Tag: Golden State Warriors

Warriors’ comeback falls short in Miami 126-125

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors, as has been their custom, lately, did not get off to a good start against the Miami Heat Wednesday night. The Heat, a team that averages 103 points a game, did everything right in the first half of the game as they poured in 74 points and held the W’s to 59. The 74 points almost tied the heat record of 75. At one point they led the W’s by 24 as they were making threes. The Heat players were driving the lanes and getting fouled. The Heat made nine 3s in 18 attempts. They made 17 free throws in 20 attempts. The Warriors were 5-for-21 from behind the arc. They made six free throws and missed two. The Heat shot 59.5% from the floor in the first quarter, and the Warriors were at 36%. The Heat led 32-22 after the first 12 minutes of play.

It was more of the same in the second quarter. The Heat continued to play well while the Warriors were trying everything to get points on the board. Heat coach Eric Spoelstra sent in his two veteran sharpshooters, Dwayne Wade and Goran Dragic, to generate some offense and they did just that. Dragic was on fire as he knocked down four 3s and scored 20 points in the quarter. He finished the half with 25. Wade added 12, and the Heat led 67-43 before the Warriors woke up. The Warriors had a run late in the half behind Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. Miami, the third-worst scoring team in the NBA, took it to the Warriors in the first half. Klay Thompson’s 21 points kept the Warriors in the game. Kevin Durant had 11, but he could not connect on a 3-point attempt. Curry finished the half with 9 and he, too, had trouble connecting on the shots from downtown. The Heat ended the first half leading 74-59.

The Warriors knew what to do in the second half. The first thing they had to do was stop the Heat’s offense. They did that. The second thing was to get more offense, and they outscored the Heat in the quarter 33-26 to finish the period trailing 100-92.

In the NBA, teams can erase an 8-point deficit without too much trouble. Draymond Green hit a 3 to bring the Warriors within six with 8:20 left to play. Curry followed with a 3 and the Heat’s lead shrunk to 3, 106-103. The Warriors continued to make stops and were able to take a 4-point lead late in the fourth quarter. In the last minute of the game, Durant missed a free throw. Had he mad the free throw, the Warriors would have had 3-point lead 126-123. He didn’t, and the lead was just two points, 125-123, when Dwayne Wade hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 0.1 seconds left on the clock to stun the Warriors and send them down to defeat 126-125.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors gave Demarcus Cousins the night off for rest. The Heat was missing James Johnson and Hassan Whiteside.

With the loss, the Warriors drop to 43-18 and remain 1/2 game ahead of the Denver Nuggets for the Western Conference lead. The Heat snapped a six-game home losing streak and improved to 27-33.

Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 36 points, Curry finished with 24 points, but was 4-for-14 from 3-point land. Durant had 29 points and made three 3s in 12 attempts. Jordan Bell was the only other Warrior in double figures with 10 points. The Warriors shot 49% from the floor.

The Heat had six players in double figures. Dragic was held to two points in the second half, and ultimately finished with 27 points. Dwayne Wade ended with 25 points. Josh Richardson had 21 points, Kelly Olynyk had 15 points, Justise Winslow had 12 points and Bam Adebayo added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Orlando Magic Thursday night in Orlando, Fla. Game time will be at 4 pm.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: Durant has some defensive skills; Will charges get dropped for Kraft?; plus more

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Photo credit: @basketballboom

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi Gonzalez:

#1 Golden State’s Kevin Durant gets lots of credit for his work shooting the basketball, but his defensive prowess also is something that he should take a lot of credit for as well.

#2 New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s solicitation charge is something that some have said shouldn’t even be that big of deal. Some say this is human trafficking. How deep is Kraft in and could he work things out with the justice system in Florida where this took place?

#3 How possible is it that the San Francisco 49ers could obtain the services of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Antonio Brown and the New York Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr, who are noted two of the best wide receivers in the NFL?

#4 Oakland Raiders General Manager Mike Mayock is at the controls as the Raiders, who are about to get three first round picks for the 2019 NFL draft.

