them.

Just a minute into this game San Jose’s penalty kill unit had to get to work as Jeffrey Viel took a penalty for high-sticking.

The pk unit was effective for the Barracuda though and killed off the penalty.

Later in the period Ontario took a penalty as well but San Jose’s power play unit could not convert.

In the first there was no scoring with the shots finishing in favor of the Barracuda at 8-7.

The second period saw much more offense as just 2:32 into the period Luke Johnson scored a goal short handed to make it 1-0.

A little later in the period Derrick Pouliot fead a pass right across the slot to Danil Gushchin who finished off the play to get his 13th goal of the season.

Ontario found a response a few minutes later as Tyler Madden scored his 14th goal of the season to make it 2-1.

Despite the Reign cutting San Jose’s lead in half Agozzino responded with a one-time goal out front that bounced in scoring his 18th goal of the season.

At the end of the second the shots favored San Jose at 18-13.

In the third period San Jose kicked things off in a similar fashion as Agozzino got his second goal of the game shorthanded.

Four minutes later Ontario responded with a power play goal as Madden also got his second goal of the game.

The Reign continued to push to tie but were unable to as Barracuda held on to win 4-2.

The shots at the end of the game favored Ontario at 27-22.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Andrew Agozzino 2nd: Derrick Pouliot 3rd: Tyler Madden

San Jose’s next game will be tomorrow against the Coachella Valley Firebirds at home at 6 p.m.

Kings edge Clippers 128-127 at Golden 1; Sac extends win streak to five

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Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) spins away from Los Angeles Clippers center Mason Plumlee (44) during the first quarter at Golden 1 in Sacramento on Fri Mar 3, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings ((37-25) were back in action on Friday night. The Kings last played on Tuesday in Oklahoma City. The Kings played two games against the Thunder with an off day in between. The Kings played the Los Angeles Clippers (33-33) not long ago Fri Feb 24 when they had the second-highest-scoring NBA game in history.

The Kings won in double overtime 176-175. On Saturday, the Kings looked to put away the LA Clippers for the second time in as many weeks. The Kings defeated the Clippers 128-127 on Friday night.

In the first quarter, the Kings and Clippers both got off to hot starts on offense. The Kings scored 35 points in the first quarter to jump out to a quick three-point lead. The Clippers started with 33 points in the first. The defense for both teams was lacking early on in the game. The Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard in the back-to-back game after losing to Golden State on Thursday.

In the second quarter, the Kings added two points to the lead. The Kings managed to outscore the Clippers 33-31 in the second quarter. This led the Kings to take a 68-63 halftime lead. The Clippers in the absence of Kawhi were getting a great performance from Russ Westbrook. Westbrook had 15 points at halftime. The Kings were led in the first half by Kevin Heurter who scored 14 points. The Kings in the second half would need to turn it up on the offensive end to put away the Clippers.

In the third quarter, the Kings and Clippers didn’t move an inch. The Kings scored 33 points in the quarter as the Clippers followed with 33 of their own. The Kings and Clippers would head to the final quarter with the Kings leading 101-96. The Kings and Clippers might be a first-round playoff preview. It would be an exciting series if that is the case. The teams are very competitively matched. The Kings would look to secure the game on the defensive end of the floor in the final quarter to seal the deal.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings barely held onto the lead. The Kings were outscored by the Clippers 31-27 in the final quarter. The game was an absolute nail-biter. Like the game a couple of weeks ago, it came down to one point and the final shot.

The Kings of last year would have lost this game. However, the new look Kings didn’t give in. Putting my critical hat on, the Kings should have won this game by five or more points. However, the win is all that counts for a fan base dying to make the playoffs. The Kings were led in victory by De’Aaron Fox who had 33 points. In defeat, Paul George was the leading scorer with 28 points. The Kings will look to continue the winning streak in the next game.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday at 7 PM PST.

Pac 12 Tournament podcast with Daniel Dullum: Stanford women take it to Ducks in 76-65 thriller

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Stanford Cardinal center Cameron Brink (22) show her wide arm span as teammate guard Hannah Jump (33) and Oregon Ducks guard Chance Gray (2) look on at the Pac 12 Tournament in Las Vegas on Thu Mar 2, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel Dullum:

#1 The Stanford Cardinal women (28-4) picked up game one of the Pac 12 Tournament with a 76-65 win over the Oregon Ducks (17-14) on Thursday the Cardinal are coming into March rolling which is really no surprise to anyone.

#2 Cameron Brink once again led Stanford with 22 points she never got intimidated on any of the Ducks double teaming and was a key part of the reason why the Cardinal got the 11 point win.

#3 This past Tuesday Brink was named the Pac 12 defensive player of the year at this rate with her shot blocking could end up getting her the NCAA defensive player of the year.

#4 Taking a look at the prospects of Stanford’s chances of taking this game you could make that prediction as the Cardinal defense allowed the Ducks only nine points in the first quarter and and 15 in the second quarter. The Ducks could never really catch up with the Cardinal after the first half.

