Tag: basketball

San Jose State men’s basketball podcast with Ana Kieu: It’s not just about Welage anymore; Spartans make a date with Bulldogs; plus more Spartan news

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Photo credit: sbnation.com

On the San Jose State men’s basketball podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. The San Jose State Spartans geared up for round two with the Colorado State Rams, but ended up falling 90-79 at the Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado. What do you think was the largest problem for the Spartans?

2. Keith Fisher III and Noah Baumann recorded a career-high 23 points and a career-high 16 points, respectively. What else do you have to say about the Spartans’ leading scorers?

3. Last January, San Jose State defeated Fresno State 69-62 at the Event Center. What do the Spartans need to do in order to ensure a win tonight?

4. An article was recently posted on the Indianapolis Business Journal about Greensburg, Indiana–a town of about 12,000 people. There have been five starters in three different sports, including Spartans junior forward Ryan Welage. Welage has proved how far he has come. How far could he still go?

5. San Jose State has a wide variety of teams in men’s and women’s sports. Just give me a breakdown of the latest Spartan updates.

Ana Kieu does the San Jose State men’s basketball podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Curry scores game-high 32 points, Warriors rout Nuggets 124-114

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Photo credit: @NBA

By: Ana Kieu

After a three-game road trip, the Golden State Warriors returned home to the Oracle Arena and welcomed the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.

In the last matchup between the two teams, Denver embarrassed Golden State with a 96-81 win in Oakland on December 23, 2017.

Tonight, the Warriors were looking to extend their win streak to five games, while the Nuggets were hoping to rebound from a loss to the Sacramento Kings on January 6, 2018.

The Warriors’ starting lineup consisted of Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green, Zaza Pachulia, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry. Golden State pretty much had tonight’s game against Denver from start to finish.

The Warriors made some noteworthy plays in the first quarter. Like this one, embedded in the tweet below.

Jordan Bell got up for the denial late in the first. Then, Bell headed to the line to close out the first. The Warriors were up 37-28 at the end of the first.

Excellent ball movement led to a Thompson three with 5:13 left in the second quarter. Curry and Green also joined the party of threes. The Warriors carried a 64-57 lead to the locker room at the half.

Here are the Warriors’ halftime stats:

The Warriors began the second half on a Curry three that was followed by a couple of Thompson jumpers. Those shots alone were most likely worth votes for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game.

Curry continued to make it rain with threes and the Warriors led the Nuggets 93-81 at the end of the third quarter.

The Warriors’ hustle remained unmatched in the fourth quarter. Curry had 30 points in 32 points.

The Warriors defeated the Nuggets 124-114. With the win, Golden State improved to 33-8.

Here are the Warriors’ final stats:

Notes
Steph Curry was named Western Conference Player of the Week.

First 10,000 fans in the doors received a Klay Thompson bobblehead.

Kevin Durant donated $3 million to his alma mater UT Austin. 

Warriors’ injury report: Kevin Durant (right calf strain) is out. Omri Casspi (hip contusion), Stephen Curry (left knee soreness), Draymond Green (right knee soreness), Andre Iguodala (left knee & hip soreness) & Shaun Livingston (hip tightness) are available to play.

Up Next 
The Warriors host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday at 7:30 pm PT.

New Year’s Eve Nightmare as Kings lose to the Grizzlies 114-96

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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Skal Labissiere takes it to the hoop against the Grizzlies Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

by Charlie O. Mallonee with Jordan Chapin

On New Year’s Eve at the Golden 1 Center, something happened that has not really been heard in the new building. In the third quarter, fans began booing their hometown Kings. They were frustrated with their play and the fact that the Kings were trailing the Grizzlies 90-63.

When the third quarter ended, a large number of fans headed for their cars in order to beat crowds coming into downtown and to get to their New Year’s parties early. Those who left had no hope that their Kings would mount a comeback in the final period. They were right.

