Tag: NBA

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Lechler to go into Hall as Raiders punter for 13 seasons; Raiders sign Grant at wide receiver; plus more

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Photo credit: @TDenFamilia

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 Former Oakland Raider Shane Lechler can look forward to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame after the five year wait . He played in 206 games for the Raiders and missed only two games in 13 seasons. In those 13 seasons, Lechler called Oakland his home. A seven-time Pro Bowler, he was one of the best punters in NFL history.

#2 Wide receiver Ryan Grant has signed with the Oakland Raiders. Grant formerly with the Indianapolis Colts signed with Oakland on Wednesday Grant’s deal is worth one year, $2.5 million.

#3 You can’t win them all the A’s, who won the first two games against the visiting Boston Red Sox on great pitching, and delivered two shutouts, but they dropped game three of the four-game series to the Red Sox. However, the A’s have been delivering excitement each night.

#4 The Giants had some troubles on this road trip, but still, they have gone 2-5 thus far. They have concluded their road series with the Dodgers with a 5-3 loss. They have their home opener on Friday, can they get back on track with some home cooking?

#5 The Sacramento Kings might be making changes again and knowing how much Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and general manager Vlade Divak like Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton. Do you see Walton getting fired by the Lakers as rumored and going to the Kings, which means Kings head coach Dave Joerger will get the boot at season’s end?

Headline Sports with Tony R is heard each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Warriors’ defense downs the Nuggets 116-102

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors took a giant step as they defeated the Denver Nuggets 116-102 Tuesday night at Oracle Arena. The Warriors have a two-game lead and own the tiebreaker in the race in the race for the best record in the Western Conference. The Warriors are now 53-24 and Denver 51-26 with five games left to play. The Warriors face four teams with a losing record and Denver has to play a couple of playoff teams.

The Warriors outscored the Nuggets 30-24 in the first quarter and 29-19 in the second quarter to lead by 16 at the half 59-43. Kevin Durant led the team in offense, and DeMarcus Cousins put the clamps on Denver’s big center Nikola Jokic.

In the third quarter, the Warriors increased the lead to 22. Kevin Durant was ejected from the game with 8:21 left to play when he argued with a referee for not calling a foul. The referee called two technical fouls on Durant, who was sent to the locker room. Durant has been charged with 15 technicals this year, and one more will get him a one-game suspension. Warriors’ head coach kept his starters in the game at the start of the fourth quarter. The Nuggets were down by almost 30 when they made a run at the Warriors. It was too little, too late as Golden State held on for the 116-102 win.

Game Notes and Stats: DeMarcus Cousins had a double-double with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. It was Cousins’ best game as a Warrior, and if he continues to play well, he will be a tremendous asset for the Warriors in the playoffs. Kevin Durant finished the night with 21. Steph Curry had 17, and that total included five threes. Klay Thompson had 13. Kevon Looney added 10 and Jonas Jerebko, Alfonzo McKinnie all put points on the board.

Jamal Murray led Denver with 17. Paul Millsap 11, Jokic 10, Jarred Vanderbilt 10, and Monte Morris 10.

Up Next: The Warriors play the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday night at Staples Center in LA. Game time will be at 7:30 pm. LeBron James will not be in the Laker lineup as he is done for the year.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Ice meltdown in Vancouver–Sharks can’t answer Canucks’ 3 goals in third period; Quakes’ best game in 0-0 draw against Colorado so far; plus more

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Photo credit: @NBCSSharks

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 In one that you can call just a big meltdown, the San Jose Sharks started a two-game road trip in Vancouver Tuesday night, had a 2-1 lead and looked like they might actually win this one against the Canucks, but all for not as the Canucks scored three unanswered goals to hand San Jose its ninth loss in 10 games 4-2.

#2 The San Jose Earthquakes are a team that is all shook up. They have not won one a game yet this season and have played six games and their best game was against Colorado in a 0-0 draw. London tells us from he has seen of the Quakes what the problem is?

#3 The San Francisco Giants have shown some improvement on the current road trip taking the first game against the Dodgers on Monday night 4-2, thanks to Brandon Belt’s home run to help pace the win. On Tuesday night, the Giants lost by a run, but it’s been something to look forward to after they struggled in San Diego losing three out four.

#4 The Oakland A’s are getting plenty of pitching they got a 7-0 shutout over the World Champion Red Sox on Monday and then on Tuesday they got a 1-0 shutout with great A’s starting pitcher Mike Fiers and A’s reliever Blake Treinen.

#5 The Sacramento Kings just couldn’t do anything with James Harden and the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night in Golden One Center. Harden put away 36 points and he was again a scoring machine in a 130-105 win.

London Marq does the Headline Sports podcast for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings get plastered in 25-point loss to Rockets on Tuesday night

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On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Kings (38-40) lost badly on their home floor to the Houston Rockets (50-28) 130-105. Fear the beard James Harden couldn’t be contained on Tuesday night with 36 points.

#2 The Kings were dominated by the Rockets in every quarter except for the third quarter when the Kings outscored the Rockets 31-29.