#5 The Oakland A’s are taking a close look at pitcher Mike Fiers and Marco Estrada as opening day starters. Fiers joined the A’s in August (5-2, 3.74 ERA) could be the most likely starter for opening day.

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi Gonzalez for News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Strange to see Warriors lose two of last four; get win against Charlotte on Tuesday

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Photo credit: @warriors

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 It’s kind of strange to look at the past scores on the Golden State Warriors (43-17) most recent four games and to see them at 2-2 with recent losses to the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trailblazers. Are the walls of success starting to crack for Golden State or is this just a passing phase?

#2 After Golden State got a win over the Charlotte Hornets (28-32) 121-110, that might help get their confidence back. They left little doubt with an 11-point win on Tuesday night in Charlotte.

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

Warriors get back on track, defeat Hornets in Charlotte 121-110

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors, after losing to the Rockets at Oracle Arena, and not playing well Saturday night, got back on track as they subdued the Hornets 121-110 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. Monday night. Steph Curry returned to his hometown and was hoping to continue to play well in front of his family and friends. The Hornets, with a record of 28-31, are in first place in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference.

The Warriors needed the win to stay in first place in the Western Conference and have home court advantage during the Conference playoffs. They have a way to go as the Milwaukee Bucks, and Toronto Raptors have a better record right now, and either team would have homecourt advantage in the NBA Finals. The Warriors went out and won every quarter and, at times, looked like the Warriors of old. At other times in the game, they made turnovers, committed too many fouls, and looked out of sync.

The Warriors won the first quarter 34-30 behind Kevin Durant’s 13 points and Klay Thompson’s 10. The Warriors won the second quarter by the same score to finish with an 8-point lead at the end of the first half. They led by 62-48 before Charlotte went on a 12-3 run to close the trail by 65-60 near the end of the half. The Warriors increased the lead to 8 when Draymond Green made a deuce and a free throw to end the first 24 minutes of play.

The Warriors, who usually dominate the third quarter, played well early in the period. They led 85-73 when Charlotte went an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to four. The Warriors regrouped and finished the period leading 98-88. They committed too many turnovers as they were sloppy handling the ball.

The Warriors had a chance to blow open the game in the fourth quarter. Behind the offensive output of Klay Thompson, and DeMarcus Cousins, the W’s increased the lead to 115-98. It was at this point that Charlotte went on a 10-0 run to get within seven. The Warriors then played defense as Steph Curry made a huge steal and had a 3-on-1 at the other end of the court. Curry fed the ball to Thompson, and he made the layup to give the Warriors the advantage 117-108. The Hornets made a bucket, but Steph finished the scoring as he hit a 3-pointer to give the Warriors the win 121-110.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors improve to 43-17. The Hornets drop to 28-32.

The Warriors had all five starters in double figures. DeMarcus Cousins had a season-high 24 points and was second to Klay Thompson, who had 26. The big man also had 11 boards and 3 assists. It was his best game as a Warrior since his return from the Achilles tendon injury. Cousins still doesn’t have a lot of lateral movement, and he was torched by the Hornets’ Cody Zeller. Zeller had a career-high 28 points and missed just one shot in 14 tries. Kevin Durant had 20, and Steph Curry finished with 16. Draymond Green almost had a triple-double. Green, who injured his ankle against the Rockets last Saturday, was listed as probable. Green knocked down 14 points, corralled 8 boards, and dished out 10 assists.

The stats show the Warriors shot over 50% from the floor and made 14 threes. The reason the game was close was due to turnovers and fouls. The Warriors turned the ball over 15 times, and the Hornets were able to put 18 points on the board as a result. The Warriors were 11-for 13 from the charity stripe while the Hornets were 23-for 26. Those two giveaways added up to 30 points, and the game was closer than it should have been.

