Tag: Minnesota Timberwolves

Kings Press Row Podcast NBA Week 4: the road trip ends, the homestand begins!

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Bogi's back
Bogi is back Photo: @SacramentoKings

Hosts: Jordan “Chape” Chapin and Charlie O

  • Kings go 3-1 on tough four-game Eastern Conference road trip
  • SAC ends road with a tough loss in Milwaukee as the Tier 1 Bucks dominate
  • Toronto welcomes the Kings back to SAC with a 114-105 loss
  • The Raptors are the real deal – they could be the Eastern Conference Champs
  • The key to the Toronto victory was stopping the Kings runs
Bucks Hield
Buddy Hield scored 24 versus Toronto but shot 9-for-23 Photo: @SacramentoKings
  • The Timberwolves are 0-7 on the road – that makes them very dangerous!
  • LeBron and the Lakers circus is coming to town on Saturday, November 10th
  • You can’t relax on this homestand – the Spurs are in Monday, November 12
  • Still to come in November OKC, HOU, GSW, UTA X2 and LAC
  • This and much more on this week’s edition of the King’s Press Row Podcast

Kings Press Row Podcast NBA Week 3: The blistering pace continues

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Byelly drives
Photo: @SacramentoKings

Hosts: Jordan “Chape” Chapin and Charlie O

  • This four-game road trip could have been a killer

  • The Magic game could have been a “trap”

  • Sacramento will win more than 25 games this season

  • The Fox-Hield backcourt connection is near perfection

  • Free throw opportunities and conversions are up

  • The Kings are becoming an assist machine

  • Tough schedule ahead with Milwaukee, Toronto, Minnesota and the Lakers on the schedule over the next seven days

Warriors down the Timberwolves 116-99 for seventh win in a row

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors downed the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-99 at Oracle Arena Friday night. The two teams played a very close game for three quarters, but the Warriors’ defense, led by Draymond Green, shut the Timberwolves’ offense down in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

The Warriors got off to a good start early in the first quarter. They had the lead 19-8 with a little over four minutes played. The Warriors, behind, Kevin Durant, led 29-18 with about four minutes left in the period. The T-Wolves’ Andrew Wiggins, Jimmy Butler, and Josh Okogie finished the period on a 7-2 run to close the gap as they trailed the Warriors 36-32.

The two teams played a nip-and-tuck second quarter. The T-Wolves played superb defense, and they kept coming after the Warriors. They went on a 12-2 run to take the lead for the first time 44-42. Klay Thompson hit a 3, and the Warriors were ahead once more 47-46. The lead seesawed back and forth until late in the quarter. Steph Curry hit a 3-pointer, and the Warriors led 59-53. The T-Wolves fought back, and the first half ended with the Warriors up by three 61-58. Kevin Durant led the Warrior offense with 20. Thompson had 10 and Curry kicked in with 14. Jonas Jerebko tallied 7.

Taj Gibson had 10 for the T-Wolves. Andrew Wiggins added 7, Jimmy Butler 13, Karl-Anthony Town 10, and Josh Okogie had 12. The T-Wolves committed just 1 turnover in the first half. The Warriors had 7 turnovers.

In the third quarter, things did not go well for Golden State. Minnesota was able to control the tempo, and they did not commit any turnovers in the period. The Warriors seemed to be out of rhythm as the T-Wolves outscored them 29-22 to finish the quarter leading 87-83. The fans at Oracle were taken out of the game as the Warriors appeared to be going down to defeat.

However, teams have to play four quarters. The Warriors, behind Draymond Green’s superlative defensive play, shut down the T-Wolves’ offense in the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson hit two 3-pointers to propel the Warriors into the lead 91-89. The Warriors went on a 12-2 run to go up by six, 97-91, with 6:41 left to play. The Warriors showed the T-Wolves what an elite defense looked like as Green shut down Karl-Anthony Towns. Durant, Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and Alfonzo McKinnie all hounded the T-Wolves’ offense as they held them to just 12 points and the Warriors tallied 33 to win 116-99.

Game Notes and Stats: Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 33 points. He also pulled down 13 boards.

Green almost had a triple-double. He scored 9 points, had 9 boards and recorded 11 assists. His defensive play in the fourth quarter was the catalyst for the win over Minnesota.

Curry had 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Jonas Jerebko had 7, and Alfonzo McKinnie, coming off the bench, had 8 points and 8 rebounds. He made two 3-point shots in 2 attempts and his 3-pointer in the fourth quarter helped seal the T-Wolves’ fate.

