Tag: basketball

Dikembe Mutombo podcast with David Zizmor: Hall of Famer and the ever popular Dikembe Mutombo passes away from brain cancer at 58

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Former Houston Rocket Dikembe Mutombo seen here facing the Denver Nuggets on Apr 13, 2008 passed away on Mon Sep 30, 2024 from brain cancer (AP file photo)

On the Dikembe Mutombo podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 Dikembe Mutombo a 2015 Hall of Famer who is remember for his finger wagging played center. Mutombo who passed away on Monday at age 58 of brain cancer and is a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mutombo played in the NBA for 18 seasons with the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, and Houston Rockets.

#2 Mutombo had three All Star NBA selections and played in eight All Star games, Mutombo is 20th in rebounds with 12,359, and has 3289 blocks only second to former Rocket Hakeem Olajuwon.

#3 Mutombo worked hard and extensively for charitable and humanitarian causes and he was well remembered for those efforts.

David Zizmor is an NBA analysist for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Barbara Mason: How Derozan compliments Kings and coach Brown’s plans to raise the Kings position for the post season

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Former Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan leaping on the right with ball in hands during contest with the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center on Wed Mar 6, 2024 is expected to add power to the Sacramento Kings line up for the 2024-25 season (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Barbara:

#1 Barbara how important is it for the Sacramento Kings to get to 50 wins at a minimum for this season. The Kings last season they were 43-36.

#2 Barbara, how important is it for the Kings to get off to a fast start not by going 2-4 but winning 5-1 or 4-2.

#3 The Kings acquired DeMar Derozan from the Chicago Bulls in the off season and people questioned how he will fit in. Head coach Mike Brown said Derozan will be a huge compliment for the Kings offense this seaon.

#4 One of the advantages that the Kings have is they have so many guys returning from last season who compliment the team chemistry, this is coach Browns third year back, Domantas Sobonis, De’Aaron Fox, Keegan Murray, Malik Monk to name a few.

#5 One thing about the Western Conference is that with this group the Kings could go that 4-2 and win three of five games either at home and on the road. They were an over .500 team last season finished ninth in the Western Conference can they improve their position for a better seeded spot in the battle of making post season.

Join Barbara Mason Mondays for the Sacramento Kings podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Liberty Prove Too Hot to Handle In Game One of Series As Aces Fall 87-77

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New York Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot drives on the Las Vegas Aces forward Alysha Clark (left) in game 1 of the WNBA playoffs at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sun Sep 29, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Las Vegas Aces (27-13) got within two points of the New York Liberty (32-8) in the second quarter but that’s as close as they would get falling in the first game of their best of five series 87-77.

A’Ja Wilson finished the game with 21 points but it was Kelsey Plum with the team high scoring 24 points. The Aces have the unenviable task of trying to contain Breanna Stewart throughout this series. Stewart finished with 34 points.

Game recap: The New York Liberty got right down to business in the opening quarter leading after the first ten minutes of play 28-21. As the clock began to wind down on the second quarter the Liberty began to push their lead out after leading by only two points at the five minute mark.

New York led by ten points 46-34 with 1:10 left in the first half going on a 9-0 run. At halftime the Liberty had maintained their ten point lead 48-38 and Las Vegas had a lot of work to do in the second half. They were missing far too many shots and they had to find a way to contain Breanna Stewart who finished the first half with 20 points.

This is the series that one would expect to see in the finals. The struggles that the Aces had in the first part of the season had a lot to do with how these matchups look today. Las Vegas is known to be a second half team and they will need to show up in this one.

Stealing a game in New York is exactly what the Aces will be looking to do. Plum succeeded in the first half making quick decisions because of the defensive pressure that the Liberty were bringing. Las Vegas had some catching up to do in the third quarter but they have the talent to do just that.