#5 The Cardinal are battling with the UCLA Bruins in game 2 of the Pac 12 Tournament the Bruins were defeated by the Cardinal in their last meeting 71-66 at Maples Pavilion on Mon Feb 20th. Will the Bruins be looking for blood in tonight’s game against the Cardinal?

Join Daniel Dullum for the Pac 12 Tournament podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings looking to avenge Clippers tonight at Golden 1

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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Tre Mann, center, shoots between Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes (40) and forward Domantas Sabonis (10) in the first half in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Kings took the court without De’Aaron Fox out with a wrist issue. Sacramento extended the Thunder’s losing streak to four straight games 123-117 on Tuesday night.

#2 The Kings came out strong in the first quarter winning the first 12 minutes 44-38. Sacramento had a great offensive start shooting at 66%.

#3 The Kings saw some beautiful ball movement in the second quarter as the Kings extended their lead to 68-59 with two minutes left in the half. They had led in the quarter by as much as 15 points. 

#4 In the absence of Fox the man of the hour with the high score was Barnes shooting for 29 points. Sabonis had 22 and Kevin Huerter with 20 points. The Thunder got close at times but the Kings held on for the win.

#5 Friday night the Kings will be facing a very tough Los Angeles Clipper team at Golden 1 Center. Los Angeles will be looking to avenge the double overtime they lost to Sacramento back on February 24th. The score in that game was 176-175. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Join Jeremiah for the Sacramento Kings podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Ducks crush Bears in Eugene 84-51; Couisnard leads Oregon with 17 pts

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The Cal Bears forward Monty Bowser (2) takes the ball down the floor against the Oregon Ducks at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene Or on Thu Mar 2, 2023 (CK Hicks Cal Bears photo)

By Michael Duca and Morris Phillips

The Oregon Ducks (17-13) ran all over the visiting Cal Bears (3-27) in Eugene on Thursday night 84-51 With the win the Ducks picked up their second straight win. The Cal defense all they could do is watch the Ducks run past them as the Ducks had five players finish in double figures.

The Ducks Jermain Couisnard led the with 17 points, the Ducks shot 55% from the field and out rebounded Cal 45-21. The Ducks scored 42 points in each of the first and second halves. Cal’s Sam Alajiki was the only Cal player to finish in double figures with 11 points. Alajiki was followed up by Grant Newell nine points, and Lar Thiemann with nine points.

The Bears Joel Brown had seven points and Thiemann returned after sitting out the last game against Washington State on Feb 25th at UC Berkeley. Thiemann finished tied for second in scoring and came off the bench to do it in less than 23 minutes.

One of the keys to the Ducks success Thursday night was they hit six 3 pointers and shot 59% in the opening 20 minutes of the ball game against the Bears giving the Ducks a 42-26 lead after the first half of the game. The closest the Bears got in this contest was within five points with 6:32 left in the first half. The Ducks then went on a 12-4 run and led by double figures and putting much put the game out of reach for Cal the rest of the way.

The Bears will try and close out the regular season with a win against the Oregon State Beavers (10-20) this game might be the Bears best chance to get back in the win column. The Beavers have been struggling losing their last game to Stanford 83-60 on Thursday night and having lost four in a row and nine of their last ten games. Tip off is 5:00pm in Corvallis this Saturday night.

No. 6 Cardinal women defeat Oregon 76-63 in Pac-12 quarterfinals

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Stanford forward Cameron Brink, left, grabs a rebound next to Oregon center Phillipina Kyei during the second half at the Pac 12 Tournament in Las Vegas on Thu Mar 2, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Thursday, March 2, 2023

Cameron Brink enjoyed another big night for Stanford Thursday, leading the No. 6 Cardinal past Oregon 76-63 in the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas.

Brink, a junior center, scored 22 points, grabbed 11 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the season. Hannah Jump was next for Stanford (28-4) with 13 points, Talana Lepolo scored 10 points, and Haley Jones had eight points along with eight assists and 13 rebounds.

The Cardinal dominated the boards, outrebounding Oregon 56-39. Stanford converted 21 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points.

Te-Hina Paopao netted a career-high 28 points for Oregon (17-14), including a tournament record-tying seven 3-pointers. Endyia Rogers added 15 points for the Ducks, who hit 29.4 percent of their field goals (20 of 68).

The Cardinal opened the game with an 11-2 run, including 7-of-7 free throws. Brink had eight of Stanford’s 21 points in the second quarter, as the Cardinal built a 37-24 halftime lead. Oregon rallied to start the second half, but the Cardinal used a 7-0 run to close the period.

Stanford will face UCLA in the semifinals on Friday.

Poole leads Warriors to comeback win over Clippers 115-91 at Golden State

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Every is okay with the Golden State Warriors Jordan Poole who led Golden State with 32 points against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers at Chase Center in San Francisco on Thu Mar 2, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

As Yogi Berra once said, “it was deja vu all over again.” For the second game in a row, the Golden State Warriors (33-30) played a sub-par first half and then stormed back in the second half as they beat the LA Clippers (33-32) 115-91 Thursday night at the Chase Center. The Warriors won their fourth consecutive game while the Clippers lost their fourth in a row.