Andrew Wiggins led the T-Wolves with 22. Jimmy Butler had 21. Towns was held to just 3 points in the second half and 13 for the night. The big guy pulled down 11 rebounds. Okogie finished with 15, and Taj Gibson had 12.

The Warriors shot 48.9% from the floor and made 13 3s in 34 attempts. The T-Wolves also made 13 threes, but they took 45 shots to do it. The Warriors recorded 31 assists. The T-Wolves made 4 turnovers in the fourth quarter as the Warriors’ defense stifled their attack. The Warriors finished the night with 16.

The Warriors improved to 9-1 for the season, and Minnesota falls to 4-5.

Up Next: The Warriors have the weekend off as they resume play against the Memphis Grizzlies at Oracle Arena on Monday night. Game time is at 7:30 pm PT.

Timberwolves beat the Warriors 114-110 in preseason game

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Photo credit: @Timberwolves

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors opened up the 2018 NBA preseason with a home game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves at Oracle Arena on Saturday.

Prior to Saturday’s game, Kevin Durant was presented with his 2017-18 Season-long NBA Community Assist Award.

Warriors basketball was back, and the Splash Party picked up where it left off. Stephen Curry started the Splash Party with a couple of 3-pointers and then Durant and Andre Iguodala followed suit. In addition, a sweet dish from Durant set up the slam by Kevon Looney. Despite the Warriors’ on-court successes, the Timberwolves led 37-36 at the end of the first quarter.

The Warriors bounced back in the second quarter and subsequently carried a 71-65 lead over the Timberwolves to the locker room at the end of the first half. Klay Thompson had 15 points and 4 rebounds. Curry had 14 points and 3 assists. Durant had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Jordan Bell had 10 points and 4 rebounds. Shaun Livingston had 6 points and 2 assists. Draymond Green had 6 assists, 2 points and 2 rebounds.

Durant threw down some dunks in the third quarter. And, to be fair, Durant’s dunks appeared to be in mid-season form. Durant was able to show off the handle as well as the mid-range.

The Warriors trailed the Timberwolves 94-92 at the end of the third quarter.

The Warriors’ rookie power was certainly a sight to see. Jacob Evans III notched his first career preseason bucket at the 10:11 mark of the fourth quarter. Marcus Derrickson followed up with two 3-pointers.

The two teams were tied with 3:05 left in the fourth quarter. Evans continued to put in work on the Warriors’ court. But Evans’ or anyone else’s efforts were disregarded as the Timberwolves defeated the Warriors 114-110.

The Warriors’ final statistics showed Curry with 21 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds, Thompson with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, Durant with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 rebounds, Bell with 10 points, 7 assists and 1 rebound, Derrickson with 10 points and 3 rebounds, and Looney with 7 points, 3 rebounds and 1 rebound.

Notes
Warriors’ starters: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Damian Jones. 

Up Next
The Warriors and Sacramento Kings will battle it out next Friday at 7:05 pm PT inside the KeyArena in Seattle in a nationally televised game on ESPN.

Golden State Warriors Podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors aim to snap the two-game loss spell against Lakers on Wednesday night

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

On the Warriors podcast with David:

1. The Golden State Warriors tip off against Lonzo Ball and the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday night at Oracle Arena at 7:00 pm PT. The Warriors are coming off two straight loses to the Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves both road loses. Dave talks about how injuries have played a role in the recent loses.

2. The Warriors’ head coach Steven Kerr who appeared at a Newark High School has encouraged students at the school that their walkout is a for a good cause that gun violence must see it’s end by gun control and gun bans. Kerr’s father was killed by gun violence when he was a teenager and he really believes that this movement has some substance now for the first time.

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

 

Timberwolves outlast Warriors en route to 109-103 win

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors were missing Steph Curry, Andre Iguodala, David West, Jordan Bell, and Patrick McCaw, lost their second game in a row to the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday afternoon at the Target Center.

The Timberwolves were missing their leader, Jimmy Butler, but had enough firepower to take down the Warriors. The Warriors gave it all they had, but they just didn’t have it in the third and fourth quarters.