Up Next: The Warriors face the Heat in Miami Wednesday night. Game time is at 4:30 pm. On Thursday, they play the Magic in Orlando. Game time there is at 4:00 pm

Warriors cannot overcome a slow start, fall to the Rockets 118-112

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors for the third time this season by a score of 118-102. The Rockets were without the services of James Harden, who was out with a cervical strain and a touch of the flu, but thoroughly outplayed the Warriors on both ends of the court Saturday night at Oracle Arena.

In the first quarter, the Rockets went on a 15-0 run that propelled them to a 35-20 lead after the first 12 minutes of play. The Warriors were shooting just 29% from the floor as they were 4 for 14 with 3:21 left in the period. The Rockets’ Kenneth Faried, P.J.Tucker, Eric Gordon, and Chris Paul had no trouble breaking down the Warriors’ defense. The Warriors left too many men open, and the Rockets capitalized on the poor defensive play.

The Rockets led 50-30 midway through the second period. The Warriors woke up from their slumber and were able to cut the deficit to seven 61-54 at the end of the first half. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant led the charge in the last six minutes of the second period. The Warriors committed eight turnovers in the first period and just one in the second. Cold shooting, poor defense, and turnovers really hurt the team.

The Warriors grabbed their first lead of the game 64-63 early in the third period. The Warriors had an 8-2 run. Durant had five points, and DeMarcus Cousins hit a three to give the Warriors the lead. Houston regained the lead 73-71, but it didn’t last long as the Warriors were behind a bucket by Klay Thompson and a three by Curry regained the lead 76-74. It was the last time in the game that the Warriors would own the advantage. Houston went on an 8-0 run to lead 84-76. The Warriors played catch-up the rest of the way. The Warriors cut the lead to three 89-86 on a three by Andre Iguodala. However, the fans let out a collective groan when the Rockets’ Tucker connected on a three as the buzzer sounded to the third quarter. Houston led 92-86 with 12 minutes left in the game.

In the fourth quarter, the Rockets upped the lead to 14 110-96. The Warriors tried to come back as they went on a 7-0 run to make it a 114-110 game. The Rockets broke the spell with a bucket and were able to run out the clock for a 118-112 win.

Game notes and Stats: The key to the Rockets’ success Saturday night was the ability to stifle the Warriors’ Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry down the stretch. They refused to give the Big Three any open looks and forced the Warriors’ other players to make shots. The strategy worked as Curry was not able to put any points on the board until late in the fourth quarter.

With the loss, the Warriors are now 42-17. They are still in first place in the Western Conference and would have homecourt advantage if the playoffs were to start today. The Rockets improve to 34-25.

Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 29 points. Steph had 25 points, nine boards, seven assists. He was 5-for-11 from behind the three-point arc. DeMarcus Cousins had a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Andre Iguodala, coming off the bench, had eight points. The rest of the bench contributed just 13 points.

The Rockets had five players in double figures, and three players had a double-double. Eric Gordon led the Rockets with 25. Chris Paul had a double-double with 23 points and 17 assists. Kenneth Faried tallied 20 points, 10 boards, and made 2 threes. P.J.Tucker hit four threes and finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Gerald Green led the Rockets’ bench with 10.

The Warriors committed 17 turnovers, and the Rockets had 13 steals and seven blocked shots on defense. The Warriors’ defense, led by Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson had eight steals and eight blocks. Draymond Green left the game in the fourth quarter. A Rocket player stepped on his foot, and he suffered an ankle sprain. He went to the locker room and did not return.

The Rockets won the first quarter 35-20. The Warriors outscored the Rockets by nine the rest of the way, but it was not enough to overcome the 15-point first-period deficit.

Up Next: The Warriors hit the road and play the next four games in Charlotte, Miami, Orlando, and Philadelphia. The Hornets are in first place in the Southeast Division with a record of 28-31. Game time will be at 4:00 pm.

NBA podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Cousins always up for a battle when his old team, the Kings, come to Oakland

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Photo credit: @NBCSWarriors

On the NBA podcast with Jerry:

#1 Talking about the Golden State Warriors’ DeMarcus Cousins, what is it like each time he goes out and plays the Sacramento Kings, a team he was with for very long?