Sacramento held the lead only twice in the contest. They took the first lead of the game on a Bogdan Bogdanovic 26-foot three-point basket for the first score of the game. After the Grizzlies tied the game on a Tyreke Evans 3-pointer – the Kings took a 5-3 lead when George Hill scored on a fast break. That would be the last time the home team would hold the lead in the game.

The Grizzlies lead was 14-points at the end of the first quarter and 18 at the half. Memphis built their lead to as many as 32-points in the third period and to a game-high 33-points in the fourth quarter.

After losing to the Warriors 141-128 on Saturday night, the Grizzlies should have been tired and ripe for the pickings in the second game of a back-to-back set on the road. Instead, they seemed pumped up by their performance and used that energy against the Kings for the entire 48-minutes on Sunday afternoon.

Kings Head Coach Dave Joerger Postgame Comment

Top Performers

Grizzlies

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Tyreke Evans scored a game-high 26 points versus the Kings Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com
  • Star of the Game: Former King Tyreke Evans came back to Sacramento and showed off his skills in front of the fans who once cheered for him when he wore purple and white. Evans – who has stepped up to really help a team that has been beset by injury and the loss of free agents – scored a game-high 26 points. He hit 10-of-16 shots from the field and 5-of-7 from beyond the 3-point line. Evans also grabbed seven rebounds and five assists. His +/- rating was an impressive plus-23.
  • Co-Star: Jarell Martin -third-year player out of LSU. The 6-10 forward put up 11-points in 24-minutes off the bench. He went 5-for-8 from the field and 1-for-1 from 3-point land.
  • Co-Star: Deyonta Davis came off the bench to score 10-points and pull down nine rebounds in just over 23-minutes of playing time. The Grizzlies bench scored 64-points in the game.
  • Supporting Player Kings fans know: Ben McLemore is now a member of the Grizzlies and he played the entire fourth quarter. Ben Mac scored eight-points making two 3-point baskets and sinking two free throws.

Kings

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Willie Cauley-Stein was the Kings leading scorer with 21-points Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com
  • Star of the Game: Willie Cauley-Stein takes the honors for the Kings on Sunday night. He posted 21-points shooting 8-for-14 from the floor and going 5-for-9 from the free throw line. Cauley-Stein also grabbed eight rebounds and made to two steals in his almost 29-minutes on the court.
  • Co-Star: Buddy Hield worked hard in his 30-minutes of playing time off the bench. Hield scored 15-points shooting 5-for-14 for the game and hit 3-of-7 from downtown. He also dished out two assists as well.

Team Stats

Memphis (12-25)

  • The Grizzlies shot an impressive 53.9-percent (41-for-76) for the game. They hit 14-of-30 (46.7-percent) tries from behind the 3-point line.
  • Memphis took advantage of the free throw line converting 18-of-24 opportunities (75-percent).
  • The Grizzlies recorded 11 steals in the contest – five more than the Kings
  • Blocked shots: Memphis posted eight in the game. Veteran Marc Gasol had four of those blocks in the first quarter of the game.

Sacramento (12-24)

  • The Kings shot 43-percent for the game but only because the shot almost 58-percent in “garbage time” in the fourth quarter when the outcome of the game had already been decided.
  • Sacramento did not help themselves at the free throw line. The Kings went to the line 25 times but hit only 13 of those shots (52-percent). They are called free throws for a reason. A team must take advantage of those opportunities.
  • The Kings did do a better job working the boards on Sunday. They grabbed 42 rebounds while Memphis recorded 44 rebounds. That was a real improvement over the Phoenix game.

Up Next

Kings

The Kings first game of the new year will be versus the Charlotte Hornets at the Golden 1 Center on Tuesday, January 2. The Hornets are coming in off a 106-98 New Year’s Eve loss to the Clippers. This will be the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

Grizzlies

The Grizzlies will wrap up their West Coast swing with a game in Los Angeles versus the Clippers on Tuesday at Staples Center.

