The Christian McCaffery show continues 49ers ownage over Rams in 31-14 win

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Christian McCaffery spikes the football after scoring one of his three touchdowns at SoFi Stadium on Sunday OCT 30, 2022. (San Francisco 49ers)

by Marko Ukalovic

Chistian McCaffery has made history in just nine days with his new team.

McCaffery scored a touchdown every which but loose as he led the San Francisco 49ers to a convincing 31-14 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium. In just his second game in a Niners uniform, he became the first running back in franchise history to throw, receive and run for a touchdown in the same game.

San Francisco evened their record to 4-4 as they rebounded from a blowout loss to Kansas City last week. Los Angeles followed their bye week with a loss as they fell to 3-4 on the season. The 49ers extended its regular season win streak to eight games against the Rams having swept the season series four years in a row.

It was a tale of two halves as Los Angeles had an answer on third down and San Francisco wasn’t able to get into a rhythm during the first half.

Los Angeles’ offense was on the field for the majority of the first quarter. They went on a long 17 play 88-yard drive that chewed up 9:21 off the clock. Quarterback Matthew Stafford finished off epic drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown where he dived into the right corner of the end zone. Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson each had three catches on the drive as Stafford was able to spread the ball around during the drive.

San Francisco were without wide receiver standout Deebo Samuel and fullback Kyle Juszczyk. The silver lining was that head coach Kyle Shanahan was able to utilize McCaffery in the offensive scheme.

San Francisco responded on their next drive with a six play 71-yard drive that resulted in McCaffery taking a pitch from quarterback Jimmy Garopollo and then throwing a pass to wide open Brandon Aiyuk for a 34-yard touchdown completion in just under three minutes.

“I think everyone knows how good of a player he is,” said Shanahan regarding McCaffery’s play. “I just like consistent he is. Under control of what he does. He’s a very much player. Even though he makes a lot of plays and stuff, the consistency of how he plays is I think a great guy to have for us.”

Stafford answered back as the Rams marched down the field with a nine play 75-yard drive when he connected with all-pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp in the back of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown completion.

Los Angeles was able to convent six of its first eight third down conversions as San Francisco’s defensive front was not able to get pressure on Stafford and allowed the Rams offense to pick up first down and keep drives alive.

The second half both the offense and defense came alive for San Francisco as McCaffery took over on the offensive side of the ball and Fred Warner took over on the defensive side.

The 49ers exercised a long drive of their own in third quarter when they went on a 11 play 88-yard drive to gain its first lead of the game. On a third and three, Garopollo threw a high ball down the right sideline where McCaffery jumped up to haul in a nine-yard touchdown reception to put San Francisco up 17-14 with 1:51 left in the third quarter.

McCaffery had 183 all-purpose yards with 94 on the ground on 18 carries, 55 receiving on eight catches and 34 through the air as he showed why the 49ers traded for him to add to their offensive arsenal.

“I think the biggest thing is coming out with a win and playing a second half like that too,” said McCaffery who downplayed his accomplishment. “I think the thing I’m most happy about is this whole team welcoming me with open arms. Especially the running back room, they just helped me all week and learn everything. I’m just proud to be a 49er and glad we got the win today.”

San Francisco’s defense dominated the fourth quarter not as they did not allow Los Angeles to score a point in the second half. They forced three 3-and-outs in the second half and never let Stafford establish the rhythm he had in the first half. Warner and Nick Bosa each sacked Stafford that resulted in punts.

“We made some adjustments coverage wise. I think just getting kind of more in third and more favorable down and distances, to be able to tee up and (get) more pressures on third down, I think that’s what made Stafford uncomfortable,” Warner said.

The 49ers went up 24-14 early in the fourth quarter on a six play 58-yard drive. McCaffery set up his third touchdown of the game, a one yard rushing touchdown) when he rushed up the middle for 24 yards to highlight the drive.

San Francisco sealed the deal when Garoppolo connected with tight end George Kittle with on a seven-yard touchdown reception with 6:41 left in the fourth quarter. The drive was set up with a Ross Dwelley 56-yard reception to the Rams 14-yard line.