Still, without Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors kept pace with the Clippers in the first quarter. The teams exchanged the lead several times in the first 12 minutes. The Clippers finished the quarter with a slim one-point lead, 27-26.

Things changed for the worse for the Warriors in the second period. The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard and Paul George made life miserable for the Warriors. The Warriors’ offense went ice-cold. The Warriors could not buy a bucket. They made three threes in 22 tries.

The Clippers made six threes. The Warriors shot 33% from the floor, the Clippers 50%. Los Angeles entered the locker room at the end of the first half with an 11 point advantage of 56-45 

The Warriors wanted to avenge the 134-124 loss to the Clippers last month in LA. It didn’t look like that would happen. The fans thought it would not be a good night for the Warriors. The fans knew the Warriors shut down the Portland Trailblazers in Tuesday night’s second half. Could they do it again? The Clippers are a better defensive team than the Blazers.

The Warriors answered the question. Yes, they could do it again, and they could do it again against a better defensive team. How did they do it? Jordan Poole was the man in the third quarter. Poole was all over the court. He scored 22 points in the quarter, and the Warrior defense shut down the Clippers’ offense.

The Warriors won the quarter 42-16 to finish the quarter leading 87-72. The Warriors went from an 11 point halftime deficit to a 15-point lead. At one point in the quarter, the Warriors went on a 38-8 run.

In the NBA, 15-point leads can disappear quickly in the fourth quarter. The Warriors knew that they should not turnovers the ball or start to commit fouls. Those mistakes could allow the Clippers to get back into the game. Steve Kerr’s team did not make those mistakes, and they increased the lead to 24, 100-76.

Everyone made contributions to get the win for Golden State. Kevon Looney, Jonathan Kuminga, Donte DiVincenzo, and Anthony Lamb performed well. Poole was the star of the game. Poole finished the night with 34 points. Poole did not make a three-point shot in the first half.

Poole knocked down five threes to lead the Warriors to the win. Klay Thompson was second on the team with 19. Thompson had a career-high 11 rebounds. It was his first double-double game since the 2017 season. The Warriors cruised to a 115-91 victory.

Game Notes: With the win, the Warriors are 33-30. They are three games over the.500 mark for the first time this year. The Clippers fell to 33-32. The Warriors are now in third place in the Pacific division of the Western Conference.

Kuminga played well on both ends of the court. Kuminga recorded 19 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Jonathan knocked down three threes. Kerr had to be pleased with his 20-year-old phenom. Draymond Green finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. Looney added 11 points and pulled down eight boards. DiVincenzo scored five points. DiVincenzo played a ferocious defense all night long. He also had eleven rebounds.

Kawhi Leonard paced the Clippers with 21 points. Leonard made two threes. Eric Gordon had 16, Paul George 11, Mason Plumlee 12, and Russell Westbrook had eight points.

The Warriors shot 41% from the floor. The Clippers were held to 36%. The Clippers shot 50% in the first half. The numbers show the great defensive effort the Warriors had in the second half. The Warriors made 14 threes, the Clippers nine. The Clippers had six in the first half, nine-for-43 from three-point range. 

Curry is almost ready to rejoin the team, possibly as early as Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers in LA.

The Warriors play the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 7 pm.

Cardinal men win second straight, rout OSU 83-60

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Oregon State guard Dexter Akanno (4) drives to the basket past Stanford forward Maxime Raynaud (42) during the first half at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis Or on Thu Mar 2, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Thursday, March 2, 2023

Stanford won its second straight game on Thursday, defeating Oregon State 83-60 in Pac-12 men’s basketball at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore., giving the Cardinal a season sweep in the series.

Spencer Jones led the Cardinal (13-17 overall, 7-12 Pac-12) with 25 points, followed by Brandon Angel with 15 points and five assists, Maxime Raynaud with 13 points and Harrison Ingram had 13 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Michael O’Connell had eight assists and Max Murrell added four blocks.

Jones hit 10 of 16 from the field, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Overall, the Cardinal made 10 of 26 3-pointers and shot 58 percent.

Jordan Pope and Tyler Bilodeau each scored 11 points to lead Oregon State (10-20 overall, 4-15 Pac-12). Bilodeau also had six rebounds. Stanford’s defense held the Beavers to 35 percent shooting from the field.

Oregon State led 14-5 early, but the Cardinal took a 15-14 lead after responding with a 10-0 run. The Cardinal led 40-34 at halftime and outscored the Beavers 43-26 in the second half.

Stanford opened the second half with a 19-7 run and led by as many as 28 with less than two minutes to play.

The Cardinal wrap up their regular season Saturday at Oregon. The 1 p.m. game will be nationally televised by CBS.