New York continued to extend their lead in the third quarter and Las Vegas continued with spotty shooting. At 7:43 the Liberty led 55-40 and New York was dictating the pace of this game continuing to pile on the points. At 5:46 they led 62-44 totally dominating the Aces.

Plum continued her intensive play verbally sparring with Spike Lee who shouted at her from the sidelines only getting her even more heated up. Play took a turn with Las Vegas going on a 12-0 run pulling to within six points after trailing by 18.

Las Vegas just did not have the defensive answer for Stewart and this was glaring throughout the game. As the third quarter came to an end the Aces had cut the Liberty’s 18 point lead in half. New York was up nine 71-62 going into the fourth quarter.

With 28 points, Stewart sat out the start of the fourth quarter with four fouls. The Liberty continued to clog up the paint and Las Vegas was struggling to be able to make those inside shots that have made them so successful.

New York was hitting from inside, from outside, making ridiculous long shots. There was no stopping them today. The Liberty took full advantage of the turnovers, missed shots and defensive ineffectiveness that the Aces brought winning the first game of the series 87-77.

Game notes: Sunday afternoon the Aces lost the first game in their best of a five game series against the Liberty in what promises to be a incredibly intense, competitive and exciting series. The reigning champions Aces could be pushed to the brink in this series if the Liberty put up a tough battle throughout.

If the Aces want to win another title, they will have to beat the best and right now the Liberty are the number one team in basketball. The New York starting roster is loaded with Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones and they are primed and have tested the Aces.

On the other hand the Aces starting roster are no pushover with the amazing A’Ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Chelseas Gray. Las Vegas also has Alysha Clark and Tiffany Hayes who have been invaluable off the bench. This is going to be one crazy series.

While this is only the beginning, the Aces have a lot to figure out going into game two. Putting the stops on Stewart (34 points) and Ionescu (21 points) will be a tough call. When the Aces went on runs, the Liberty put a stop to it every time.

New York is hungry for their first championship and you can see it in their play. Game two is scheduled to tipoff in New York Tuesday evening the time still to be determined.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Fox, Sabonis and DeRozan expected to do some good things this year for Sac

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Sacramento Kings De’Aaron Fox (5) dunks over Golden State Warriors Draymond Green (23) and Klay Thompson (11) on Tue Apr 16, 2024. Fox is excited about the upcoming 2024-25 season as the Kings will play their first pre season game on Wed Oct 9, 2024 against the Warriors ( AP file photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Sacramento Kings  De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and DeMar DeRozan are looking to start the season they brought some excitement last season.

#2 Jeremiah we’ll take a look at De’Aaron Fox first last season with 26 points, 5.6 assists he’s a huge offensive callous for the Kings.

#3 Domantas Sabonis last season with 19.4 points and 8.2 assists he helped the Kings win some big games

#4 DeMar DeRozan is looking forward to this season. DeRozan 24 points and 5.3 assists how do you see him fitting in the Kings offense.

#5 The Kings were dropped by ESPN in the power rankings to 18th going into this season do you see them improving that number.

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

Utes outlast Cardinal 70-66 in crucial Pac-12 matchup

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By: Eric Epstein

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball team hosted the Utah Utes on Thursday night in a crucial Pac-12 matchup. The Cardinal ended up falling to the Utes in Palo Alto for the first time since 1971, with a final score of 70-66.

Utah gained some separation in the crowded Pac-12 with their win as they move up to join the Arizona State Sun Devils for third in the conference. Stanford slides to 2-5 in conference play, where they now occupy the ninth spot in the conference standings.

The first half was played at a blistering pace, with a total of two free throws attempted in the half and with each team attempting close to 30 field goals. Stanford missed their first 5 three-point attempts and finished the half 1-6 from deep. On the other end, Utah closed out the first half with a three-point barrage en route to an incredibly efficient 5-7 clip from downtown. Utah went 7-9 for their last 9 field goal attempts of the half, and freshman forward Timmy Allen’s last-second layup stretched the Utes’ lead to 5 at the half.

