Tag: Minnesota Timberwolves

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings-Wolves go back and forth in overtime

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The Minnesota Timberwolves Jarrett Culver (23) drives on the Sacramento Kings DeWayne Dedmon (13) on Monday night at Target Center in Minneapolis

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 It went into overtime and the Kings (17-29)  pushed the envelope at the Target Center home of the Minnesota Timberwolves (15-32) and got over the hump in overtime victory 133-129.

#2 The Kings never gave up and broke away from two ties to get the victory from the Timberwolves.

#3 The Kings Buddy Hield has been a machine of late and last night in Minnesota Hield scored 42 points and everyone them counted to win this game.

#4 In a game like this Kings head coach Luke Walton might have had to change strategy several times but it seem in the overtime stanza he had it working

#5 Thunder and Kings on Thursday Charlie O sets up this contest at Golden One Center in Sacramento

Warriors lose their third in a row in Minnesota 99-84

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photo from sfchronicle.com: Minnesota Timberwolves forward Robert Covington (33) and center Gorgui Dieng (5) defend against Golden State Warriors guard Damion Lee (1) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020, in Minneapolis.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, still without the services of D’Angelo Russell, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Kevon Looney, lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 99-84. The T-Wolves were also short-handed Thursday night. Their big stars Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Jeff Teague were not available either.

There is a saying in basketball that says that you cannot win the game in the first quarter. It doesn’t mean that you can’t lose the game in the first quarter. The Warriors lost the game in the first quarter. Minnesota had a slight lead 15-13 when they went on a 16-2 run to win the first quarter 34-19.

They maintained that advantage throughout the game. The Warriors finished the first half trailing by seventeen 58-41. The Warriors were flat on both ends of the court. They couldn’t make shots. They couldn’t defend, either.

The W’s did win the third quarter by three points to trail by 14 heading into the final period of action. They closed to within eight, but the T-Wolves answered the challenge and won the game by fifteen 99-84.

Game Notes and Stats- The numbers show how poorly the W’s played. The Timberwolves took 18 more shots than the Warriors. The T-Wolves shot 40% from the floor. Usually, when a team is held to 40%, they lose. That was not the case Thursday night.

The T-Wolves connected on thirteen three. The W’s had three. The Warriors were outrebounded 52-43. The Timberwolves had 17 offensive rebounds. The best the W’s could do was 7.

The W’s missed D’Angelo Russell. Russell scored 82 points in his last two games against Minnesota. The leading scorer for the W’s was Glenn Robinson. Robinson had 16 points and 6 rebounds. Draymond Green was not a factor offensively.

Draymond scored two points. He had 3 boards and 6 assists. Eric Paschall, rounding into shape after missing a few games due to injury, helped out with 13. His former Villanova University teammate, Omari Spellman, had 10. Jacob Evans tallied 9.

Robert Covington led the T-Wolves with 20 points and 10 rebounds. He made four threes. Shabazz Napier had 20 points, 3 rebounds, six assists, and two threes. Nez Reid 13, Kelan Martin 12, Jarrett Culver 10, and Josh Okogie 7.

The Warriors fall to 9-27. The Timberwolves are now 13-21 for the season. The Warriors return home to face the Detroit Pistons Saturday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 5:30 pm PT.

 

Short-handed Warriors lose in overtime to Spurs 117-113

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, playing without D’Angelo Russell and Willie Cauley-Stein, forced the San Antonio Spurs into overtime. The Spurs won the overtime period 17-13 to defeat the W’s 117-113.

The Warriors used their 16th different starting lineup Tuesday night to take on San Antonio. The Warriors and Spurs are both having subpar seasons. The Warriors, as they have done in the last five games, played typical Warrior basketball. They moved the ball well as the recorded 31 assists. They had 5 steals and 6 blocks on defense. Coach Steve Kerr had to pleased with their effort. “We’re having a productive season; we’re just not having a winning season,” Kerr said. “I’ve enjoyed coaching this team, I just told them that. I enjoy coming in every day and working with these guys because they play hard, they play for each other, and they care about that game. So, I’m not too concerned about the record.”

The Warriors, as they did Saturday against Dallas, started well. They won the first period 32-25. The Spurs bounced back in the second quarter to outscore the W’s by five to finish the first half trailing 55-53.