#2 What kind of player is Cousins today as opposed to the player he was with Sacramento?

#3 There was so much pressure on Cousins when he was a Sacramento King to do it all. Did that pressure fuel some of his anger at the media at times?

#4 One things fans in Sacramento reminisce about on Cousins is how community-oriented he was.

#5 Getting Jerry’s impressions on the Kings and Warriors meetings and how he sums up those matches when the two teams get together.

Jerry Feitelberg does the NBA podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors outlast Kings to win another thriller 125-123

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors, playing the first game in a week due to the All-Star break, had their hands full as they were able to stop the Kings on the last play of the game to win. The Kings, coached by Dave Joerger, are not the Kings of old. They are a good young team of gifted athletes that are on the rise. They have drafted players that are speedy, have size, and can score. They are good inside and have players that can make three-point shots. They took the 6-foot-11 forward Marvin Bagley III in the first round of the draft. Bagley was one and done at Duke, and the 19-year-old rookie is making his presence felt. Buddy Hield, De’Aaron Fox are young and improving. The Kings traded for the veteran forward Harrison Barnes. They acquired Harry Giles, who is 6-foot-10, and Alec Burks. They signed Corey Brewer to a 10-day contract. These players are making the Kings so much better. However, they were playing the defending the NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors. Thursday night’s game was the fourth and final game between the two teams during the regular season, and it was not easy for the Warriors, but they were able to hold off the Kings to sweep the season series. The Warriors won the game 125-123.

The Warriors won the first quarter 35-30. It was a fast-paced first quarter. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant led the team to the early first quarter advantage. The Kings turned the tables in the second quarter as they outscored the Warriors 32-25 to finish the first half leading 62-60. The Kings led 54-43 until the Warriors went on a 10-0 run. Steph made two three-pointers in the run to get the Warriors closer to the lead. The Kings increased the lead to six, but Durant and Klay Thompson made key buckets to get the Warriors closer.

Each team tallied 29 points in the third quarter and the score at the end of the quarter was 91-89 in favor of Sacramento. The Kings led for the entire quarter. They led by seven 91-84, but Durant scored the last five points of the period. He made a bucket to make it 91-86 and then hit a three as the buzzer sounded to close the quarter trailing 91-89.

DeMarcus Cousins scored four points to start the fourth quarter and put Golden State ahead 93-91. Cousins made two free throws and a bucket.  The Kings came back to tie the score at 96. Draymond Green made a three, but the Kings countered with a three of their own to tie at 99. The lead changed hands a couple of time and tied at 104. Curry made a three and Thompson followed with a two-point bucket to give the Warriors a 109-104 advantage. They went up by six when Curry hit another three to lead 117-111. The Kings’ Buddy Hield knocked down a three. Thompson responded with a three of his own, and the Warriors led 120-114 with 1:11 left to play. On the next play, it appeared that Green stripped Bagley driving to the basket. The referee tagged Green with a foul. Green couldn’t believe the call and he sprinted to the other end of the court to avoid being charged with a technical foul. His histrionics didn’t help him as he was charged with a technical. Bagley made all three free throws, and the Kings were still alive. Thompson made a mid-range jumper to increase the lead to five. Buddy Hield knocked down another three to make it 123-120. Hield then fouled Curry in the backcourt. Curry made both free throws. The Kings came back with another three to rail by two with 7.4 seconds left. The Warriors almost turned the ball over as Curry had trouble handling the ball on the inbound pass. Somehow, he was able to get the ball to Andre Iguodala. Iguodala was fouled attempting a reverse layup and was awarded two free throws. If Iguodala made both free throws, the game would have been over. He missed both and Sacramento took time out with 6.5 seconds to play. Their strategy was to inbound the ball to Buddy Hield and have him take a three-point shot for the win. The Kings got the ball to Hield, who was open. He did not take the shot, but opted to drive to the basket and make a mid-range jumper to tie the score and send the game to overtime. The Warriors defense rose to the challenge and the best Hield could do was shoot an airball that landed in Kevin Durant’s hands. The Warriors escaped with a thrilling 125-123 win over the Kings.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors improve to 42-16. The Kings drop to 30-28. The Kings are in a race with the LA Clippers and LA Lakers for the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoffs. If the Kings finish eighth and the Warriors first, the two teams will meet in the opening round of the playoffs. The Warriors outscored the Kings by just 12 points to win all four games. The Warriors would have their hands full if that were to occur.