#3 How badly did Kings defense let down in this one?

#4 Harden also had help from scorers Clint Capela with 13 and Chris Paul with 12.

#5 Next up are the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-59). The Cavs are on a six-game losing streak and the Kings have lost four of their last six games as this one sets up for a 7 pm tip on Thursday night.

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

Rockets make it “rain” 3-pointers, crush the Kings 130-105 on Tuesday night

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Barnes tries to contain Harden Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

By Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento Kings goal of finishing the season with a 41-41 record took a serious hit on Tuesday night when the Houston Rockets beat them 130-105 at the Golden 1 Center. The young, upstart Kings never held a lead in the game. The win gave Houston a four-game season-series sweep over Sacramento.

In his postgame comments, Kings head coach Dave Joerger noted that the Rockets have beat his team by over 20 points on average in all four games this season. He later would point out that the Rockets as a team are staffed with great players.

Why Did the Kings Lose?

Sacramento lost the game because they could not shut down the dynamic 3-point shooting of the Rockets. Houston literally made it “rain” 3-pointers at they attempted 61 shots from behind the arc and hit 26 of them. The 26 made 3-point shots tied the Rockets NBA record for most 3-point shots made in a game that they set against the Wizards back on December 19, 2018, at home in Houston.

The Rockets made 46 of their 94 field goal attempts (48.9%) in the contest. They converted 26 of their 61 3-point field goal attempts (42.6%). Yes, you are reading that correctly. The majority of the Rockets’ field goals made and attempts were from long range. Houston was very happy to trade 3-point baskets for Kings 2-point baskets all night long.

The Kings shot 44.2-percent overall (42/95) and went 7-for-23 (30.4%) from downtown.

Dave Joerger was not happy after the game

“We did not come with the mental or physical attitude of playing with some force and (weren’t) mentally locked in enough. We can’t play that way. We’re better than that. That’s disappointing if we had a hangover from a long trip – a bunch of games – young guys – but we cannot let go of the rope and we’re not going to.”

Top Performers

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Bagley and Capela prepare to battle for the rebound Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

Kings (38-40)

  • Buddy Hield was the Kings leading scorer with 20 points. He shot 8-for-16 and four of his field goals were 3-pointers. Hield also grabbed seven rebounds and added five assists.
  • Marvin Bagley III put 19 points up on the board to go with eight rebounds.
  • Nemanja Bjelica scored 12 points and went 6-for-7 from the floor.
  • Sacramento outrebounded Houston 51-43.

Rockets (50-28)

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Harden gets ready to score three of his 36 points Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee
  • James Harden was the leading scorer in the game with 36 points, and he made it a double-double by dishing out 10 assists. He went 12-for-19 shooting and seven of those buckets were 3-pointers.
  • Eric Gordon and Danuel House, Jr. each scored 19 points for the visiting Rockets.
  • Chris Paul scored seven points and distributed 12 dimes.
  • Kenneth Faried posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Up Next

The Kings return to action on Thursday night when they will host the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Rockets play the second game of a back-to-back on the road in Los Angeles versus the Clippers on Wednesday night.

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

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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

The Warriors punish the Hornets 137-90

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, in a dogfight with the Denver Nuggets for the best record in the Western Conference, and still seething from the officiating in the game against the Timberwolves, sent the Hornets down to their worst loss of the season 137-90. When the W’s played the Hornets in Charlotte earlier this year, the contest was close until the fourth quarter when the W’s shut down Kemba Walker and were able to pull away for the win.

The Warriors made sure that they would be in control as they led from start to finish. The W’s ended the first half leading 71-49. It was the fifteenth time this season that they put 70 or more points on the board in the first 24 minutes of the game. They continued to throttle the Hornet offense in the second half as they made sure that the Hornets would not be able to make a comeback.

The Warriors outscored the Hornets 34-23 in the third period and 32-18 in the fourth. The Warriors were able to rest their regulars, and the bench players were able to get significant minutes as the end of the regular season is nearing. The Warriors win 137-90.

Game Notes- DeMarcus Cousins was ejected from the game with 6:09 to play in the second quarter. The referees charged Cousins with a flagrant 2 foul when he hit Willy Herangomez’ head with a closed fist. Cousins scored 8 points and had 3 blocked shots.

Steph Curry connected on five threes in eight tries. For Steph, it was the eighth consecutive game that he made at least five threes. He now has made 335 3s which is second only to the 402 that he made during the 2015-2015 season.

Draymond Green has 15 technical fouls to his credit so far this year. If he gets one more, he will receive an automatic one-game suspension. He reached fifteen last year but made it to the end of the regular season without getting one. Hopefully, he will not get another in the six games left.

Hernangomez led Charlotte with 22 points. None of the Hornets’ starters were in double figures. The W’s held Kemba Walker, Miles Bridges, and Dwayne Bacon to nine points each. The other Hornet in double figures was Frank Kaminsky with 10.