Garopollo finished the afternoon with one of his most efficient games going 21 of 25 for 235 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a rating of 132.5. Aiyuk led the San Francisco in receiving six catches for 81 yards and one touchdown. Kittle chipped in three catches for 39 yards and one touchdown.

“I think that’s when the game is won in the beginning of the third quarter. We had a chance to come out and take advantage of that and guys did. We calmed down. We settled into our game plan. Guys just stuck with it and I think the results speak for themselves,” Garoppolo said.

Stafford went 22 of 33 for 187 yards with one touchdown no interceptions and a rating of 91.4. Kupp, who left the field with an undisclosed injury late in the game, led Los Angeles in receiving with eight catches for 79 yards and one touchdown. Allen Robinson chipped in with five catches for 55 yards.

GAME NOTES: San Francisco went 5-for-9 on third down conversions. Los Angeles was 8-for-13.

San Francisco held Los Angeles to 56 yards rushing.

Shanahan reported the 49ers didn’t suffer any injuries during the game.

UP NEXT: The 49ers have the bye next week and return to action on Sunday 11/13 when they host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football at Levi’s Stadium.

Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Rich Perez: Raiders getting shutout by Saints comes as a shock

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Linebacker Devine Deablo (41) of the Las Vegas Raiders tries to push New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) out of bounds at the Superdome in New Orleans on Sun Oct 30, 2022 (AP News photo)

On Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Rich:

#1 It was an afternoon that showed the Las Vegas Raiders (2-5) who were shutout by the New Orleans (3-5) defense.

#2 The Raiders who won last weekend 38-20 against the Houston Texas despite getting some offense last week the Raiders simply couldn’t get into field goal range to even get on the scoreboard.

#3 The Saints running back Alvin Kamara scored three touchdowns doing the heavy lifting scoring most of the Saints points.

#4 Kamara had two receptions for 36 and 16 yards and rushed for a three yard carry.

#5 Raiders quarterback Derek Carr left in the four quarter going 15-26 for 101 yards and an interception and Carr got sacked three times.

#6 The Raiders head to Jacksonville next Sun Nov 6 where they might have a chance to win the Jags have lost five straight games.

Join Rich for the Raiders podcasts following every Raiders home and away games at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Raiders Manhandled By Saints in 24-0 shutout

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Raiders Manhandled By Saints 24-0

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) reaches over the goal line as  Las Vegas Raiders safety Tre’von Moehrig (25) tries to put a stop on Kamara to no avail at the Superdome in New Orleans on Sun Oct 30, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Sunday afternoon the Las Vegas Raiders (2-5) traveled to the “Big Easy” to take on the New Orleans Saints (3-5). Both of these teams have struggled during the season but are playing better ball going into this game.

Las Vegas is coming off a win over the Houston Texans by a considerable margin 38-20. The Raiders lost a one point game to the Kansas City Chiefs in prior weeks so they came close in that one. They have some great offensive weapons but struggle on defense.

The atmosphere at the Superdome was well established but the Raiders will came into this game after the win last week they were hopeful that they were ready to handle the crowd noise and the Saints. It was just too much Alvin Kamara who scored three times in the Saints 24-0 victory over the Raiders.

Game recap: The first quarter was a real disappointment for the Raiders unable to move the ball at all. The Saints took an early 7-0 lead when Alvin Kamara rushed for three yards and the first touchdown of the game.

The second quarter was more of the same for Las Vegas. Their offense was stymied by the Saints defense while the New Orleans offense continued to amass yards. Will Lutz kicked a 37 Yd field goal and Kamara celebrated his second touchdown of the game, an Andy Dalton pass for 16 yards, and a 17-0 lead.

The Raiders had quite a hole to dig out of. This was the Raiders largest deficit of the season so far. A good start for the Raiders in the second half would be to get into Saints territory which they had not done in the first half.

New Orleans got the ball to start the second half and got a nice drive going straight away that the Raiders kept alive with their first pass interference penalty of the season. A few plays later Kamara had his third touchdown of the game, a pass from Dalton for 36 yards. New Orleans had now built a 24-0 lead and the Raiders were in deep trouble.