The T-wolves won the first quarter 34-24. The Warriors were ahead 11-9 when the T-wolves went on an 11-0 run to lead by nine (20-11). Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 11 and no other player had more than four points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Warriors turned on the jets and outscored Minnesota 38-21 to take the lead 62-55 at the end of the first half. Durant tallied 19 and he got help from Zaza Pachulia with 10. Klay Thompson had 12 and Draymond Green pitched in with eight. Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins each had 15 for Minnesota.

The Warriors increased the lead to 11 early in the period but Minnesota went on a very impressive 19-6 run to take the lead by four. Buckets by Durant, Pachulia and Shaun Livingston enabled the Warriors to finish the third quarter tied at 84, despite being outscored 29-22 in the period.

The T-wolves, behind the superb play of Towns and Wiggins, were able to take a 101-96 lead. The Warriors kept coming back and closed the gap to trailing 104-103 after Durant made a 3-pointer. The T-wolves scored the last five points of the game and beat the Warriors 109-103.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the Warriors fall to 51-15. They are now a full game behind the Houston Rockets for the best record in the NBA and the deficit may drop to one and a half games should Houston beat the Mavericks later in the day.

Kevin Durant had a double-double with 31 points and 12 rebounds. Klay Thompson added 21. Zaza Pachulia played very well as he also had a double-double. Pachulia scored 16 points and had 11 boards and two blocked shots. Draymond Green finished with eight.

The Minnesota defense held Golden State to just 40.7% from the floor and the Warriors were 10-for-36 from the 3-point range.

The Warriors committed 13 turnovers in the game, but five of them came in the third period and those turnovers cost them dearly.

Karl-Anthony Towns led the T-Wolves with 31 points and 16 rebounds. Taj Gibson and Jeff Teague also had double-doubles. Gibson had 11 points and 13 rebounds while Teague scored 10 and had 10 assists. Andrew Wiggins finished with 23.

Up Next: The Warriors return home to face the Lakers Wednesday night at Oracle Arena.

Kings fail to put two good games in a row as they fall to Jazz 98-91

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings came into Saturday night’s game against the Utah Jazz coming off a 116-111 overtime victory against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night. The victory improved the Kings’ record to 19-43.

The Jazz also came into the Golden 1 Center coming off a 116-108 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves to improve to 32-30 on the season.

The Jazz won the tip-off and score six points early in the first quarter. The Kings, though, would battle themselves back to a tie game at six points apiece with 8:20 to go in the 1st.

The Jazz also went on a little run with the Kings not hitting any of their shots. The score was 20-13 with 2:40 to play. Vince Carter would be fouled with 1:34 to play in the first. He made both free throws. The Jazz would add a few more points and finish the first with a 25-17 lead.

The Jazz opened up the second quarter in a forceful manner. With six minutes left, the Jazz had already scored 15 as opposed to the Kings’ eight. The Kings failed to capitalize on opportunities in the second quarter that led to good looks for the Jazz. The Kings also threw the ball around that cost them possessions. The Kings would manage to put some pressure on the Jazz. De’Aaron Fox, Zack Randolf, and Bogdan Bogdonovic would all put up points to get the Kings within nine points for a 52-43 deficit going into halftime.

The second half commenced with the Kings’ sloppiness with the ball. The Kings had 10 turnovers midway through the third quarter. Those 10 turnovers led to 12 points.

Buddy Hield was able to hit a three and Skal Labissiere was able to throw down a dunk to pull the Kings within single-digits as the Jazz continued to lead 69-56. Labissiere would be fouled with 1:51 to go in the third. He made both attempts to help the Kings get closer, but the Jazz enlarged its lead to 75-61. The Kings then managed to put up four more points before the end of the quarter to get them within nine with 12 minutes to play in the game.

The Jazz opened the fourth quarter with a three to make it 78-66 with 10:37 to play. Frank Mason hit a long-range jumper to bring the Kings within 11 at the seven-minute mark. No team really made any ground on the other to this point in the fourth. The Kings would take a timeout with 2:36 to go, trailing 94-83. The Kings really had to go to work at this point if they wanted to make this a close game. Bogdan Bogdanovic hit a three to make it 94-86 Jazz with 1:25 to play in the game. The Kings were unable to muster a much-needed comeback and eventually fell to the Jazz 98-91.

Notes:  De’Aaron Fox led all Kings with 17 points. Bogdan Bodanovic had 15 points.

Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 27 points. Skal Labissiere had 12 assists. Ricky Rubio added six rebounds.

Next: The Kings stay home in Sacramento to host the New York Knicks Sunday at 6:00 pm PST. The Jazz go home to host the Orlando Magic at 7:00 pm MST on Monday.

