Tag: Damian Lillard

Extra Dribbles: Short-handed Warriors put 3-0 stranglehold on Trail Blazers

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

PORTLAND — Stephen Curry scored a game-high 34 points to go along with eight assists and Klay Thompson finished with 24 points and the Warriors erased a 16-point third quarter deficit to put the Trail Blazers on the brink of elimination with a hard-fought 119-113 victory Saturday night in Portland.

Both Curry (10-of-25) and Thompson (8-of-21) struggled in the first half before finding their respective strokes in the second half.

Andre Iguodala scored 16 points and Patrick McCaw (starting his second career postseason game), added 11 points.

Draymond Green had another stat-sheet filling night with nine points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and six blocks.

With the win, Golden State snaps a five-game postseason losing streak in Game 3s. Through the first three games, Golden State’s +47 combined win margin is the largest for any playoff series in franchise history.

Golden State can send the Trail Blazers fishing for the summer with a win in Game 4 on Monday night in Portland.

Without head coach Steve Kerr (illness), Kevin Durant (calf), Shaun Livingston (hand), and Matt Barnes (ankle),  the Golden State Warriors resembled more of the walking wounded rather than the NBA’s best team entering Game 3 of their best-of-7 series; but played smart and calm down the stretch that resulted in the victory.

Check out my takeaways below that led to Golden State’s win:

Golden State owned the third quarter: Trailing 82-66 after a Damian Lillard finger roll with 6:20 left in the third quarter, the Warriors stormed back with a 19-1 run, taking an 85-83 lead when JaVale McGee slammed through a lob with 2:01 left in the quarter.

Golden State overcame a 16-point hole and 52-42 rebounding edge by the Blazers to neutralize Portland to 30.4-percent shooting for the quarter. During their hot run, Golden State held Portland to 0-of-8 shooting, with three turnovers.

Per ESPN Stats and Information, Thompson made more 3s in the third (4) than total field goals made (3) in the first half.

The Warriors ended the third quarter on a 21-6 run.

Take another bow, McGee: There’s no question that Curry and Thompson were huge in Golden State’s second half comeback, but the play of McGee in Game 3 was just as vital.

McGee, who has been referenced as a “vertical spacer” by the Warriors’ coaching staff, has been just that against the Trail Blazers this series with his penchant for catching the lob pass for hammering dunks.

In 16 minutes on the floor tonight, McGee scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, to go along with four rebounds. The reserve center was +24 whenever he was on the court.

When you combine his performances from Game 1 (6 points on 3-of-4 FG) and Game 2 (15 points on 7-of-7 shooting) with his line from Game 3 (14 points on 6-of-8 shooting), McGee has scored 35 points on 16-of-19 shooting.

Portland’s backcourt is fun to watch and aren’t the problem: Through the first three games, Lillard and C.J. McCollum have made life difficult for the NBA’s second-ranked defense during the regular season with their ability to score nearly at will. Outside of Game 2, Portland’s electrifying backcourt has torched Golden State:

In Game 1: 75 of Portland’s 109 points on 38-of-54 shooting (7-of-15 3FG).

In Game 2: 23 of Portland’s 80 points on 9-of-34 shooting (1-of-7 3FG).

In Game 3: 63 of Portland’s 119 points on 20-of-46 shooting (10-of-22 3FG).

McCollum led all Trail Blazers with 32 points and Lillard finished with 31 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in Game 3, where Portland was feeding off of its raucous crowd.

Portland did get center Jusuf Nurkic back in the starting lineup for Game 3 after missing the first two games of the series with a non-displaced fracture in his left leg he suffered late in the season that caused him to miss the final seven games.

Nurkic finished with two points and 11 rebounds in 17 minutes of action and was a non-factor.

Al-Farouq Aminu had 14 points and nine rebounds to lead Portland’s bench, while Noah Vonleh added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Allen Crabbe, whose struggled in the series shooting just 33-percent from the floor, scored eight.

