Tag: NBA

Headline Sports with London Marq: Meyer says he’ll be back to coach Buckeyes next season; Kings roll to four straight wins; Thompson’s 52 could be the start of something big; plus more

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Photo credit: @GregPickel

On Headline Sports with London:

#1 How bad does it get for Ohio State Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer, who said on Tuesday he’ll coach as long as he can, as he announced that he has a cyst in his brain. Meyer swears he’ll be back next season.

#2 How much of a role or credit will Sacramento Kings’ head coach Dave Joerger get for turning around a club that has now won four straight?

#3 The Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson just got on a roll on Monday night with 52 points and 14 rebounds and when you get hot, the Chicago Bulls couldn’t stop Golden State, who scored 92 points in the first half.

#4 The Oakland Raiders head to Santa Clara to face the San Francisco 49ers in the last time these two teams will meet for the Raiders as an Oakland team. Lots of history and this should be a great draw for Thursday Night Football.

#5 The Milwaukee Bucks are the last undefeated team in the NBA at 7-0. For an NBA team to do what the Bucks have done, you have to go back to the 1971-72 season when the Bucks started that season at 7-0.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings fly high with fourth win in a row, 107-99, over the Magic

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Photo credit: @NBA

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings are flying high for the first time since February 2017. The Kings were looking for a four-game win streak in Tuesday’s game against the Orlando Magic. They would have to do so with a less than 100% De’Aaron Fox. The Kings are calling it a minor back strain. Nonetheless, Fox was in the starting lineup against the Magic.

The Kings were hoping that Fox and his troublesome back would not be a problem. However, Fox showed a little discomfort a few minutes into the game. He played about half of the first leaving with roughly six minutes left. As for the game, it was a sloppy start for the Kings. Bad passes and miscues would be the story of the first. That led to the Kings trailing 31-26.

The Kings would prove to put things together though in the second quarter. The Kings, who were led by Nemanja Bejelica and Buddy Hield, pushed the Kings back into the lead. After scoring 26 in the 1st the Kings were able to up that to 33 in the second carrying a three-point lead into intermission. The score was 59-56.

In the third quarter, the Kings would continue to push the pace and score points. While both the first and second quarters were relatively stagnant, the third would be decidedly more paced and in the Kings favor. The Kings outscored the Magic 26-16 in the third to begin to pull away. Both teams entered the last quarter with the Kings leading the Magic 85-72.

The Kings could have coasted to victory, but missed opportunities and good shots from the Magic made it close. The Magic had cut the deficit to 91-94 with roughly five minutes to go. From there, the Kings were able to reel it in and push the lead to 107-99 to win the game.

When asked after the game, on how this type of up and down game could be a teachable moment for the young Kings, head coach Dave Joerger said, “We battled the whole game and stayed fast.”

The Kings (5-3) head to Atlanta to face Trey Young and the Atlanta Hawks (2-5) on Thursday at 4:30 PM PST.

Klay Thompson drops 52 to lead the Warriors to a 149-124 blowout of the Bulls

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By Jerry Feitelberg

Klay Thompson, who was mired in a shooting slump at the start of the season, had quite a performance as the Golden State Warriors routed the Chicago Bulls 149-124 at the United Center on Monday night.

Thompson scored 22 points in the first quarter and 36 total ion the first half as he tied an NBA record, making 10 3-point shots. The Warriors scored 92 points in the first half as Thompson, Thompson’s Splash Brother Steph Curry, Kevin Durant led the onslaught. The 92 points scored in the half was the second-most in NBA history. The Phoenix Suns own the record when they put 107 points on the board in a game in 1990.

The Warriors led 44-28 after the first period, and they outscored the shorthanded Bulls 48-22 in the second period to finish the first half leading 92-50.

Thompson played in the third quarter, and he made four more 3-pointers to set a new NBA record. The old record for 3-pointers in a game was 13, and that was held by Curry. Thompson put 16 more points on the board and was done for the night with five minutes left in the third period. Thompson’s totals for the night was 52 points, 14 3-pointers in just 27 minutes of action. That was quite a performance for Thompson. The Warriors’ head coach, Steve Kerr, inserted his bench players to finish the game and the Big Four watched the game from the bench.

The Bulls made the score a bit more respectable as they won the second half 73-57, but the game was over after the first 24 minutes.

Game Notes: Steph Curry tallied 23. Kevin Durant had 14 points and 8 assists. Alfonzo McKinnie had a double-double for Golden State. He put 19 points on the board and pulled down 10 rebounds. Backup Guard Quinn Cook had 16, and Jonas Jerebko added 10.