A visibly frustrated Derek Carr was sacked back to back in their first possession of the third quarter. The Raiders have a top ten offense but ran into a brick wall with the New Orleans defense.

With 3:06 left in the fourth quarter the Raiders crossed midfield for the first time in the game. That gain was nullified when Carr was sacked for the fourth time pushing Las Vegas back onto the Saints 38 yard iine. The Raiders fought to avoid a shut-out but it just didn’t happen.

They finished the game on the Saints six yard line, the final 24-0 . It was simply an ugly game offensively and defensively for the Raiders. Despite missing Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry and Marshon Lattimore the Saints just proved to be too hot to handle.

Devonte Adams had a very disappointing game with one catch for three yards. This almost looks like a misprint but sadly this was reality. It was a tough one for Carr who finished with 15 of 26 for 101 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. The Raiders rushed for a total of 38 yards with 173 yards through the air.

The Raiders will remain back east to prepare for the Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday. It will be a 10:00 kickoff.

Bruins, Charbonnet roll past Cardinal 38-13

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet (24) and offensive lineman Raiqwon O’Neal (71) celebrate after scoring a touchdown during the first half against the visiting Stanford Cardinal at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles on Sat Oct 29, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Saturday, October 29, 2022

UCLA Bruins (7-1) reeled off 24 unanswered points in the first half and never looked back, as the Bruins defeated Stanford Cardinal (3-5) 38-13 in Pac-12 football Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

Bruins runningback Zach Charbonnet rushed for 198 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries, and quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson completed 18 of 29 passes for 199 yards with no TD passes.

Charbonnet caught five passes for 61 yards for UCLA (7-1 overall, 4-1 Pac-12).

Tanner McKee completed 13 of 28 passes for 115 yards and one touchdown, but was sacked four times and he threw one interception.

Ashton Daniels was the top rusher for the Cardinal (3-5 overall, 1-5 Pac-12). And Benjamin Yurosek caught five passes for 32 yards and one TD.

Cardinal kicker Joshua Karty hit both of his field goal attempts, remaining perfect on 14 attempts for the season.

Karty hit a 22-yard field goal for Stanford with 10:43 left in the first quarter. Stanford answered less than four minutes later when Thompson-Robinson ran in from three yards out, putting the Bruins ahead to stay at 7-3.

With just under six minutes left in the opening period, Charbonnet scored on a 23-yard run, giving a UCLA a 14-3 lead. Nicholas Barr-Mira kicked a 31-yard field goal at 13:36 of the second quarter, and Charbonnet scored his second TD at 5:02 on a 1-yard run. Karty closed out the first-half scoring with a 49-yard field goal with 1:32 left in the half, pulling the Cardinal to within 24-6.

UCLA extended its lead to 31-6 on a 37-yard touchdown run by Charbonnet with 38 seconds left in the third quarter. Kazmeir Allen’s 72-yard touchdown run with 11:09 to play in the fourth quarter gave the Bruins a 38-6 lead.

Stanford finally found the end zone with 5:08 left in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard TD pass from McKee to Yurosek.

Next Saturday, Stanford hosts Washington State. Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m.

Overcoming The Heat: Kings survive anxious moments to capture first win, 119-113 over Miami

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO–Jimmy Butler’s dunk and ensuing free throw with 6:15 remaining had Kings’ fans feeling creepy, and not in a festive, Halloween type of a way.

More like a take off your costume and head home feeling, Golden 1 Center grew tense and weary with the Kings clinging to a 101-100 advantage after leading by 22 points at the half.

Nightmare on L Street? Could have been had not Kevin Huerter and rookie Keegan Murray stepped up with some big baskets to cool the Heat.

The pair combined for 11 of Sacramento’s final 18 points and the Kings reversed their fortunes in a 119-113 win on Saturday afternoon.

“They came in with desperation,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra of the Kings. “They wanted to get that first win.”

Coach Mike Brown exhaled the deepest. His high-energy coaching, seven years experience as an NBA head coach, and four NBA titles as an assistant weren’t going to wear well in an 0-5 start to his tenure in Sacramento. Instead, he was afforded a business-as-usual approach afterwards.