Golden State held the edge in points in the paint (46-38) and fastbreak points (22-6).

Extra Dribbles: Without Durant, Warriors wallop Trail Blazers in Game two 110-81

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Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry drives to the basket against the Portland Trail Blazers during Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series Wednesday, April 19, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (Ezra Shaw, Getty Images via AP, Pool)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

OAKLAND — Even without star forward Kevin Durant, who didn’t play due to a left calf strain, the Golden State Warriors were able to impose their will in dominating fashion to take a 2-0 lead over the Portland Trail Blazers 110-81 Wednesday night at Oracle Arena.

Game 3 is Saturday night in Portland.

Check out my takeaways below that led to Golden State’s win in the best-of-7 first-round series:

The Splash Brothers were just damp in Game 2

Stephan Curry (6 of 18 FG) led Golden State with 19 points and Klay Thompson (6 of 17 FG) added 16 points, but the duo combined to shoot just 12 of 35 from the floor (7 of 20 3FG).

Curry couldn’t find the bottom of the basket in the first half, shooting 2 of 10 from the floor with 6 points and 4 assists, while Thompson started cold in the first half, knocking down just 3 of 9 from the floor for 8 points.

Patrick McCaw, who started in place of Durant, had nine points and five rebounds.

I don’t expect the Warriors prized backcourt to have another slow shooting night, especially in Portland, where Golden State will be greeted by a rabid Moda Center in prime time.

Golden State jumped out to a 33-17 lead in the first quarter, shooting 13 of 22 from the field on 11 assists, before finishing with a 31 to 17 assist advantage over the Trail Blazers.

The Warriors turned up the defense in the opening frame, holding Portland to just 6 of 21 from the field.

Golden State’s biggest lead of the game was 32 points 96-64 midway through the fourth quarter.

Draymond Green is always on time: Although he didn’t score 19 points tonight as he did in Game 1 finishing with just 6, Green was up to his old tricks again filling up the stat sheet.

Green recorded 12 rebounds and 10 assists in Game 2, a nice follow up to his 19 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in Game 1.

Center of attention: There are still times where I scratch my head and wonder how are the Warriors making lemonade out of their weakest position, center?

JaVale McGee actually led Golden State in scoring at halftime, piling up 15 points on 7 of 7 shooting. Granted, a bunch of those shots were putbacks and one spin-move that left Trail Blazers center Noah Vonleh’s head spin.

McGee scored 6 points on 3 of 4 shooting in Game 1 before coming alive for the Warriors in Game 2.

Throw in Zsa Zsa Pachulia’s 10 points on 5 of 8 shooting, James Michael McAdoo’s 7 points on 2 of 5 shooting, and Damian Jones’s free throw, Golden State’s big men contributed 33 points on 14 of 20 shots from the floor.

The Warriors controlled the paint, outscoring Portland 50 to 36 inside and held a 54 to 47 rebounding edge.

There is no secret that the loss of center Jusef Nurkic has been a glaring hole for Portland, who are hoping that the big man could suit up when the Trail Blazers return home for Games 3 and 4.

After gigantic performances in Game 1, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum were duds in Game 2: Look, the writing is on the wall for the Trail Blazers. Portland has a backcourt that is comparable to the Splash Brothers, but they can’t do it by themselves.

After combining for 75 points on 52% shooting (7 of 15 3FG) in Game 1, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum couldn’t carry Portland in Game 2 as Lillard and McCollum combined for 23 points on 9 of 34 from the floor.

Golden State put the clamps on Portland’s dynamic backcourt after the pair were virtually un-guardable in Game 1.

McCollum finished with a career playoff-high with 41 points while draining four 3-pointers, but was just 4 of 17 from the floor.

Lillard was missing in action as the Warriors held the Oakland product to just 12 points on 5 of 14 shooting.