 

Stanford Cardinal defeated 77-74 by archival Cal Bears in Pac-12 opener

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Photo: @StanfordMBB

By Alexandra Evans

PALO ALTO—The Stanford Cardinal Men’s Basketball team faced their first Pac-12 opponent of the season and cross-Bay Area rivals, the California Golden Bears, at Maples Pavillion two days before the new year.

Don Coleman, Marcus Lee, Justice Sueing, Nick Hamilton, and Darius McNeill started for the visiting Golden Bears. Kezie Okpala, Daejon Davis, Reid Travis, Michael Humphrey, and Dorian Pickens (who was out with an injury earlier this season) started for the Cardinal.

Cal’s Marcus Lee made the first basket of the game 17 seconds in, and Stanford’s Michael Humphrey made the second basket 13 seconds later. Cal made another two baskets over the course of 24 seconds and exceeded Stanford by four points at the 1:25 mark, until Reid Travis got a layup 15 seconds later at the 1:40 mark and Dorian Pickens made a three-pointer at 2:16, commencing Stanford’s lead over Cal, which would gradually increase throughout the first half.

Stanford’s Michael Humphrey more than doubled the lead just over 4 minutes in (13-6), and Stanford upped their lead to 10 points at the halfway point of the first 20 minutes. The score more than doubled again at the 12-minute mark (25-12) when Kezie Okpala made a jumper, assisted by Robert Cartwright.

The energy on the court and in the stands amped up significantly in the remaining five minutes of the first half, during which Stanford did not let their lead drop below 11 points. Humphrey made a dunk at 18:06 which put the Cardinal at a 14-point lead over the Bears, followed by a three-pointer from Dorian Pickens, bringing the lead to 17 points and then down to 15 after Cal’s Justice Sueing made two free throws following a foul on Oscar da Silva. Coleman made a three-pointer for the Bears with 30 seconds left in the half, and the Cardinal exceeded the Bears 37-24 at halftime.

Cal would slowly catch up to Stanford throughout the second half, and eventually exceed them. Coleman made the first basket, cutting Stanford’s lead over Cal to 11 points, and then by 10 points at the 3:18 mark when Lee got a jumper. Humphrey scored for Stanford, then Sueing for Cal, and the Cardinal’s lead was once again a point away from the single digits. Every time Stanford’s lead was cut to 10 points, they would score again to keep their lead above it through the first 10 minutes of the second half. Lee dunked for Cal, and less than a minute later, Josh Sharma made a jumper followed by a layup from Travis, giving Stanford a 15-point lead (55-40) at 6:43. The score was 60-45 just after the 10-minute mark, courtesy of Humphrey’s layup. 20 seconds later, McNeill got a 3-pointer for Cal. Stanford attained a 17 point lead after a 3-pointer from Davis with 9:28 remaining in the half.

Stanford’s lead was cut to single-digits when Cal’s Kingsley Okoroh got a layup with 6:12 left; they only led Cal by nine points. Coleman got a layup almost a minute after Okoroh, bringing the score to 66-59. Humphrey dunked for the Cardinal, inching the way back to a double-digit lead. He made a jumper one minute after his dunk and brought Stanford’s lead to 11 points once again. However, McNeill made a three-pointer for Cal directly after, followed by two layups and a free-throw from Sueing; Cal trailed by only three points. Travis quickly retaliated for Stanford with a layup and a free throw, bringing their lead up to six points. With 1:17 left in the game, Grant Anticevich made a three-pointer for Cal, making the score 73-72, giving Cardinal fans a “sudden death” feeling. Sueing got a layup and a free throw, and the Bears led the Cardinal for the first time since the beginning of the match (73-75). Travis was given two free throw opportunities with 20 seconds left in the match, only one of which he made. Davis was then fouled for Stanford, and Coleman, with two free-throw opportunities, made both for Cal with 17 seconds remaining. Travis had a chance at a three-pointer in the final seconds, but could not make it past Cal’s defense.

The Bears took home a 77-74 win.