“Doesn’t matter when it comes,” Brown said of his initial win. “Hopefully we can have some carryover going on this road trip.”

The Kings held a lead in the final two minutes on opening night against Portland and couldn’t hold it. A two-point loss to the Clippers and a five-point loss to the Warriors weren’t any easier to digest. Their most recent loss to Memphis brought grumblings that a team thought to be the NBA’s most improved might not be improved at all.

With a win, they have their confidence reinforced.

“It’s big to get the first one,” Huerter said. “Any time you start a year, you get your first win, it’s kind of a big relief. We’ve worked hard, as hard as any other team in training camp. It’s been a long road up to this point. The first four games of the season, we felt like we had opportunities to win. We just couldn’t close the deal.”

The Kings shot 59 percent from the floor in the first quarter and upped that to 63 percent at the half as the Heat’s defense was uncharacteristically absent. That created a 71-49 at halftime that got dismantled in the third.

Domantas Sabonis put up all 18 of his points before halftime, and two quick fouls to start the third quarter. The Kings center fouled out with the game in the balance and less than six minutes remaining in the fourth. But Richaun Holmes came on for Sabonis, and the Kings steadied. That’s when the Heat appeared to run out of gas, a residual effect of their first half struggles.

“We didn’t match that intensity in the first half,” Kyle Lowry said. “They dominated the paint in the first half. We didn’t get back well enough early in the game. They were pushing every time we scored. You could hear their coach saying, Go! Go! Go!”

Huerter led the Kings with 27 points, Murray added 22, and De’Aaron Fox came up gritty with 17 points, 13 rebounds.

The Kings are in Charlotte on Monday to face the Hornets, kicking off a four-game road trip.

Roadrunners sweep series over Barracuda with 4-3 shootout win

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Travis Barron brawls with Jesper Weatherby at Tech CU Arena on Saturday OCT 29, 2022. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — It was not a good weekend for the San Jose Barracuda.

The Tucson Roadrunners outlasted Team Teal in a 4-3 shootout win on Saturday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has lost three games in a row. Tuscon has won five out its first six games to start the season.

In a game chippy game that featured a full 5-on-5-line brawl in the middle of ice during the opening faceoff, the two Pacific Division rivals had many skirmishes in a game that went back and forth.

Tucson (5-1-0-0) scored the game’s two opening goals a 1:26 apart halfway through the opening 20 minutes. Michael Carcone centered a pass out in front of the crease where Nathan Smith beat ‘Cuda goalie Eetu Makiniemi with a wrist shot for his first goal of the season at the 10:00 mark.

Then Carcone set up Jean-Sebastian Dea in front of the net and Dea jammed in his own rebound for his third goal of the season at the 11:26 mark.

Tucson dominated the play in the first period as the outshot San Jose 16-5.

San Jose (4-2-0-1) began its comeback early in the second period. Daniel Gushchin received the puck from Tristan Robins from his own blue line. Gushchin skated into the Roadrunner’s zone and fired a wrist shot that hit underneath the crossbar and into the back of the net past Roadrunner’s goalie Jon Gillies for his first goal of the season at the 2:13 mark.

Ryan Merkley found Scott Reedy in the slot and last season’s goal leader for the ‘Cuda blasted a one-timer past Gillies for his second goal of the season at the 10:11 of the mark.

The Barracuda scored its third unanswered goal of the period on the power play. A shot from the left slot by Andrew Agozzino was kicked out by Gillies but William Eklund cleaned up the rebound with a backhander for his second goal of the season at the 16:37 mark.

San Jose’s lead was short-lived as Tucson evened the game 39 seconds later. Dea set up Carcone in between the faceoff circles and one-timed a wrist shot into an open net for his third goal of the season at the 17:16 mark.

Both teams hunkered down in the third period and overtime to send the game to the shootout.

In the shootout, Adam Cracknell scored the only goal for the game winner.