Lillard and McCollum are fantastic scorers, but it was forward Maurice Harkless who led Portland with 15 points and eight rebounds in Game 2.

Shabazz Napier was the only other Portland player in double digits with 10 points. Allen Crabbe shot just 3 of 10 in Game 2, finishing with just 6 points and was 0 of 4 from beyond the arc.

This was Golden State’s 12th win in their last 13 meetings with Portland in the postseason. The last time Portland defeated Golden State in the playoffs, it was in Game 3 of last season’s Western Conference Semifinals.

 

 

 

Extra Dribbles: Durant shows he’s ready for long postseason run with Warriors

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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates during the second half of Game 1 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, April 16, 2017. The Warriors won 121-109. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

OAKLAND — The whole basketball world knows that the only way that it’s championship-or-bust for the Golden State Warriors this season.

Even after leading the NBA in wins for a third-straight season (67-15), if the Warriors don’t bring home their second Larry O’Brien trophy in three years, the 2016-17 season will be considered a failure.

Period.

But forward Kevin Durant and the top-seeded Warriors look like they are ready to claim their rightful place as the best team in the NBA at the end of June, after holding off the visiting eighth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers 121-109 victory Sunday in front of frenzied, sold out Oracle Arena in Game 1 of the first-round series.

Here are a few of my takeaways from Golden State’s win:

Durant is big time: Durant finished with a team-high 32 points to go along with 10 rebounds in his playoff debut with Golden State. Durant shot 12 of 20 from the floor and showed no signs of a player who missed 19 games in the second half before returning for the Warriors’ final three games of the season due to a recent knee injury.

“The game ratchets up when you get into the playoffs,” Durant said after the game. “I definitely felt good out there.”

Entering Sunday’s playoff game, Durant is averaging 28.8 points and eight rebounds per game in 91 career playoff games, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

Another day at the office for Mr. Green: Draymond Green continues to be the heartbeat of the Warriors and it was business as usual for Green after recording a near triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, five blocked shots (two that kept Oracle buzzing), and three steals.

With all due respect to Durant, Stephen Curry (29 points, 9/19 FG, 5 REB, 4 AST) and Klay Thompson (15 points, 6/16 FG, 1/6 3FG), Green is vital for Golden State to win the title this year. Green is the emotional leader of the team, the guy who brings his lunchbox and hard hat to work game-in, game-out, and possibly, the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year this season.

Trail Blazers have Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, but not much more: McCollum tied a Trail Blazers franchise record for most points in the first half of a playoff game with 27, and Damian Lilliard scored 21 points as Portland’s backcourt combined to score 48 of the team’s 56 points at half time.

McCollum finished with a playoff career-high 41 points on 16 of 28 and eight rebounds, while Lillard scored 34 points on 12 of 26 shooting and five rebounds.

According to ESPN Stats and Information, Lillard and McCollum are the first Trail Blazers teammates to score 34 or more points in a playoff game since Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter on May 19, 1992. Their 75 points were two off the franchise playoff record by teammates.

That sounds all good,  but Portland won’t win a game in the series if their star-studded backcourt has to continue to shoulder the load and not get any help from the role players.

Maurice Harkless was the only other Trail Blazer who had double-digit shot attempts (5/13 FG) and finished with 11 points. Evan Turner scored 12 points.

Portland’s bench was missing in action, scoring just nine points, while reserve guard Ian Clark scored 12 of Golden State’s 22 points off the bench.

The Trail Blazers were without center Jusuf Nurkic, who missed the game with a non-displaced fracture in his right leg.

Game 2 is Wednesday back in Oakland. Golden State is hoping that reserve forward Matt Barnes, who didn’t play in Game 1 due to an ankle injury, is ready to go.

Golden State held the rebounding edge (45-38) and shot 53.1% (43/81 FG) from the floor, while holding Portland to 43% shooting (40/93 FG) for the game.