“You go into every game confident that you’re going to win,” Humphrey said after being asked about the expectations of facing an identically ranked team. “We were all fired up to play [a rivalry game]. We wanted to start off Pac-12 play the right way, but we didn’t do that.”

Stanford struggled to make a majority of their free throws, which could have been the “make or break” of the overall score.

“I’ve probably worked more with free throws and shot more with [Stanford] than any other team I’ve ever had,” said Coach Jerod Haase. “To miss 16 free throws is going to be a problem. Ideally, you don’t get into that situation if the lead [in points] is a little bit bigger.”

Haase continued, “The experience and the cohesion of playing together is still growing, as is the execution of everything we are doing. But at the end of the day, you find ways to get stops at the end of a game… this game is going to sting, it’s going to hurt, but I feel as though we are building a foundation of something special.”

Both Stanford and Cal were 6-7 going into the match; one could argue that the outcome was going to be unpredictable. Stanford’s leader in points, Travis, averages 21.4 points per game (almost double that of his runner-up, Michael Humphrey, who has an average of 11.6 points per game). Cal’s point leader, Coleman, averages 20.5 points per game.

The Stanford Men’s Basketball team will commence the new year with a home match against the UCLA Bruins on January 4, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

Warriors give fans a Christmas present with 99-92 win over Cavs

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Photo credit: @_LegendaryEdits

By: Ana Kieu

OAKLAND, Calif. — On Christmas day, the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers met in a rematch at Oracle Arena. The Warriors beat the Cavs 99-92 in Oakland.

Prior to the much anticipated matchup, the Warriors saw their 11-game win streak snap after the Nuggets embarrassed them with a 96-81 blowout win Saturday. Meanwhile, the Cavs were just looking to extend their win streak to two games. The Cavs edged the Bulls 115-112 at Quicken Loans Arena Thursday.

Both teams played excellent defense to start the first half. There was no score until 10:15 of the first quarter as Jae Crowder hit a three-pointer to put the Cavs on the board 3-0. Jose Calderon added another three to make it 6-0 Cavs with 9:38 left in the first.

The Warriors then started to get back into the game. Draymond Green made a driving floating bank jump shot and one of two free throws. Klay Thompson hit a three. Kevin Durant missed a couple of shots, but later snagged a rebound and made a driving finger roll layup shot. The Warriors pulled within two (12-10) with 7:15 left.

LeBron James hit a three to put the Cavs ahead 15-10 with 6:05 left. Durant then made a jump shot to bring the Warriors within four (16-12), but Kevin Love hit a three to expand the Cavs’ lead to 19-12 with 4:38 left.

James continued to work his magic on the court with a couple of layups. Kyle Korver hit a three with 21.7 seconds left. The Warriors trailed the Cavs 28-24 at the end of the first.

Both teams battled it out in a back-and-forth second quarter. The score was tied at 33 with 6:16 left in the second. Thompson made the game-tying shot–a jump shot.

Again, the score was tied at 39 with 3:57 left. Bell made a cutting dunk shot for two points for the equalizer.

The Warriors missed plenty of shots, but so did the Cavs. Durant helped the Warriors out with a three before Iguodala entered the game in his relief.

Omri Casspi made a pair of two free throws to end the first half. The Warriors led the Cavs 46-44 at halftime.

The score remained close throughout the second half.

Love hit a three to start the third quarter, but the Warriors began to pick up the pace. Love continued to contribute to the Cavs’ offense, but the Warriors gave the Cavs a hard time as Patrick McCaw hit a three and made a driving layup shot before his scoring streak ended and Andre Iguodala entered in his relief.

Casspi and Nick Young relieved Bell and Thompson late in the third. The Warriors made it rain with Durant’s pair of free throws and Casspi’s cutting dunk shot before the Cavs took a timeout.

The Iguodala show was in full effect as Iguodala made a dunk shot and a running finger roll layup shot to give the Warriors a 71-64 lead over the Cavs at the end of the third.