Gillies made 38 saves on 41 shots and stopped all three attempts in the shootout to earn the victory. Makiniemi made 29 saves on 32 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-5 on the power play. Tucson was 0-for-4.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Cracknell 2) Agozzino 3) Ben McCartney

UP NEXT: San Jose travels north of the border for a two-games series with Calgary Wranglers on Sunday 11/6 at 5:00pm at Stampede Corral.

Nix For Six: Oregon QB starts slow, then shreds Cal in 42-24 win

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–It’s the story thus far of Cal’s season, and their four-game losing streak: spotty play, and the inability to sustain momentum.

“There’s some things that happened at the end of the first half and start of the second that if we would have performed a bit better, then we could have made that game very competitive,” coach Justin Wilcox said.

Cal’s 42-24 loss to Oregon saw Cal stop the high-scoring Ducks early, handing them their first, scoreless opening quarter in six games, but not backing that effort with a significant lead they could protect. Instead Cal’s brief 10-7 advantage evaporated and quarterback Bo Nix emerged.

Nix led the Ducks on a pair of touchdown drives before halftime, another in the third, and another to start the fourth quarter. Within that stretch, the Bears went without points on five, straight possessions and found themselves trailing 35-10 with 12:19 remaining.

Deflating? You bet, especially for Cal fans inside Memorial Stadium that gained a charge from Cal’s encouraging, first 25 minutes of play. But this was hardly surprising. The Ducks, winners of seven straight, are jelling under new coach Dan Lanning, and they own this series. Oregon has won 12 of 14 since 2009.

Lanning’s remarks after the game reflected the dominance. The former Georgia defensive coordinator didn’t expend a bunch of words crediting Cal. Instead, his focus was clearly on what his club needs to clean up with their unspoken goal of remaining in the National title hunt.

“At times we really had it and at times we didn’t,” Lanning said. “(We) struggled a little bit times at times in the red area, gave up some big pass plays that we don’t want to see on defense. I think all around there’s moments of improvement for our team. I think our guys are hungry to improve.”

Nix stood as the biggest difference between the clubs with his 27 of 35, 412-yard afternoon. The Auburn transfer had three touchdown passes and ran for three more scores. That combination of passing yardage and touchdowns put Nix in rare company with the deceased Dwayne Haskins and current 49er Brock Purdy as the only FBS quarterbacks to throw for at least 400 yards and three touchdowns along with three rushing touchdowns in the last ten seasons.

“I didn’t play my best today, but fortunately the guys around me played really good to still put up some points,” said Nix, with his mind on a pair of interceptions he threw that ultimately didn’t damage his team at all.

The Bears haven’t beaten a team ranked in the top ten nationally since 2017, and the numbers revealed the distance they’ll need to cover to again pull of that feat. No. 8 Oreon put up 586 yards in total offense and 42 points, which is two touchdowns more than Cal had allowed in the six, previous games this season.

Freshman Kai Millner replaced Jack Plummer in the fourth quarter, and the redshirt freshman led Cal to a pair of respectability-grabbing touchdowns in the game’s final five minutes. Plummer didn’t play poorly with 214 yards passing and the touchdown pass to J. Michael Sturdivant that gave Cal its lead. But with the game’s outcome decided, Wilcox opted to get Millner valuable experience.

Sturdivant and Jeremiah Hunter were Cal’s bright spots with a combined 11 catches, and their ability to outduel Oregon’s secondary for a pair of lengthy pass completions. Given their success, Hunter’s words after the game confirming that the Cal locker room remains unified holds significance. Hunter also echoed Wilcox regarding Cal’s inconsistent play.

“We have to have a game where–like coach said–both sides of the ball come together and play their best,” Hunter said. “We haven’t done that yet.”

The Bears visit USC on Saturday night with the No. 10 Trojans giving them a second, consecutive, top ten opponent.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A’s following Raiders to Las Vegas

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Oakland A’s owner John Fisher (left) is prepared to move his team to Las Vegas and build on the strip as an Oakland downtown stadium looks about dead (San Francisco Chronicle file photo)

A’s following Raiders to Las Vegas

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Bob Nightengale’s Twitter: Commissioner Rob Manfred tells @MadDogUnleashed that he’s no longer optimistic the #A’s will remain in Oakland (‘It just doesn’t look like it’s going to happen’) and likely will move to Las Vegas….”