Kings play tough in Minnesota but come up just short losing 111-106

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Kings vs Twolves final

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Style points are usually reserved for events in the Olympics. Well, the Winter Olympics are in full swing and the Kings are in full “player development mode”, so we have to judge them on more than just wins and losses.

For their efforts in Minnesota on Sunday night, the young Kings get a 10 for effort, a 10 for hustle and eight for style. Sacramento lost the game to the T-Wolves 111-106, but they did what no one really expected them to do in this first game of a three-game road trip. The Kings made it a very competitive game.

The Kings did two major things right on Sunday night:

  1. They came out of the gate an played hard from the opening jump ball. De’Aaron Fox led the way scoring 14 points in first period as the Kings outscored the Timberwolves 29-23 in the first quarter. Sacramento also played some tough defense as they gave up only 23 points.
  2. The second thing the Kings did well on Sunday night is they avoided the dreaded third quarter letdown. Sacramento has established a habit of playing very ineffective basketball in the third stanza and then having to try to come back in dramatic fashion in the fourth quarter to make up for bad third quarters. The Kings won the third quarter on Sunday night 26-19

The Timberwolves superior firepower took its toll in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Kings 36-26 to win the game 111-106. The game was competitive right up until the final seven-seconds of the contest.

The victory was the Timberwolves 13th consecutive win on their homecourt. That is truly an incredible run.

Star Performances

Kings

Kings vs Twolves 5

  • Rookie De’Aaron Fox played an outstanding game in his almost 35-minutes on the floor. Beyond his 14 points in the first quarter, Fox finished the game with a team-high 23 points. He shot 8-for-16 from the floor and went 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Fox added three steals and two assists to his stats for the game.
  • Buddy Hield had another productive game coming off the bench. Hield played just under 19-minutes but manged to post 16 points in that time on the floor. Hield shot 6-for-13 including going 2-for-5 from 3-point land. Buddy also recorded four rebounds, two steals, one assist and one blocked shot.
  • Rookie (well NBA rookie) Bogdan Bogdanovic put 13 points in the book in 30-plus minutes on the floor. He shot 5-for-12 from the field and hit 2-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc. Bogie also dished out eight assists in the game.

T-Wolves

Kings vs Twolves extra

  • To no one’s surprise, the big KAT was the man for Minnesota on Sunday night. Karl-Anthony Towns scored a game-high 29 points shooting 10-for-17 from the floor. Towns went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. He grabbed eight rebounds, dished out six assists and blocked three shots in the game.
  • Veteran Jimmy Butler added 18 points hitting 5-of-9 shots from the floor. Butler went to the free throw line nine times and converted seven of those opportunities. Butler also added three assists.
  • Andrew Wiggins was another key part of the T-Wolves win on Sunday. He scored 16 points, grabbed eight rebounds and distributed three assists. Wiggins hit 7-of-13 of his shots in the game.

Prime Numbers

Sacramento (17-38)

  • The Kings shot 47.7-percent (42-for-88) for the game and hit 10-of-25 (40-percent) from 3-point range.
  • Sacramento hit 12-of-17 from the charity stripe. The team needs to go to the free throw line at least 20 times per game, but hitting 70.6-percent of their opportunities is acceptable.
  • The Kings pulled down 43 rebounds – 15 of those rebounds were offensive grabs. Those 15 offensive rebounds turned into 22 points for SAC.
  • Sacramento committed 19 turnovers that became 22 Minnesota points. The Kings totaled only 17 assists which gave them a negative assists to turnover ratio.

Minnesota (35-24)

  • The T-Wolves shot 50-percent (37-for-74) from the floor for the game on Sunday night. They hit 9-of-24 chances from long-range.
  • Minnesota went to the free throw line 32 times. They sank 28 of those free throw shots (87.5-percent).
  • The Timberwolves dished out 29 assists while committing 17 turnovers which is close to the 2-to-1 desired ratio goal.
  • The T-Wolves biggest lead in the game was five points while the Kings largest lead was 10 points. There were 10 lead changes and the game was tied 15 times.

Up Next

Kings

Sacramento will play the second game of their three-game road trip on Tuesday night in Dallas versus the Mavericks.

Timberwolves

Minnesota will stay at home and host the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.