Dwayne Wade made it a one-point game with a three with 8:49 left in the fourth. The Warriors continued to lead 78-77, but Shaun Livingston made a dunk shot before receiving a personal foul from the referees. Durant then substituted for Iguodala.

Love made a pair of free throws, but the Cavs continued to trail the Warriors 85-81 with 5:59 left in regulation. Green, Durant and Bell fired up the Warrior offense, while the Cavs missed some much-needed shots.

James made a floating jump shot to tie the game at 92 with 1:59 left. Durant responded with a three to put the Warriors back on top 95-92 just 26 seconds later.

The Cavs got a lot of fouls in the final two minutes of the game and that seemingly affected their overall performance. Thompson closed out the game with a pair of free throws and the Warriors beat the Cavs 99-92.

Notes
Warriors’ starters: Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Jordan Bell, Klay Thompson and Patrick McCaw.

Dwayne Wade’s teams have won 10 games on Christmas day–the most in NBA history.

Kevin Love (20) and LeBron James (22) have a combined 42 double-doubles, tied for the most among all NBA teammate duos this season.

Up Next 
The Warriors host the Jazz on Wednesday, December 27 at 7:30 pm PT.

The Cavs take on the Kings on Wednesday, December 27 at 7:00 pm PT.

Randolph shines, leading Kings to 107-106 victory over Bulls

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Sacramento Kings forward Zach Randolph (50) shoots between Chicago Bulls forward Paul Zipser (16) and center Robin Lopez (42) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Haynes)

By: Peter Elliott

CHICAGO, IL. — It was the Zach Randolph show on Friday night at the United Center.

The 36-year-old veteran big man yet again proved his worth, leading the Sacramento Kings (7-15) to a 107-106 victory over the Chicago Bulls (3-18). Randolph earned his first double-double of the season, as he notched a season-high in points with 25 while grabbing 13 rebounds in 32 minutes of action.

Although Randolph’s star shined the brightest, the Kings also received important contributions from role players like Bogdan Bogdanović, Garrett Temple, and Willie Cauley-Stein, who combined for 42 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds.

Bogdanović, a first-year shooting guard from Serbia also achieved his season-high in points with 19 on 6-12 shooting from the field and six made free throws in 30 minutes, the most action he has seen so far this season.

Buddy Hield struggled once more in his seven minutes of playing time, as the second-year shooting guard failed to connect on his two shots and played lackluster defense, good for a plus-minus differential of -8.

Neither of the teams that took the floor at the United Center on Friday night appear poised to contend for the Larry O’Brien trophy this summer. However, both teams made it competitive throughout, with the biggest point margin being just seven points in the third quarter.

The Bulls, who are now losers of 13 of their last 14 games turned in a solid showing for a three-win team, but it was their bench that shined. Sacramento had trouble shutting down a seat-warming trio of Paul Zipser, Cristiano Felicio, and Jerian Grant, who combined for a whopping 55 points, four more than the starters’ total of 51.

What’s Next: The Kings will head north into Milwaukee on Saturday night, seeking revenge for 112-87 blowout loss at the hands of the Bucks just a mere four days ago. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 PT/7:30 CT p.m. on NBC Sports California.

Draymond Green’s summer gets worse

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

Not too long ago, everything looked up for Draymond Green. The Warriors were so close to repeating as champions, but an ill tempered mistake by the All Star seemed to change the series as the Cavs went on to win three in a row.

And after the tough loss, Green found himself in headlines for all the wrong reasons. Green was arrested, but did reach a plea agreement to pay a small fine. Green got out of that situation fine, but now he’s back in the news for yet another mistake.

As Green traveled with team USA, who appear to be having a lot of fun, the Warriors forward put out a NSFW picture on his Snapchat story. At first, Green claimed he had been hacked. However, the 2016 Olympian confessed that he had accidentally shared the photo publicly, while it had been meant to be sent privately.

“It was a situation where it was meant to be a private message,” Green said. “I kinda hit the wrong button and it sucks. It was meant to be private. We’re all one click away from placing something in the wrong place, and I suffered from that this morning.”