The Oakland Raiders announced they were relocating to Las Vegas on January 22, 2020. Less than two years since then, the Oakland Athletics are poised to follow the Raiders and settle their new home in the desert.

Today, during an interview on Sirius XM, Rob Manfred, Commissioner of Baseball said he is no longer optimistic the A’s will remain in Oakland, and a move to Las Vegas is likely. On May 2, only 2,488 people came to see the A’s take on the Tampa Bay Rays, whom Manfred says thinks will remain in St. Petersburg.

The Oakland A’s and City of Oakland officials had been in discussions regarding a new stadium in Oakland, as part of the Howard Terminal project, but recently deadlines passed without any progress. Negotiations have been pushed for next year, but that will not work, since A’s President Dave Kaval already said (many times) that “all but doom our efforts to stay in Oakland”.

In just over a week there will be an election in Oakland. The biggest supporter for the new Howard Terminal project has been the Mayor of Oakland Libby Schaaf, however her term as Mayor is running out and soon will be done with that job. The uncertainty under a new Mayor of Oakland that will be elected in a few days and a new administration with newly elected officials is the nail in the coffin to Howard Terminal.

The new administration at Oakland City Hall will be taking over a bevy of problems like: affordable housing, homeless crisis, and spike in crime, shortage of police force and others that would override the importance of a new park for the A’s.

The Oakland A’s lost 102 games this season, finishing in last place and for the second time since 1968 playing in Oakland lost over 100 games and averaged under 10,000 people per game. The team average 9,973 per game which was last (No.30) all of teams in the major leagues.

The future of the A’s has been in limbo for a few years. There were plans to move the team from the Oakland Coliseum to other places in Oakland, as well as southern Alameda County, in Fremont, about 25 miles south of Oakland, with a population of 230,000, the fourth most populated city in the Bay Area. Even the City of Sacramento was a place years ago; there was talk they could relocate.

I have written and spoken in my Podcast how important was this off-season for the future of the Oakland organization. There were many disagreements about the new stadium situation, but one that everybody seemed to agree was that by this 2022 season’s end, the team was ready to make an official announcement.

While the team has not made an announcement, at the time of this article, prior to the second game of the World Series, the Commissioner of Baseball made news on Sirius XM. The commissioner has ran out of patience, since has previously said in more than one occasion, he was “not very confident” that Oakland and the A’s could come to an agreement.

Amaury PI Gonzalez does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors fall to Hornets in overtime 120-113; Golden State’s third loss in last five games

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Golden State Warrior guard Stephen Curry (30) can’t look as the Charlotte Hornets Theo Maledon (9) does his own splash hit with a three pointer at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Sat Oct 29, 2022 (AP News photo)

Warriors Fall to the Hornets In Overtime 120-113

By Barbara Mason

Saturday evening the Golden State Warriors (3-3) took on the Charlotte Hornets (3-3) and took their third loss 120-113. Friday night the Hornets were soundly beaten by the Orlando Magic 113-93. Golden State was last on the court Thursday against the Magic winning that contest 123-110.

At the end of the first quarter the Warriors were overwhelmed trailing 34-23. After the loss yesterday, the Hornets were an angry bunch and they took it out on the Warriors. After the second quarter, the Hornets took a 62-50 lead into the locker room.

Warrior guard Stephen Curry had 12 points as did Jordan Poole off the bench. Gordon Hayward, P.J. Washington and Kelly Oubre Jr. all had double digits for Charlotte. Golden State had their work cut out for them going into the second half.

Nearly four minutes into the third quarter, the Warriors had not found the basket trailing 67-52. They were shooting around 35% and the Hornets were dominating Golden State offensively and defensively.

The Warriors had no rhythm so far in this game. With 6:53 left in the third the Warriors made their first shot of the quarter. Klay Thompson and Curry hit back to back three’s cutting a fifteen point deficit to seven. The Warriors had trimmed the Hornet lead to five with four minutes left in the quarter.