 

 

Warriors make 21 three-pointers en route to 126-113 win over Timberwolves

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors wanted to get off to a good start at Oracle Arena Thursday night as they played the young and talented Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves lost to Portland 123-114 Wednesday, and the Northwest division leaders wanted to get back in the win column against the Warriors. That did not happen as the Warriors led wire-to-wire as they beat Minnesota 126-113. The Warriors improved to 39-10 while the Timberwolves drop to 31-20.

The Warriors got off to a good start as they outscored Minnesota 38-29 in the first quarter. The Warriors’ Andre Iguodala scored 10 points in the period to set the tone for the game. The Warriors kept the pressure on as they finished the first half with a 12-point lead (74-62).

The Warriors’ big three of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant tallied 17,10, and 15 respectively. The Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns scored 16, Jeff Teague had 15, Jamal Crawford with eight, and Andrew Wiggins with eight.

The Warriors, who usually own the third quarter, did not run away from Minnesota Thursday evening. The Warriors outscored them 32-31, and if Minnesota was able to mount a charge in the fourth quarter, they had a chance to win the game.

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors went cold. Curry and Durant were on the bench and the second unit could not do anything. Minnesota closed the gap, and coach Steve Kerr had to put Curry and Durant back into the game with 7:13 left in the game.

Nick Young hit a big three-pointer that gave the Dubs a spark. Durant took a rebound and raced down the court to make a big bucket to give the Warriors the lead 117-104. Minnesota then went on a 7-0 run, and the fans were starting to squirm. However, the Thompson and SCurry made back-to-back three-pointers to ensure the win as the Warriors led 124-111 with just 1:36 left in the game.

The Warriors scored another basket, and they finished the night with a 126-113 win.

Game Notes and Stats: Kevin Durant finished the night with a triple-double. Durant scored 28 points, had 11 assists and 10 rebounds. He also blocked three shots.

It was the first time in Durant’s career that had double-digit assists in two consecutive games. Durant recorded 14 in the game against the Knicks and 11 Thursday night in Oakland.

Curry and Thompson finished with 25. Green and Zaza Pachulia each recorded nine points in the game. David West, Shaun Livingston, and Nick Young each had six.

After the game, coach Kerr was pleased that the team won, but he thought they could improve on defense as the Timberwolves attempted 101 shots. They made 46.

The Warriors, on the other hand, knocked 48 in just 89 attempts. They shot 53.9% for the game, but they made 21 three-pointers in 37 attempts good for 56.8%.

Minnesota attempted 20 threes, but knocked just six.

The Warriors outrebounded the Wolves 47-43, and the Warriors recorded 37 assists.

Steve Kerr said this about his team: “Do what you have to do to win the game.”

Kerr also remarked that if playing Durant and Curry 36 or 37 minutes was going to have an adverse effect on the players. He usually plays them about 30 minutes a game but he thought the game was too close to have them sitting on the bench.

Up Next: The Warriors play the Boston Celtics Saturday night at Oracle Arena. Golden State lost a very close game to the Celtics early in the season in Boston so they will try to avenge that defeat.

The Celtics are led by former Cavalier Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum.

Game time is at 5:30 pm PT at Oracle arena.

Towns, Timberwolves blow out Kings 119-96

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Sacramento Kings forward Zach Randolph (5) reaches for the ball in front of Minnesota Timberwolves center Taj Gibosn (67) in the third quarter of an NBA basketball game on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves defeated the Kings 119-96. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King)

By: London Marq

The explosive Minnesota Timberwolves welcomed the Sacramento Kings in a midseason tilt with plenty of young talent to go around. The Kings, who are 5-5 over their last 10 games, continue to search for rhythm and consistency. The Timberwolves, led by Karl-Anthony Towns, would prove difficult for the Kings to handle.

Slow starts have been a problematic trend for Sacramento. On the road in hostile territory, the Kings fell behind early and were outclassed by the Timberwolves stars: Towns and Jimmy Butler, whose offensive prowesses were too much for the Kings, who are inconsistent and exhibit poor defense.

The Timberwolves were in control from start to finish. All five of Minnesota’s starters scored double-digit points. Towns led all scorers with 30 points and 14 rebounds.

George Hill led the Kings in scoring with 16 points.

16 points was all the Kings could muster in the third quarter, as the Minnesota defense came out rolling in all cylinders after halftime.

The Timberwolves walked away with a 119-96 blowout win over the Kings at the Target Center.

Up Next: Kings visit the Raptors on Sunday, December 17 at 12:30 pm PST.