Sophomore forward KZ Okpala opened the half off right for the Cardinal, slamming down a thunderous dunk on Stanford’s first second-half possession.

Despite Utah’s hot first-half shooting, they did not attempt a three-point shot until halfway through the second half.

After sophomore guard Daejon Davis hit a mid-range floater with 16:08 left in the game to give Stanford a 1-point lead, the Cardinal held the lead until senior Utah guard Sedrick Barefield got an extremely fortunate bounce on his 3-point attempt to give the Utes the lead with 2:12 remaining. The next possession, Okpala responded with a three-point basket of his own to even the score.

Senior Utah guard Parker Van Dyke finished a tough layup around senior center Josh Sharma to give Utah a 2-point lead with less than a minute left. After that basket, the Cardinal had to play the foul game in attempt to catch up with the Utes. However, Barefield cooly hit all 4 of his free throws down the stretch and Stanford could not make up the deficit.

Okpala led the game in scoring with 22 points on 7-15 shooting, but with a shaky 7-11 free throw performance. Davis, who started the game 0-6 on field goals, turned his night around in the second half and finished with 17 points on 7-16 shooting along with 4 assists and only 2 turnovers.

Sharma, who is very susceptible to getting in foul trouble, did not get into serious foul trouble until the final minute of the game. He ended up seeing the court for 34 minutes and finished with 12 rebounds and 9 points on 3-6 shooting.

Sophomore forward Oscar da Silva, who started the game, did not record a single point on 3 field goal attempts, despite seeing 28 minutes of playing time. Freshman forward Jaden Delaire picked up the offensive slack dropped by da Silva by scoring 7 points on 3-4 shooting.

Utah had three double-digit scorers in Barefield (18), Van Dyke (10), and sophomore forward Donnie Tillman (11). The Utes finished with a very impressive 64.3% of their 3-point shots falling and a respectable 47% general field goal percentage.

Stanford finished with more offensive and defensive rebounds, assists, fast break points, and points in the paint. The Cardinal also blocked Utah 10 times, where Utah did not record a single blocked shot all night. However, Utah’s more efficient scoring made the difference and helped hand the Cardinal their fifth Pac-12 loss of the season.

The Stanford will shift their focus to their eighth Pac-12 game where they will host the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 5:00 PM PST.

Warriors fend off Spurs’ comeback to win 99-91 in Game 5 and advance to Western Conference Semifinals

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Pearl Allison Lo

In the first game of the series in which neither the Golden State Warriors or the San Antonio Spurs scored 100 points, the Warriors prevailed in Game 5 with a 99-91 win at Oracle Arena on Tuesday night.

Golden State won the series 4-1 and led this contest ever since 10:49 left in the second. Their lead went up as much at 16 points. However, San Antonio got to within a layup’s distance with 57.2 seconds remaining in the game.

After a lackluster first half, the Spurs’ LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half. His Warriors’ counterpart, Kevin Durant, scored 17 of his 25 in the same time span.

After the 91-93 score, Durant replied with a two-point field goal after the timeout. Manu Ginobili lost the ball out of bounds and fouled Durant. Durant made his free throws and after another timeout, missed three straight beyond the arc attempts. Draymond Green got the rebound, Ginobili fouled him and the game ended with Green making free throws.

Aldridge also had 12 rebounds, Patty Mills scored 18 with four three-pointers, Klay Thompson scored 24 points, Green had a double-double of 17 points and 19 rebounds and Green and Ginobili each had a game-high seven assists.

The Warriors began with a 9-0 run until Aldridge got the Spurs their first points with 8:33 left. This was the start of an 8-0 run for San Antonio. Aldridge also had the first of the period’s three ties when he scored with 3:45 left. Ginobili gave San Antonio their only lead of the first with 1:58 left.