The Warriors scored just 45 points in the second half. The Spurs were two points better, and the game ended in a tie. The game was up for grabs. The Spurs’ Dejounte Murray knocked down seven points in the 5-minute overtime to lead the Spurs to the win.

Game Notes and Stats. D’Angelo Russell, who suffered a right shoulder contusion on Saturday when he slammed into Luka Doncic’s hip, was not available and will be evaluated on Wednesday. Willie Cauley-Stein missed the game with an undisclosed illness. Willie will also be assessed on Wednesday.

Alec Burks led the team with 28 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds. Burks made 4 threes in 5 attempts. Glenn Robinson 3rd had 25 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and connected on 3 threes. Damion Lee continued to play well. He had 20 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists. Draymond Green had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He also had 9 assists.

DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 24. LaMarcus Aldridge had 15, Patty Mills 18, DeJounte Murray 15, and Bryn Forbes 14.

The Warriors dropped their second in a row and are now 9-26 for the season. The Spurs improved to 14-18. It was the first time since 1996 that the Spurs finished the year (2019) with a record below .500.

The Warriors meet the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday night in Minneapolis. The game will start at 5 pm PT.

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Will Walton hit the panic button as loses mount for Kings

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photo from sacbee.com: The Phoenix Suns Dario Saric pins the Sacramento Kings Yogi Ferrell in the second quarter of Saturday night’s game at Golden One Center in Sacramento

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Kings have lost six straight games where does it reach the point that Luke Walton hits that panic button and the juggling of the line up starts?

#2 The one player whose been playing consistent and that’s the Kings De’Aaron Fox but he’s suffered injuries how much has his absence impacted the Kings?

#3 Just taking the first quarter of Saturday’s game alone the Kings The Kings managed to put up 30 points on 48% shooting from the floor. Having struggled in his last few contests, Buddy Hield put up a team-leading 8 points in the first quarter. Do the Kings need to take more shots, distribute the ball, try to get in the paint more often where do the Kings from here.

#4 The Suns on Saturday were led by Kelly Oubre Jr. who had 15 points followed by Devin Booker who had 14 on defense is Oubre and Booker just difficult to defend for the Kings?

#5 You had a chance to cover the Kings in Denver on Sunday tell us if you saw anything different in this game compared to the say the last six games.

Charlie O is a Kings beat writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Kings put up a pathetic showing bow to the Timberwolves 105-104; Skid hits five

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sacbee.com: Sacramento Kings De’Aaron Fox left Thursday night’s game at Golden One Center with back spasms and never returned, Fox had just recently returned after a previous injury. He’s day to day.

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–It’s been a rough month for the Kings. December has not treated them well. Going into this month, the Kings were looking at a break in the schedule. Instead, this has turned into a bit of a nightmare. The Kings were 4-8 in the month and they should be well over .500 in December if they hope to be a playoff team. Tonight was their shot. Their opponent, the Minnesota Timberwolves, were without their star Karl-Anthony Towns and still were able to win 105-104. The Kings were looking to get back on track against the Timberwolves at 7 PM PST.

In the first quarter, both teams started out slow. The Kings managed to put up 26 points in the quarter followed by Minnesota’s 21. The leading scorer in the game at this point was Marvin Bagley with nine points and teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic with eight. Robert Covington led the Timberwolves in the first with five points. Though the Kings were leading in the first, bad news loomed. Early in the first De’Aaron Fox came limping off the court in discomfort. It was later revealed he left the game with back spasms and would not return. Kings fans would hope for the best as Corey Joseph would run the point the rest of the game.

In the second, things did not get better for the Kings. They only managed to put up 22 points while the Timberwolves scored 29. This led to a 50-48 Timberwolves lead going into halftime. The Kings shooting was non-existent in the first half. They shot a combined 34.1% while shooting 23.5 from the long-range. The Timberwolves weren’t able to do much better. They shot a combined 40% and 22.7 from deep. The Kings have yet to play five games with all starters healthy, and it shows. The Kings are not able to find a rhythm on offense and the defense has also suffered of late. They would need to pick it up in the second half if they hoped to go home winners.