Green’s teammates for this summer’s Olympics have given him a lot of grief for the incident. The Warriors sure hope Green can turn it around, but it seems this is more of an embarrassment for Green than anything. But as a professional athlete, he has to be extremely careful especially with social media.

For Green’s sanity, he’ll hope that everyone’s expectations are met as team USA should dominate in international play. Maybe a gold medal will make Green’s summer a little better. Then again, Green is just thankful for where he is.

“To say I can’t catch a break I think that’s disrespectful for everybody,” he said. “How many people get to live their dreams? I’m not going to sit here and throw myself a pity party and say I can’t catch a break. I’m fine. I get to joke around with these guys all day and get to do what I love for my country. I’m fine. I’m fine.”

Warriors second half struggles lead to Game 6 loss

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

At the half, the score was tied at 61. Kyrie Irving and LeBron James each had a tremendous first half, but Klay Thompson kept the Warriors right in it.

Out of the half, James and Irving continued playing great on the offensive end of the court while the Warriors began to struggle. The Cavs shot over 60 percent from the field in the third quarter while the Warriors shot 29 percent.

And then in the fourth quarter, Cleveland only shot 42.1 percent but Golden State shot an abysmal 23.8 percent. After things had been close and both teams played tough, James and Irving kept playing like great players do in elimination games.

As Draymond Green was suspended from game 5, it seems as if James took advantage of facing anyone else but Green. Andrew Bogut also came out early in the third quarter with a knee injury, which effected the Warriors defensive presence.

In place of Green, Andre Iguodala had a solid game finishing with 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Thompson finished with a team high of 37 points as the forward was 11 for 20 from the field with six threes. Thompson was nine of nine from the charity stripe.

MVP Steph Curry scored 25, but the James and Irving were simply too much.

James and Irving became the first pair of teammates to score 40 or more points in a Finals game. With Kevin Love playing poorly, the duo was the reason Cleveland is sending the series to a game 6.

James and Irving scored 41 points apiece. James grabbed 16 rebounds and tallied seven assists shooting 16-30 from the field. James’ jumper looked smooth and the Warriors had no answer on the defensive end.

Irving also had six assists and incredibly knocked down  17 of 24 shots from the field.

As the final horn sounded, the Cavs defeated Golden State 112-97. Cleveland shot 53 percent from the field for the game and the Warriors just shot over 36 percent.

Tonight, the Warriors struggled to find their shot from beyond the arc, which is usually how they take the lead and maintain it.

Heading back to Cleveland, the Warriors should be excited to get after it in hopes of grabbing their second championship in as many years. Golden State will have Green back and more news is to come regarding Bogut.

The Warriors are going to need to find an answer to stop either James or Irving because if both play as well as they did it’s going to make difficult to finish off the series.

Tune in to ABC on Thursday at 6 p.m. PT and be prepared to watch a game full of offensive flurry. Golden State will look to try and finish off their historic season with the greatest prize the NBA has to offer.

Historic season not over yet, Dubs back in the NBA Finals

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images

Down in the Western Conference Finals three games to one, the Golden State Warriors looked lost, worn out and defeated. While the Oklahoma City Thunder seemed unstoppable and their path to the NBA Finals appeared clear.

But did people forget that this Warriors team won a record setting 73 games? If anybody could come back down three games for just the tenth time in league history, it would be these guys. And the Warriors showed their resiliency and in game seven their fearless leader, Steph Curry showed that his second MVP selection, an unanimous decision, was no fluke.

The best player on the planet and his team defeated the Thunder, 96-88, in a tough game 7.

The first quarter was all Thunder as their defense was relentless and made Golden State take tough shots. The Warriors only scored 19 points, while Kevin Durant looked to be locked in. Oklahoma City showed up in the first and gave the impression that they had forgotten about the past two games.