All five Warrior starters were in double figures. Curry led the team with 36 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Curry made 10 three-point shots. It was the 14th time in his career that he made 10 or more three-point shots in a game and the fifth time this season. Durant had 28 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, and a tied a career-high with seven blocked shots. Cousins had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Thompson had a tough night as he was 4 for 12 until late in the game. He finished with 18 and made two clutch threes down the stretch in the fourth quarter. Green had 12 points, 6 boards, 8 assists, and knocked down three threes in five tries.

The Kings had seven players in double figure. Marvin Bagley, coming off the bench, led Sacramento with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Buddy Hield had 19, Harrison Barnes 13, De’Aaron Fox 18, Willie Cauley-Stein 10, Bogdan Bogdanovic 14. Veteran forward Corey Brewer had 11, and he made three threes to keep Sacramento in the game.

The Warriors defense held the Kings to 43.4% from the floor. The Warriors had 6 steals and blocked 12 shots. The Warriors committed 11 turnovers in the first half and that cost them 14 points. They focused on protecting the ball in the second half and were able to limit the turnovers to four.

Up Next: The Warriors face the Houston Rockets Saturday night at Oracle Arena. The Rockets lost to the Lakers Thursday night. Game time will be at 5:30 pm.

Headline Sports with Tony Renteria: Will Machado signing open doors for Harper and Keuchel?; Raiders-Coliseum to get a deal done; Kings at Golden State tonight; plus more

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bleacherreport.com file photo: Bryce Harper’s negotiations with the Washington Nationals is not the same offer that the San Diego Padres Manny Machado received as Harper remains a free agent

On Headline Sports with Tony:

#1 The recent signing of Manny Machado to the a ten year $300 million deal with the San Diego Padres could that mean more big signings to come with Dallas Keuchel and Bryce Harper.

#2 The Raiders are at the bargaining table with the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Authority to get a deal on the table to get the Raiders back at the Coliseum for home games the Raiders might even sign a two year deal if the stadium in Vegas is not ready by the 2020 season.

#3 The Sacramento Kings are coming off a tough two point loss to the Denver Nuggets on Feb 14th they’re in Oakland tonight to face the Warriors.

#4 The Oakland A’s president David Kaval finally solved the A’s radio flagship station issues getting KTRB 860 in San Francisco and now the biggest task at hand trying to solve the toxic waste clean up at the A’s future new home at Jack London Square

#5 The Giants biggest story is the retirement announcement of manager Bruce Bochy who will finish his career this season

Tony does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings prepare for Warriors on Thursday night; Trying for W at tough venue in Oakland

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Photo credit: @TheCrossover

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Sacramento Kings had no answer for the Denver Nuggets Isaiah Thomas. Thomas worked the game without head coach Mike Malone who ejected and also the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic helped out on offense for the 120-118 win.

#2 The much improved Kings, despite Wednesday’s loss, played a tight ball game against the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.

#3 Knowing Malone’s coaching style, was there any advantage for the Kings or did Malone know the Kings’ style of play and knew how to play the Nuggets?

#4 The Kings are looking to get back in the win column. They play at Golden State on Thursday night. What are some of the things they need to do to win in Oakland?

Charlie O does the Kings podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Importance for Golden State of Durant’s MVP All-Star award

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On the Golden State Warriors podcast with David:

#1 How important is it for Golden State to have Kevin Durant win the 2019 All-Star Game MVP?

#2 Durant made it look easy with his 31 points in the All-Star contest for Team LeBron and also he played against his Golden State teammate Stephen Curry on Team Giannis, who scored 17 points.

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