In the third, the Kings played better. They put up 31 points and held the Timberwolves offense to 21 points. Richaun Holmes and Harrison Barnes both added 8 points to their totals as Bogdan Bogdanovic was a steady force finishing the third with 15 points. The Kings would take a 79-71 lead into the final quarter.

Unfortunately for the Kings, the improved play didn’t last. The Kings disappeared in the fourth quarter. With 4:09 remaining in the quarter, the Kings had only scored seven points. It was a pathetic showing from a team that has been struggling to get an offensive rhythm all season. In the final minutes, the game didn’t get much better.

The Kings and Timberwolves continued to miss shots in an unimpressive game. At one point in the fourth, the Kings fans were so uninterested in the game they started doing the wave. The game would be tied 90-90 with 27.4 on the clock and Timberwolves ball. That possession would end with no points and a rebound. The game would go to overtime.

In overtime, both teams would trade shots. The game would be decided with 5.6 left in the game and Kings ball tied 97-97. That possession would end with a missed shot that went out of bounds with .5 remaining in the game. The Timberwolves had one last shot in overtime to go home with the win. They weren’t able to inbound as time expired and it was double overtime in Sacramento.

In double overtime, the Timberwolves went on a 6-0 run before Luke Walton called a timeout with 3:33 remaining in the game. From there, the Kings made it a game at the end. It was 104-105 and the Kings had the final possession with just over 10 seconds left. Buddy Hield dribbled on the perimeter and ultimately missed the final shot as the Kings lose 105-104. It was a rough game and the Kings were unable to pull it out. Richaun Holmes finished as the Kings leading scorer with 20 points. Gorgul Dieng led the Timberwolves with 21.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to take on the Pheonix Suns at 6 PM PST on Saturday. The Timberwolves go home to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday at 5 PM PST.

Warriors win again defeat Minnesota Timberwolves 113-104

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By Jerry Feitelberg

San Francisco- The Golden State Warriors won their second game in a row Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-104. It was the first time this season that the Warriors have won two straight. The Timberwolves, who started the season 10-8, extended their losing streak to 11 games. Minnesota was without the services of the best player, Karl-Anthony Towns, due to an injury.

Both teams played a lousy first quarter. The score was tied 22-22 at the end of 12 minutes. The Warriors shot 28% from the floor while the Timberwolves were slightly better at 33%. Neither team played well.

The Timberwolves grabbed an early lead to start the second quarter. The Warriors were able to even the score at 31 and again at 35. It was at this point in the period when the Warriors got their act together to go on a 20-3 run to lead 55-38. The W’s finished the first half with 14-point lead 57-43. D’Angelo Russell led the team with 13, Alex Burks had 10, and Willie Cauley-Stein kicked in with 10, too. Andrew Wiggins and Jeff Teague led the T-Wolves attack with 12 and 10.

The Warriors extended the lead to 21 early in the third quarter. They were leading 80-58 when Minnesota went on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to fifteen. Alec Burks made a two-point bucket, and the W’s finished the third quarter with a comfortable 84-67 advantage.

As basketball fans know, teams have to play for all 48 minutes if they hope to win. Even though a team has a big lead, they have to be careful to not let the other side get back into the game. The Warriors had lost several games as they let down in the final period. Minnesota gave them a tussle as the W’s started to make mistakes, and that let Minnesota get within six points. The Timberwolves went on a 16-5 run to make it 89-83. The Warriors made 8 turnovers in the quarter. The T-Wolves cashed in. The Warriors met the challenge as Russell, Burks, and Damion Lee all connected on threes to thwart the T-Wolves. The W’s built the lead back to 10 and held on to win 113-104.

Game Notes- The Warriors improved to 7-24 while Minnesota fell to 10-19. The Warriors’ Glenn Robinso III was out of action with a sprained ankle. The W’s recalled guard Ky Bowman from the G-League to take his spot on the roster.

The Warriors had four starters in double figures Monday night. D’Angelo Russell paced the team with 30 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and he connected on 5 threes in 11 tries. Burks was second with 25 points and 8 assists. He made 2 threes. Damion Lee had 14  points, 7 boards, and 3 assists. He knocked down 3 threes. Willey Cauley-Stein had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Draymond Green’s line was 9 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists. Eric Paschall rerturned to action and tallied 8 points in 8 minutes of playing time.