 

 

 

A battle royal in Portland:Kings lose to Trail Blazers 122-120 in OT

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

799355fa552ec2f8

Photo credit: Craig Mitchelldyer, AP Photo

by Charlie O. Mallonee

We spit on your statistics about back-to-back games in the NBA

The statisticians, experts, journalists and oddsmakers all had written off the Sacramento Kings as having any chance to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night in the Rose City:

  • The Kings had suffered a devastating loss to the Lakers 101-91 on Thursday night in Sacramento
  •  The game in Portland was the back end of a back-to-back home/road set with the average chances to win the game at 37.3-percent historically
  • The Trail Blazers are seen as a more talented team than the Kings and are expected to make the playoffs and possibly go on to the second round while Sacramento is expected to be in the Draft Lottery … again
  • The game in Portland would be the Kings 11th contest in 17 days and the team needs a break to rest and recoup
  • Sacramento entered the game a 6.5 to 9-point underdog

What no counted on was the Kings forgot to read the script before the game and they came to play. Somehow they survived a first half that ended with the Blazers leading 62-57 and came out ready to to battle in the second half despite all of the odds being against them.

The Kings rode the play of Cousins, Gay, Koufos, Afflalo and Collison in the second half to outscore the Blazers 49-44 to force the game into overtime.

The teams tied the game up five times in the five-minute overtime session. With the Blazers up by two points with 14.3 seconds to play, Cousins missed a 26-foot jump and Rudy Gay missed a 16-foot desperation turnaround fadeaway shot with one-tenth of a second left on the clock. When the horn sounded, Portland had won the game 122-120 but they knew they had been in a battle royal.

Cousins was a different player on Friday night

Cousins put his inconsistent Thursday night performance behind him to lead the Kings in scoring with 33 points to go with nine rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and one steal. Cousins did all of this after being assessed a technical foul in the first quarter for exchanging shoves with Meyers Leonard. Cousins knew his limitations and worked with them of Friday night.

Rudy Gay is proving to everyone that he is worth the new NBA pay scale

Gay may have given notice that he plans to opt out of the last year of his contract with the Kings but he is not playing like a man who does not care. In fact, it is just the opposite. Rudy Gay is giving it his all on the court every night and not in a selfish way.

Against Portland, he posted a double-double scoring 29 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Gay also added three assists, two steals and one block. He shot 50-percent from the floor (9-for-18) including going 2-for-4 from 3-point range. Gay went 9-for-10 from the free throw line.

If Vivek Ranadive and Vlade Divac are serious about building a contender, they need to get out the checkbook and get ready to start participating in the bidding war for one Rudy Gay.

Has there been a changing of the guard?

The man on the point who made it happen on Friday night for the Kings was Darren Collison. Collison played almost 40 minutes scoring 20 points while dishing out four assists and hauling in five rebounds.

The Kings starting point guard Ty Lawson played just 15 minutes and had four assists. That is not to imply Lawson has become obsolete but most observers felt that Collison would establish himself as the number one point guard at sometime after his return. It appears Collison decided he would declare himself number one a little sooner than anyone expected.

Ty Lawson will not be going anywhere. He still has a very vital role to play for this Kings team. Look to see more sets with Lawson and Collison on the floor together in a “small ball line up”.

Head Coach Dave Joerger’s thoughts on the game

  • Our team played hard
  • We were playing on fumes – 11 games in 17 days
  • Turnovers were catastrophic – 15 that resulted in 25 Trail Blazer points
  • Portland’s guards were fantastic – starters Lillard and McCollum combined for 67 points
  • Rudy (Gay) and Cuz (Cousins) gave their all on the court at all times in the game
  • It was a fun basketball game
  • Our group is resilient – they can take a punch – they don’t go away
  • He’s (Cousins) engaged – he’s all in

What’s coming up for the Kings

Thankfully for the Kings after the brutal 11 games in 17 days schedule they have four days off. There will be some practice/shoot-arounds, but they will also be lots of rest on the agenda.