Every time the Warriors got to within five points, the Hornets responded. The two teams began to trade baskets in a high octane third quarter. With 2:06 left, the Warriors took the lead 80-78. The Warriors dominated in final minutes of the third winning it 33-18. Charlotte took an 85-83 lead into the final quarter.

With 3:15 left in the game the Warriors continued to trail 101-98. Golden State desperately needed to string some shots together if a win was in their future. With 2:44 remaining the score was tied at 101. With 1:02 left on the clock the Hornets called a time-out now trailing 107-103. Charlotte cut the Warrior lead to 107-105 and Warrior head coach Steve Kerr called a time-out in response. The Hornets tied up the game at 107 and this game went into overtime.

This was the first overtime for the Warriors this season. Both Curry and Draymond Green were operating with five fouls. With 2:01 left in the overtime, the Hornets took a 114-111 lead and the Warriors were climbing uphill yet again. With 1:02 on the clock it was a one score game 116-113 in favor of the Hornets.

One of the culprits in this game was the 31 Warrior fouls to Charlottes 14. You have to give a lot of credit to the Charlotte Hornets who fought hard in the absence of LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier.

All five starters for Golden State had double digits but it just wasn’t enough.Curry had the high score for Golden State with 31 points. Off the bench Poole kept the Warriors in this game with 24 points. The Warriors had some great opportunities in the final minutes of the fourth quarter but did not take advantage of them.

There will be no rest for the Warriors as they travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons Sunday. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM.

Back and forth affair between Sharks and Lightning ends with Tampa getting victory by score of 4-3

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit to San Jose Sharks twitter. Sharks Logan Couture skates by the bench while the Sharks goal horn goes off at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Oct 29, 2022

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

In what was a very close affair the San Jose Sharks played host to the Tampa Bay Lightning and lost on home ice by a final of 4-3 on Saturday night.

The start of this game was quite the reverse of last game against the Toronto Maple Leafs were they got off to a solid start. Instead in this one the Lightning would strike very early into the game.

The goal was not quite as quick as Couture’s goal last game but instead 31 seconds in Victor Hedman finished on a nice pass across by Brayden Point.

Unlike last game though the Sharks responded extremely fast as Erik Karlsson who has been absolutely on fire potted his 5th goal of the season. It was a nice feed from Tomas Hertl that let Karlsson skate right in and snipe it past Andrei Vasilevskiy.

After the flurry of goals to kick things off the teams found themselves locked in a stalemate exchanging shots and looks. Both teams also got a power play opportunity in the period though both teams struck out on the chance.

Later in the first though right after the one power play opportunity for the Lightning Alex Killorn shot one from the slot and puck ricocheted right out in front. Waiting there was Ross Colton who deposited into the wide open net past James Riemer.

That ended up being the final goal of the period with the shots ending in favor of the Lightning at 11-6.

It took a little longer to find the first goal of the period but finally Nico Sturm broke the silence on a wrister from far out that made Vasilavskiy look very human. It was one that he definitely would want back while Luke Kunin and Marc-Edouard Vlasic got the assists.

The rest of the second period played out tightly similar to the first period. 18:41 into the second though Killorn got himself on the board again.

This time it would be a goal with Nick Paul and Erik Cernak getting the assists tying the game in the dying moments of the second. Making the score 3-2 heading into the third in favor of the Lightning.

Despite the late goal the Sharks started off the third period on a positive note drawing a penalty. With Karlsson getting another opportunity to shine he did just that.

Right off the opening faceoff of the power play the puck was won back to Karlsson who skated right into the slot and ripped another one home. Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl got the assists on the goal while Karlsson’s goal total is now up to 6 on the season.

The third period then played out in a very methodical fashion with both teams making sure not to make a mistake.

For the Sharks though they ended up making a crucial mistake in the dying minutes.

With Brayden Point skating in the Sharks defense backed up and let him feed it across to Brandon Hagel who then fead it right back across to a wide open Nikita Kucherov. He tapped it in and the Lightning took the lead with only 56.2 seconds remaining on the clock.

The Sharks tried to get the late tying goal but the effort would not be enough as they skated off the ice with the loss.

The San Jose Sharks next game is at home against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.