The Timberwolves had two starters in double figures. Andrew Wiggins led them with 22. Gorgui Dieng added 11. Bench players Jordan McLaughlin had 19, Jeff Teague 12, and Keita Bates-Diop had 10.

The Warriors meet the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Christmas Day, at the Chase Center. The game will start at 2 pm PT.

Warriors lose to the Timberwolves 125-119 in OT

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors gave the Minnesota Timberwolves all they could handle Friday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis. D’Angelo Russell returned to action after missing three games with an ankle injury. Russell paced the Warriors’ offense with a career-high 52 points. It was not enough as the T-Wolves prevailed in overtime 125-119.

The Warriors finished the first quarter with a 31-29 advantage. Russell led the offense, and the Warriors played sound defense. They finished the first half leading 61-60.

The Warriors continued to play well in the third quarter. They outscored the T-Wolves by five to lead 86-80. The Warriors were able to maintain the lead until late in the fourth quarter. They led 110-106 with less than a minute to play. The T-Wolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns was fouled, and he knocked down the two free throws to make it a two-point game 110-108. T-Wolves’ coach, Ryan Saunders had his team put on a full-court press as the Warriors tried to get the ball into the forecourt. The T-Wolves’ Robert Covington was able to tie up Alec Burks to force a jump ball. Covington won the jump, and the T-Wolves gave the ball to Andrew Wiggins, who would make a layup to tie the game with 5.6 seconds left. The Warriors failed to score, and the game went to overtime.

The Warriors continued to stay close to the lead behind D’Angelo Russell’s hot hand. They stayed close as they trailed 120-119. The T-Wolves made a three to lead 123-119. The Warriors would not score again. Minnesota added to more points to ice the 125-119 overtime win.

Game Notes: The Warriors’ record dropped to 2-7. It was the first time since 2004-05 season. Minnesota improved to 5-3.

D’Angelo Russell finished the night with 52 points. He scored 21 of the last 23 points scored by the Warriors. Alec Burks, coming off the bench, had 18. Rookie Eric Paschall had 12. No other Warrior was in double figures.

Minnesota was led by Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins scored 40 to help his team to the win. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Robert Covington had 17, Jake Layman, 14, and Josh Okogie also had 14.

Up Next: The Warriors face the Oklahoma City Thunder Saturday night in OKC. The game will start at 5 pm PT.

Warriors race past the Timberwolves 143-123

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors won their first game of the preseason as they defeated the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 143-123 at Chase Center on Thursday night.

The Warriors inserted Marquese Chriss at the center position and Glenn Robinson III at forward to work with Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and D’Angelo Russell. W’s head coach Steve Kerr wanted to see how Chriss would do in his first action with Golden State. Kerr increased the number of minutes played by his starters and then inserted players that will be looking to make the team. The Warriors have a lot of new players this season, and Kerr wanted to see who would step up and show that they can play in the NBA.

Both teams played a fast-paced game. The Warriors love to run as that opens up the court, and players have to take advantage of the open looks. The Warriors fell behind early in the first period. They trailed by seven, 19-12. It was at this point that their perennial All-Star Steph Curry got hot. Curry finished the first quarter with 17 points, and the Warriors led 35-31 after the first 12 minutes of play. The Warriors scored 35 points in the second quarter to lead 70-64 at the end of the first half. Curry had 24. D’Angelo Russell knocked down 11. Draymond Green had 5, Marquese Chriss 6, and Glenn Robinson 4. Omari Spellman had 6, Jordan Poole 5, Eric Paschall 4, and Damian Lee 3. The Warriors shot 51% from the floor, and they made 8 threes in 17 attempts. They were a little sloppy with the ball as they committed 12 turnovers in the first half. They moved the ball well as they recorded 16 assists in the first 24 minutes of play.

The Warriors tallied 41 points in the third period. Steph and D’Angelo Russell were removed from the game with about four minutes left in the third quarter. Curry finished with 40 points in 25 minutes of action. Russell finished with 16. The Warrior reserves increased the lead to ten 111-101, heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Jordan Poole, Glenn Robinson, Eric Paschall, and Omari Spellman continued to play well, and the Warriors won by 20 points, 143-123.