The Spurs had only one lead in the second also, with Rudy Gay making the first shot of the quarter. Starting with 8:54 left, San Antonio missed seven straight attempts while losing the ball twice in three minutes. Meanwhile, Thompson scored nine of his 11 points in the quarter, making nine of the team’s first 11 points. David West scored the other basket and its assist going to Thompson.

Thompson led with 17 after the first half, the only one in double-digits. Tied behind him was Mills and Gay with nine points apiece. From the field, the Spurs shot 31.1 % versus 47.6% for Golden State. The Warriors led 10-0 in fast break points.

The pace went up for both teams in the third. Golden State added to their fast break advantage with nine more points.

Next: The Western Conference Semifinals with the #2 seeded Golden State facing former Coach Alvin Gentry and the #6 seeded New Orleans Pelicans.

Pacers complete season sweep with 126-106 win over Warriors

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors were hoping to extend their win streak to four games with a road win over the Indiana Pacers at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse Thursday night. Did it happen? Nope.

The Warriors’ starting lineup featured Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, JaVale McGee, Klay Thompson and Quinn Cook.

Golden State was ready to play basketball in the Pacers’ arena, which was supposedly built for basketball. McGee helped the Warriors get off to a good start with a nifty shift early in the first quarter. Durant also played a major role in the Warriors’ early start as he knocked down quite a few shots.

The Pacers, however, got on top with a 15-9 lead midway through the first. Around that time, Indiana benefited from Golden State’s four turnovers.

Glenn Robinson III went up for the pass from Lance Stephenson. The Pacers continued to dominate and merely led the Warriors 27-26 at the end of the first.

The Warriors tied the game at 28 apiece to start the second quarter. Golden State had a strong finish and Damian Jones converted on a three-point play. Thompson also made quite a few three-pointers and showed Warrior fans that he was in Splash Brother mode.
With two of those first-half threes, Thompson (1,543 career three-pointers) has passed Tim Hardaway (1,542) for 25th place on the NBA’s all-time threes list.

Despite the fact that Thompson had 13 points in the second and 16 to end the first half, the Warriors trailed the Pacers by 11 (62-51) at halftime.

Durant continued to make it rain with threes in the third quarter. Then, Green pulled up for a three of his own to surprise the Warrior fans and make them say “wow!” When Green hit his 435th career three, he passed Baron Davis (434) for seventh place on the Warrior’s all-time threes list.

Despite the Warriors’ flawless plays, they trailed the Pacers by 20 (97-77) at the end of the third.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr kept telling his team to keep going and playing fast. Apparently, Golden State listened to Kerr since they went on a 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter. And, just like that, the Warriors were back in the game as Durant headed to the three-point line to hit a trey midway through the fourth.

The Warriors were down by 14 with a little over eight minutes left in the fourth, but Victor Oladipo and the Pacers continued to bring their A-game to the court even though they weren’t the defending NBA champions.

Pacers’ Bojan Bogdanovic hit a three of his own to make it a 21-point game for the home team. At the moment, Bogdanovic was 11-for-13 from the floor. The Warriors weren’t happy with this deep deficit at all.

The Warriors tried their best to claw their way back into the game, but they fell short by 20 points to the Pacers (126-106), who swept the season series this year.

Here are the Warriors’ final stats:

Notes
Warriors’ PR provided an update on Patrick McCaw just moments before the game.

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Warriors’ injury update: Kevon Looney (flu-like symptoms) is available to play. Nick Young (flu-like symptoms) is available to play. Andre Iguodala (left knee soreness) is out.

Up Next
The Warriors return home to host the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday, April 7 at 5:30 pm PT.

Suns hold off late Kings rally for rare 97-94 victory

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Photo credit: @NBA

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Despite a late rally by the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns held on and picked up their 20th win of the season by edging the Kings 97-94 Tuesday at the Talking Stick Resort Arena.