The Kings next game will be on Wednesday night at the Golden 1 Center when the San Antonio Spurs come back to town. The Kings will have four more home games before heading back out on the road.

Hello Biggest Little City in the World

Three of the Kings rookie players have been assigned to the Reno Bighorns of the NBA D-League. Skal Labissiere, Georgios Papagiannis and Malachi Richardson will be playing with the Bighorns.

The fact is these young players would not be seeing any significant playing time in Sacramento. The second fact is they need significant playing time to prepare for the NBA. The solution is to play significant minutes in the D-League.

Do not expect to see the players move from Reno to Sacramento often unless they are needed to cover a roster spot because of an injury to an active player.

We will keep you up to date on their progress in the D-League on a weekly basis.

 

Game Preview: Kings go back at it in Portland on Friday night

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

sac3

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Kings have no time to rest as it’s time to finish a back-to-back

The NBA schedule can be a very cruel mistress when comes to needing to respond to a devastating loss like the Kings had at the hands of the upstart LA Lakers on Thursday night in Sacramento. In this case, they have to head out on the road to Portland to finish a back-to-back schedule with Trail Blazers (5-4).

Percentages on back-to-backs aren’t good

  • About 32-percent of the back-to-back games in the NBA are home/road sets like the Kings have with the Lakers last night in Sacramento and the Trail Blazers in Portland tonight.
  • The average winning percentages for the visiting team in the second game on the road is 37.3-percent. The visiting team is usually given about a 40-percent chance of winning on the road in the NBA, so the chances of winning are lower. Of course, there are many variables that play into those figures.
  • FiveThirtyEight.com (I use them because they have no gambling establishment interest to please) projects the Kings have only an 18-percent chance of pulling off a win tonight over the Blazers. The fact that it is the back end of a back-to-back set on the road versus a team that has a 74-percent chance of making the playoffs  has a lot do with the prediction

Blazers are coming off a loss

Portland lost to the Clippers in Los Angeles on Wednesday night 111-80. LAC led by 20 after the first quarter and led by as many as 48 points in the second half. Damian Lillard was held to eight points shooting just 1-for-10 and hitting no 3-pointers in the game. If Lillard has a bad game, the Blazers are going to have a bad game.

This is a Tier 3 team visiting a Tier 2 team

Sacramento is a Tier 3 team – they will not make the playoffs and will be in the 2017 Draft Lottery. The Trail Blazers are a Tier 2 team – there is a high probability they will make the playoffs and may possibly go to the second round.

Who to watch in tonight’s game

For the Kings, you have to focus on DeMarcus Cousins. The big man scored no points in the third quarter of last night’s game with the Lakers and that is when the contest got away from the Kings. Sacramento needs Cousins to come out energized and ready to be productive in all four quarters if they are to have any chance against the Blazers.

It is really a one-man watch for Portland. Damian Lillard needs to comeback and take charge in this game versus the Kings. He averages 30 points per game. The Blazers must have that scoring production from their star guard or it could be a long night.

For entertainment purposes only

The prognosticators have made the Trail Blazers the favorites in this game minus 6.5 to 9 points (FiveThirtyEight.com calls the -9 & remember they are not tied to a book). The over/under ranges from 208 to 208.5. The Kings need that number to be at 196 to 200 to really be competitive in this game.

The Warriors play well, blast the Trail Blazers

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (left) drives past the Portland Trailblazers Al-Farouq Aminu (right) in in the first half in Portland Tuesday night

Portland, Oregon- Tuesday night in Portland, the Golden State Warriors played their best game of the young 2016-17 season by routing the Trail Blazers 127-104. They looked like the Warriors of the past two season. They moved the ball well; they played defense, and they got great play from the bench.  The Dubs bench outscored the Portland bench 54-39.