However, the second quarter was different and the Warriors went back to what they do best, shooting the three ball. Klay Thompson got off to a rough 0 for 7 start, but knocked down four triples in the second to help his team cut the Thunder’s lead, who looked poised to take a big lead.

At the half, OKC led Golden State, 48-42 and out of the half, the MVP reigned supreme.

Curry made three big triples in the third and the Warriors played tremendous defense. The defending champs outscored the Thunder, 29-12, in the third quarter. The third quarter was the turning point and the home team never looked back.

While Curry had a solid third quarter, his clutch performance in the fourth proved why he is currently the best player in the NBA. Curry went 5-6 from the field, including 2 for 3 from beyond the arc for 15 fourth quarter points. Curry absolutely went off and made the big shots when the Thunder tried to make a come back of their own late in the game.

The Warriors lived by the three in tonight’s game, shooting 45.9 percent from behind the three point line. Their defense also did a great job of not allowing Durant the ball and holding their opponents to a shooting percentage of 38.2 percent.

Durant did finish with 27 points on 10 of 19 from the field for a team high and Russell Westbrook totaled 19 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. But Westbrook had difficulty shooting as he went 7 of 21 on the night.

Curry finished with a game high 36 points, hitting 13 fields goals on 24 tries with seven of those field goals coming from three point range. The Warriors win was definitely a collective effort as the team had to come together strong to make this incredible series come back. Thompson ended the game with 21 points of his own as the Splash Brothers once again guided their team to one of the franchise’s most important victories.

The Warriors spent a ton of energy on winning this series and that could be a factor as their next task begins on Thursday. But, the Warriors are headed to back to back finals. They have a player who won back to back MVP trophies. And now, repeating as champions is in plain sight.

The Cavs and LeBron James look better than the team the Warriors saw last year, but again do not count out the Western Conference Champions. History is unfolding right in front of our eyes, can the Warriors be historical once again?

Tune in to ABC on June 2 at 6 p.m, where Golden State and Curry will take on James and company at Oracle Arena in front of a rambunctious Oakland crowd.

 

Thunder roll past Warriors in game 3

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

After the Warriors 27 point blow out win in game 2, the momentum seemed to be in there in Golden State’s favor.

But the Oklahoma City Thunder made it seem like that game was in the very far past.

While the first quarter was close, OKC broke things open in the second quarter thanks  to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The big key for the Thunder in the game was that they were able to get to the free throw line and get easy points. In the second quarter alone, the Thunder went 17 of 18 from the charity stripe.

As everything went right for the Thunder, everything went abysmal for the Warriors who shot 22.6% from the field in the second quarter. Golden State also only made two three pointers in the quarter.

At the half, the Thunder led 72-45 and the third quarter was no different. Golden State showed a little more offensive life, but were still outscored by their opponent. The Thunder took their biggest lead in the game in the third quarter, going up by 41 points at one point in the game.

Golden State scored more than OKC in the fourth quarter, but it was a very lost cause. Oklahoma City blew out the defending world champs in dominate fashion. Durant and Westbrook both had huge games and the Thunder shot 50% from the field for the game.

Westbrook neared a triple double with 30 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds. Durant scored a game high 33 points and eight assists while going 10-15 from the field. The two All Stars played really well and collectively as a whole the Thunder played well.

Steph Curry had a team high for the Warriors with 24 points and Klay Thompson added 18. The Warriors just looked flat and were completely outplayed.

Draymond Green was not a factor in the game at all, which played a role in why the Warriors did poorly. Green also picked up a flagrant one foul after kicking Steven Adams in the groin, which he claims was inadvertent.

Whether it was or not, my guess is that Green will not pick up a suspension for the foul. In the end, the Thunder defeated Golden State, 133-105. OKC’s blowout victory was a point more than the Warriors game two win. After everybody thought the Warriors would have the momentum, Oklahoma City struck right back.

Can Durant and Westbrook continue their incredible play? With the Warriors down two games to one in the series, they will look to try to even the series on Tuesday at 6 p.m. on TNT.