With the win and Denver’s loss to the Washington Wizards, the W’s have a one-game lead in the race for the Western Conference crown. The Warriors clinched the Pacific Division for the fifth year in a row. Should they beat Denver on Tuesday night, the Warriors will have a two-game edge with five to play, and the win probably would guarantee them home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.

The Warriors had six players in double-figures. Steph led the team with 25. Klay Thompson had 24 and Klay made 6 threes. Quinn Cook, coming off the bench and getting playing time, knocked down 21. Cook connected on 5 threes. Jerebko had, Durant 11, and Draymond Green 10.

The Warriors shot 60.25 from the floor. They made 21 threes in 33 attempts. They outrebounded Charlotte 50-28. They recorded 41 assists on 53 made baskets. On defense, they had 8 steals and 10 blocked shots.

The game against the Nuggets on Tuesday is going to be a very important game for both teams. With a win, the W’s will have a two-game lead. If they lose, the teams will be tied for the best record. If the teams finish tied for the best record, various tiebreakers will be used to determine which squad gets to be the number one seed.

Game time Tuesday night is at 7:30.  The A’s and Boston Red Sox are also playing and the parking lots will fill up early.

Kings beat Spurs on the road for the first time since 2012–113-106

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Photo credit: @NBA

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

Sunday’s matchup featured the Sacramento Kings and the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center. The Spurs have guaranteed themselves a playoff spot, and the Kings were recently eliminated from contention. Sunday’s game for the Kings was the last stop on a five-game road swing taking them through Los Angeles, Dallas, New Orleans, Houston, and San Antonio. The tip-off was set for 4:00 PM PST.

In the first quarter, the Kings showed what appeared to be a lack of energy, which is understandable considering this game was the second night of a back-to-back. With seven minutes having already passed in the first, the Kings were down by 10 with the score being 21-11. At this point, the game was looking close to getting out of hand. LaMarcus Aldridge led all scorers in the first with a terrorizing 18 points. However, the Kings weren’t gonna go away quietly in the first. They battled back to make it a two-point game after the first quarter 30-28.

In the second quarter, the Kings and Spurs traded baskets. It’d prove to be one of the more entertaining quarters this year. Buddy Hield led the Kings in scoring in the first half dropping 11 points with Fox behind him with nine points. For the Spurs, LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points with Rudy Gay behind him with 12. Going into halftime, the Kings managed to take a slim lead 58-57 into the locker room.

The third quarter was filled with excitement and back and forth between the Kings and Spurs. The Kings scored 31 points compared to the Spurs’ 30. This gave the Kings a two-point 89-87 lead going into the last 12 minutes. In the third, the fiery Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was ejected after an out-of-bounds call going against the Spurs. Popovich was immediately T’d up following the play then proceeded to go onto the court and was dealt the ejection. It was a entertaining turn of events as the teams continued to put on a show. Leading the way through three quarters for the Kings were Buddy Hield with 24 points, Harrison Barnes with 11 points, and Willie Cauley-Stein with 10 points.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Kings seemed confident and that was exactly what the Kings played with. The Kings started the fourth by scoring the first nine points to take a 98-87 lead. From there, the Spurs made a run to tie the game, and it was a back-and-forth affair until the final minute of the game. The Kings managed to get a few key defensive stops paired with some makes to beat the Spurs 113-106. It was a great game for a young Kings team that was eliminated from playoff contention just the night before.

NOTES: Kings swept the season series for the first time ever against the Spurs. The Kings beat the Spurs at home for the first time since 2012.

UP NEXT: The Kings head home to host the Houston Rockets Tuesday at 7:00 PM PST.

Rockets knock Kings out of playoffs with 119-108 win

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Photo credit: @TSN_Sports

By Jeremy Harness

The Sacramento Kings saw their slim playoff hopes officially dashed on Saturday, as they were downed by the Houston Rockets, 119-108, inside of Houston’s Toyota Center.

The team has been feisty all season and held on to their postseason chances as long as they could, even on Saturday. Sacramento entered the fourth quarter with the lead, but they were outscored 28-15 in the final stanza as their fate was sealed.

The Rockets, meanwhile, are still fighting for one of the top spots in the Western Conference postseason picture to get home-court advantage for at least the first round. Houston is currently in the third spot with a 49-28 mark, three games behind Golden State and Denver, who are tied for the top spot in the West.

James Harden recorded a triple-double in spearheading the win, scoring 50 points while making 13 of his 31 shots in the process, to go along with 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Clint Capela put up 24 points while going 10-of-13 from the field and also pulled down 15 rebounds, while Chris Paul had 22 points and five assists.

The Kings had a couple of guys get a double-double in the loss. Marvin Bagley III had 20 points and 12 rebounds – seven of those coming on the offensive end – while making 10 of his 20 field-goal attempts. Meanwhile, De’Aaron Fox scored 18 points and handed out 10 assists, while making four of his seven 3-point attempts.

Bogdan Bogdanovic just missed a triple-double while coming off the bench, leading the Kings with 24 points while pulling down nine rebounds with eight assists.

The Kings next play the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at 4:00 pm PT.

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

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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.