The Dubs got off to a slow start as they trailed by 7 points 18-11 at the midway point of the first period. Guard Ian Clark came off the bench and sparked the Warriors to a 34-25 lead at the end of one period of play. The Warriors were terrific on defense. The players were knocking passes away, rebounding, forcing turnovers and blocking shots. They looked like the Warriors of old. The Dubs continued to play well in the second period. The Blazers behind Damian Lillard and C.J.McCollum also played well and cut the deficit to six at the end of the first half. Warriors lead 59-53. The leading scorer for Golden State was Ian Clark with sixteen. Kevin Durant had eleven, Klay Thompson ten, Steph Curry just five and Draymond Green six. Leading scorers for Portland were Lillard with twenty-two, McCcollum eight and Evan Turner, off the bench, eleven. The Warriors continued to shoot three-point shots poorly. They were four for fifteen from behind the three-point stripe.

The third period belonged to Steph Curry. Curry made five 3-point shots and made two 3-point plays. He outscored the entire Portland team 21-20 in the third period. The Dubs went on a 20-4 run late in the stanza as the defense and Steph overwhelmed Terry Stotts’ team.

The bench played most of the fourth period. The only starter in the lineup was Klay Thompson. Klay had to miss most of the third period with four fouls. Coach Kerr wanted Klay to work on his 3-point shots, but Klay just couldn’t put one in from 3-point range. He is frustrated but he is too good a shooter and he will break out soon.

The defense was great. The bench contributed mightily to the win. Ian Clark, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, and David West all made significant contributions to the Dubs win. Steph led the team with 28 points. Durant had 20. Durant has scored at least 20 points in 68 consecutive games and is closing in on Michael Jordan’s record of sixty-nine straight. Lillard had 31 for Portland and McCollum added sixteen. Layman scored seventeen off the bench but most of those points came late in the fourth period well after the game was decided.

After the game, Coach Steve Kerr said this about Steph:”He looked like Riley Curry(Steph’s older daughter) in the first half and like Steph Curry in the second half.” He also sais that he”had never seen anyone like that turn it on that quickly.” Kerr remarked this about the defense “I thought the defense was the best so far” and that “Draymond was phenomenal and set the tone early in the game.” Green finished the night with six points,nine assists, and eight rebounds. The Dubs controlled the boards outrebounding Portland 45-32

The Warrior next game will be against the Oklahoma Thunder Thursday night at the Oracle Arena. Kevin Durant will be facing his ex-teammates for the first time since shocking the basketball world and signing as a free agent with the Warriors in the off-season. Russel Westbrook and company will be seeking revenge as the Dubs eliminated them in the playoffs last season. Game time will be at 7:30pm.

Portland take Game 3 thanks to Lillard’s 40 points

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Columnist

AP photo: Rip City Portland Trailblazers Damian Lillard scores 40 on the Golden State Warriors in game three in Portland on Saturday

PORTLAND, OR — So much for the Portland Trail Blazers wilting under pressure.

Damian Lillard poured in a career-high 40 points added 10 assists, igniting Portland to a 120-108 victory Saturday night in Game 3 of the their Western Conference semifinal series.

With the win, Portland becomes just the second team to beat Golden State twice this season while trimming the Warriors’ lead, 2-1 in their best-of-7 series.

“I was really happy about the way we played tonight,” Lillard, who shot 14-of-27 from the field, including 8-0f-13 on 3s, said postgame. “We were the more aggressive team down the stretch.”

The Trail Blazers led 58-46 at halftime, and even saw their lead balloon to as much as 2o points in the fourth quarter.

Al Farouq-Aminu added 23 points and 10 rebounds while starting the game shooting 7-of-7 before finishing 8-of-9 from the floor. Aminu was even deadly from behind the three-point line, knocking down 4-of-5 shots from behind the arc.

C.J. McCollum, who started off the game 1-of-7, finished the game with 22 points on 8-0f-18 shooting.