The rare victory snapped a franchise-worst 15-game losing streak for the Suns, who possess the NBA’s worst record at 20-59. It was the Suns’ first victory overall since Feb. 28 and their first win at home since defeating Dallas on Jan. 31.

Phoenix will finish with its second-lowest single-season win total ever in the team’s 50-year history unless it wins all three remaining games. The Suns won 16 games as a 1968-69 expansion team.

Josh Jackson led the Suns with 28 points – 18 in the first half. Alex Len contributed 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Tyler Ulis added 13 points and nine assists, as Phoenix held the Kings to 37 percent shooting from the field.

Sacramento (25-54) trailed by 12 points with 4:19 remaining in the fourth quarter after the Suns led by four after three quarters, but battled back with a chance to tie the game after forcing a turnover with 7 seconds to play. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Justin Jackson both misses potential game-tying 3-pointers before time expired.

Bogdanovic topped the Kings’ scoring column with 22 points, with Jackson adding 19 points and eight rebounds, as Sacramento has lost five of its last six contests.

Notes: Kings forward Skai Labissiere did not play due to an ankle sprain, and 20-year veteran Vince Carter sustained an undetermined injury trying to defend a drive to the basket in the second quarter, but later returned.

Up Next: The Kings’ road trip continues on Friday when they travel to Memphis to face the Grizzlies.

Golden State Warriors podcast wih David Zizmor: Despite 5-game losing streak, Warriors will be ready for playoffs

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photo from clutchpoints.com file: Golden State Warriors  Kevin Durant (35) is back in the line up following injuries that kept him out during the team’s recent skid

On the Golden State Warriors podcast with Dave:

After snapping a five game losing streak in last Sunday’s win against the Phoenix Suns in a ten point at Oracle Arena 117-107 which was one of the biggest reliefs for Golden State.

The Warriors are lying in wait as they will rest most of their starters you can look for Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson to get some minutes between now and the playoffs but head coach Steve Kerr is to gave some rest to his starters Draymond Green, Thompson and Durant who are back. Stephen Curry is slated to return after the first round of the playoffs.

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsraadioservice.com

Warriors get it going in second quarter and roll over Suns 117-107

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors started Sunday night slowly against the lowly Phoenix Suns.

The Suns, behind Marquisee Chriss and Dragen Bender, were able to build a 14-point lead about halfway through the second quarter.

The Warriors, led by Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Quinn Cook, went on a 14-5 run at the end of the quarter to finish the first half trailing 59-58.

In the third quarter, the Warriors’ defense shut down the Suns’ offense by holding them to just 18 points, and the offense came to life pouring in 36 points to finish the third quarter leading by 94-77. The Warriors were leading by 18 when Phoenix rallied and went on a 12-3 run to trail by nine.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr sent Kevin Durant back into the game, and the Warriors were able to build the lead back to 14 before Phoenix scored the last two buckets of the game. The Warriors win 117-110.

Game Notes and stats. The Warriors improved to 56-21 and Phoenix drops to 19-59. The Warriors have won fourteen straight against the Suns.

Game Notes and Stats: Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 29 points, eight assists, 11 rebounds, and two blocked shots.

The Warriors have three of the big four players back in action, and there is no question that Durant is the man.

“Kevin is going to be Kevin no matter what,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s got as much ability as anybody, pretty much anybody ever in the history of the game. Put him out there with Steph, great. Put him out there without Steph, great. He’s still going to get any shot he wants and dominate a game.”

Klay Thompson, in his second game back since injuring his thumb, showed that he is a very important cog in the Warrior offense as he tallied 23 points.

Draymond Green had another double-double. Green scored 13 to go along with 12 assists, six rebounds, and one blocked shot.

Quinn Cook finished the night with 19 points, six assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Cook has scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games, and he has shown that he can play with the big boys and will be a huge asset for the Warriors not only until the return of Steph Curry, but being able to come off the bench and give the Warriors some instant offense on the second unit.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. Game time will be at 5 pm PST.