Notes: Steve Kerr had to be impressed with the play of Jordan Poole, Eric Paschall, and Glenn Robinson. The rookies Poole, from Michigan, and Paschall, from Villanova, played well. Poole knocked down 19 points in 21 minutes of action. Paschall kicked in with 11 in his 20 minutes of playing time. Robinson had 13 points and 5 boards. Omari Spellman also showed that he wanted a spot on the roster. He had 7 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists.

The Warriors shot 52.6% from the floor and were 19 for 37 from 3-point range. They had 34 assists on offense. On defense, they had 50 boards, 9 steals, and 11 blocked shots. They moved the ball well. They found the open man and worked the pick and roll well.

Minnesota’s starters Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Jeff Teague scored 13, 9, and 13, respectively. Their bench players did well. Big Jake Layman had 17. Naz Reid had 14, Shabazz Napier 11, and the rookie from Texas Tech Jarrett Culver had 17.

Each team committed too many turnovers. The T-Wolves had 19, and the Warriors finished with 21.

Warriors’ centers Kevon Looney was out with a hamstring injury, and Willie Cauley-Stein will probably miss the preseason with an ankle injury. The Serbian rookie, Alen Smailagic, did not play. He was using a walking boot and on crutches. There is no date when he will be ready to play. Alec Burks is also out with an ankle problem.

Up Next: The Warriors’ next game will be Monday night against the LA Lakers in Los Angeles. They play again in LA on the 16th and finish the preseason against the Lakers at the Chase Center on October 18th.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: How much did the Minnesota loss fire up Golden State?

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Photo credit: @warriors

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 The Warriors just were livid, fired up, couldn’t get over in that loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in which the Warriors felt the officiating decided the game. Instead of complaining, however, the Warriors sought retribution and got some huge wins since including the 137-90 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

#2 Playoff are coming and the team is pushing toward the end here. How much of a motivator was that Minnesota game for the Warriors?

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

Warriors drop a thriller in OT to the Timberwolves 131-130

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, had they beaten the Minnesota Timberwolves, would have had a two-game edge of the Denver Nuggets in the race for the best record in the Western Conference. The Timberwolves upset the Warriors’ applecart at the Target Center in the Target Center Friday with a 131-130 overtime win.

The Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder to move into a first-place tie with the Warriors. The Warriors and the Nuggets meet Tuesday night at Oracle. The Warriors have the season edge 2-1, and a win would clinch the crown.

The Warriors led 68-54 at the half, and it looked good for them. The Warriors usually own the third quarter, but the T-Wolves turned the tables on Golden State and outscored them 32-18 in the period to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter. Each team scored 29 in the fourth, and the game went to overtime tied at 115.

The T-Wolves grabbed a nine-point lead with one minute and 41 seconds left in the overtime period when Curry went on a tear and hit three threes, and the Warriors went on an 11-2 run to tie the game at 130 with 0.5 seconds left on the clock.

All the Warriors had to do was make sure that no one fouled a T-Wolves player on the inbounds pass, and the game would go to a second overtime, but that did not happen as Kevin Durant fouled Karl-Anthony Towns, who made the first free throw. He missed the second and time, and the Warriors’ luck ran out. The Timberwolves won 131-130.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors are now tied with Denver with an identical record of 51-24. The Warrior play the Charlotte Hornets at Oracle Arena on Sunday, and then face the Nuggets on Tuesday.

Steph Curry led the Warriors with 37 points. Kevin Durant had a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins had 16 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson had 20 points. Andre Iguodala had 14 points coming off the bench. The rest of the Warriors’ bench contributed just 11 points.

The Timberwolves had eight players in double-figures. The T-Wolves’ bench had three players: Anthony Tolliver with 14 points, Gorgui Dieng 14 points, and Jerryd Bayless with 17 points. In Fact, the T-Wolves’ bench outscored the Warriors’ bench 49-25.

Up Next: The Warriors have seven games, four at home and three on the road. The only team with a winning record is Denver. They play the Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Clippers at home. Then, they face the Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Memphis Grizzlies on the road.