Draymond Green scored a career-high 37 points, including 8-of-12 on 3s (also a career-high for any game). Green drained five 3s en route to a 19 point third quarter, but took responsibility for Golden State’s loss.

“That team [Portland], they had doubt. I could tell they had doubt,” said Green. “And we didn’t take advantage of it…And that’s on me.”

Golden State’s defense looked erratic at best at times.

As a team, Portland shot the lights out the ball from deep, converting 17-of-30 on 3s. The Trail Blazers shot 46-percent from the floor (40-of-86).

But the heartbeat of the Warriors has already gone on record that Golden State will make the necessary adjustments to win Game 4.

“We’ll be better there [defensively],” Green added. “I’ll be better. We’ll win.”

Klay Thompson scored 18 of his 35 points in the first quarter. Thompson was blistering hot in the first quarter, making 7-of-12 shots, including 4-of-5 on 3s. It was the second time this series that Thompson scored 18 points in the opening period, accomplishing the feet in Game 1.

There is the possibility of Stephen Curry  suiting up for Game 4 on Monday in Portland. The MVP played two-on-two Saturday before Game 3 and participated in additional drills, but no word has been given regarding Curry’s availability.

Golden State could use Curry’s scoring, especially tonight.

Outside of the huge performances from Green and Thompson, and Leandro Barbosa’s 10 points off the bench, Golden State didn’t have any other players in double-figures.

Harrison Barnes (2-of-8) and Andre Iguodala (0-for-5) combined for 8 points, while Shaun Livingston finished with just 2 points.

 

 

 

Kings forget how to box out in loss at home

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit Luke Cheng/Getty Images

SACRAMENTO- The Kings were down five players tonight. Omri Casspi and Marco Belinelli were out because of injury while Rudy Gay, Kosta Kofous and Darren Collison sat on the sideline just to rest. This might have played a factor in the loss tonight as Sacramento was out hustled and out rebounded.

The Kings’ biggest fault in tonight’s game was giving up offensive rebounds and way too many second chance opportunities. Portland score 26 second chance points and had 19 offensive rebounds. Somehow, the Kings lost while shooting over 50% in the game.

DeMarcus Cousins started off the game and dominated with 18 first half points. Cousins finished the game with 30 points to tie Mitch Richmond for the most 30 point games in a season with 26.

Rajon Rondo had a huge night himself with his sixth triple double of the season to set the all time Sacramento record. Rondo recorded a season high 27 points, 12 assists and 10 boards. However, the big nights from the Kings top players was just not enough. Even though the Blazers made less field goals than Sacramento, they made nine more free throws. Portland gave themselves way more opportunities than the Kings to score on the offensive end and yet again Sacramento’s defense was below par.

Not to mention, the Kings turned the ball over 19 times, which led to 24 points in Portland’s favor. As the final buzzer sounded, Portland won 115-107.

The Kings gave a pretty good effort against the playoff bound Blazers and even cut the lead down to one with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter. The Kings got themselves in trouble thanks to a Cousins’ technical foul, his 17 of the season, as well as a tech on Quincy Acy.

On an inbounds pass, Acy pointed from the bench and the ball hit his hand causing interference and a technical.

Portland’s Maurice Harkless played a huge role in the Blazers’ win with a great second half. Harkless scored all of his 20 points in the second half. The Kings were up 57-51 at the half, meaning Harkless half was pivotal to the win. Damian Lilliard added 20 for the game.

CJ McCollum, who was once on the Kings draft radar, had a game high 30 points going 11-20 from the field and 5-10 from behind the arc. McCollum continues to improve and solidify him and Lilliard’s case as one of the best starting backcourts.

Sacramento will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday at 7 p.m. Minnesota just defeated the Golden State Warriors tonight. The Kings will played their second to last game ever at Sleep Train Arena and hopefully they can get a couple more wins in the historical arena.

Seth Curry has career night in loss

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit NBAE

SACRAMENTO- The Kings rested their three best players. Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins all sat out Monday night in Portland. With that being said, there probably was not a ton of hope to get a win over the Trail Blazers who are battling for a playoff spot. The Kings lost to the Blazers 105-93.

Surprisingly though, the Kings stayed in the game for the first quarter. Sacramento played well, except Portland could not miss a shot even if they tried.

The Blazers broke it open in the second quarter going up by as many as 16 and shooting slightly over 55% from the field. But the third quarter is where things fell apart for the Kings.

While Portland only scored 23 points, the Kings shot a dismal 25% in the third quarter and scored a measly 11 points. The Kings turned the ball over seven times and could not buy a bucket. The Blazers led Sacramento by as many as 28 points and the Kings never really had a chance.

The fourth was the Kings chance to try and come back but the deficit was just too much, even though Portland shot under 30% in the quarter. Seth Curry scored 12 points in the quarter and finished for a career high of 21. Curry was really the only bright spot as the Kings perimeter defense wasn’t very tough. Portland almost shot 50% from beyond the arc, knocking down 14 shots from the perimeter.

Portland’s Allen Crabbe elicited exactly what the Blazers did tonight. He tied Curry for the game high with 21 points on 8-10 shooting, 3-4 from behind the three point line. The most difficult part of this loss is the fact that Damian Lillard only scored 13 points and the Kings still never had a chance.

Nonetheless, when the team’s three best players are resting, nabbing a victory is going to be pretty difficult. Yet again, the Kings’ defensive woes hurt them as Portland shot lights out.

Omri Casspi had a pretty good game with 18 points. Willie Cauley-Stein added 13 points and grabbed 14 boards as the rookie continues to play well. As the season winds down, this game shows just how important Gay, Rondo and Cousins are to the team. The Kings will take on the Washington Wizards at home this Wednesday at 7 p.m. Hopefully the Kings’ big three comes back and helps them get another win at home.

 

 

 

Splash Brothers’ 71 points douses Blazers

Published on by jhawkes511 Comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

photo credit: bleacherreport.com–Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson

OAKLAND, Calif — Note to the NBA: the Golden State Warriors are good.

Damn, good.

Klay Thompson scored 37 points and Stephen Curry finished with 34 points helping the reigning NBA Champions win their 47th consecutive at Oracle Arena with a 122-112 victory over the visiting Portland Trailblazers Friday night and avenge the 32-point drubbing the Warriors experienced in Portland three weeks ago.

The game was really decided in the first half by the Splash Brothers, as Thompson and Curry combined for 46 of Golden State’s 81 points in the first half. From the moment the referee blew his whistle, the Warriors were going to be in another gear all night as they would never trail in the game.

Thompson and Curry were deadly from behind the three-point line, combining to shoot 15 for 25 on 3s, and 26 for 55 overall from the floor.

Thompson went over the 200-mark for 3s for the fourth straight season. Earlier in the week, Curry became just the first person in NBA history to nail 300 3s in a season.

Draymond Green added 17 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, as Golden State (58-6) committed a season-low eight turnovers after committing 39 in the first two games of their current six-game home stand.

C.J. McCollum led Portland (34-32) with 18 points on 6 for 15 shooting

Damian Lilliard, who torched Golden State for 51 points in the previous meeting, scored just 17 points on 5 for 19 shooting. Golden State made Lillard’s night tough, forcing the Blazers’ point guard into missing 15 of his first 17 shots to open up the game as the Warriors played great defense virtually the entire night.

The Oakland native and Oakland High School product had his string of 20+ points against the Warriors snapped at four.

With 19 made 3s by Portland and 18 made 3s by Golden State, the two teams combined to shoot 37 for 76 on 3s, breaking the record for 3s made in an NBA game.

Both teams are in action Saturday with Golden State hosting the Phoenix Suns, and Portland heading home to host the Orlando Magic.