Klay Thompson suffered a cut to his forehead that required a couple of stitches. Thompson did not suffer a concussion.

The Bulls were led by Zach LaVine and Antonio Blakely, both of whom tallied 21. 19-year-old Wendell Carter, Jr recorded 18 points in a losing effort. The Bulls were without the services of Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn, Bobby Portis, and Denzel Valentine.

The way the Warriors were playing, their presence would probably not made a difference in the outcome.

Up Next: The Warriors are now 7-1 for the year and return home to face the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night at 7:30 pm PT.

Warriors hold off late rally to beat the Nets 120-114

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors were able to hold off a late rally by the Brooklyn Nets in the fourth quarter to win 120-114 and improve to 6-1 Sunday evening at Barclays Center. As with previous games, the Warriors owed their win to the talents and high-scoring of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.

Golden State led by as many as 19 points in the second quarter and third quarter, but allowed Brooklyn to come within two points with 1:55 remaining in the game when D’Angelo Russell made a driving layup. But the defending champions stepped it up too Stephen Curry, who scored a team-leading 35 points along with seven rebounds and three assists, said the Warriors played well overall.

“We knew we had to come out and get to a great start. The way that they shoot three’s and try to space the floor and play fast, you can’t give them confidence early,” Curry said in postgame interviews. “We knew it was going to be a full 48-minute game.” The Warriors lacked rhythm at the start of the game but gained it faster than they did in their Friday night victory against the New York Knicks. Kerr called a timeout after Caris LeVert made a triple that put the Nets up 14-0. Then Curry and Kevin Durant were fouled at the three-point line and went 3-of-3 and 2-of-3 respectively, to tie the Nets at 26.

Durant said the Warriors had some good spurts.

“Obviously we wanted to play a great game, but we know that we are still learning and getting better,” Durant told reporters.

Golden State had a 63-49 lead at the half and a 93-77 lead at the end of the third. Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said his team made it a point to fight harder after falling behind in the first half.

“I thought that the guys really made a second push,” Atkinson said. “I thought it was a good effort in the second half.”

Curry hit a new NBA record in the first half—at least five triples for the seventh straight game. He broke George McCloud’s record of at least five three-pointers in six consecutive games from the 1995-96 season, according to Warriors PR.

Russell said players can’t guard Curry by the rules.

“Whatever the game plan is or whatever you’re deciding to do at the point of a screen or anything, all bets are off,” Russell said. “He’s one of those players in the league that is unguardable at times.”

Durant had 34 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, Klay Thompson had 18 points, and Warrior reserve Alfonzo McKinnie had 9 points. The Warriors face the Chicago Bulls (2-4) at 5 p.m. Monday to end their three-game road trip.

Durant dominates in the Warriors’ 128-100 rout of the Knicks in NYC

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors put on a show at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, trailing at times but rallying in the fourth to obliterate the New York Knicks 128-100.

When asked what happened in the final quarter, Knicks head coach David Fizdale replied: “Kevin Durant.”

“I saw our young guys, I just saw that look of, ‘We’ve done enough tonight. We played them hard enough.’ We played three and a half really good quarters,” Fizdale said his postgame interview. “With a champion, that’s not enough. That’s not even enough if you’re an established team against a champion so you’ve got to keep your focus and maintain your discipline all the way to the end. We just haven’t been able to sustain that.”

Durant scored 25 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter. He also contributed throughout the game. He made a dunk on a Warriors fast break early in the first to tie the game at 10 points. The Warriors regained a lead, but Trey Burke made a running layup tie the game again at the end of the quarter at 25.

The teams were tied at the half, too, at 53.

New York played a solid game until the Warriors decided to dominate late in the third. Golden State trailed 10 points with less than two minutes left in the quarter, and whittled the Knicks’ lead to 3 points.

“I think that group that we had in the end of the third kind of changed the mindset,” Draymond Green told reporters after the game. “They were battling, and they got us a little momentum going into the fourth and we picked it up from there.”

Durant was on fire in the fourth, making layups, jump shots, a fadeaway shot and a free throw.

“We’ve seen KD do it like he did tonight,” Stephen Curry said postgame. “To do it in the garden is a different buzz as well. Low-key we become fans on the court watching greatness.”

Durant, whose future could be with the Knicks in light of his free agency, had 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Curry scored 29 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had a hard time remembering exactly when the team had consecutive games with such “spectacular” performances from the two stars. Curry scored 51 points on Wednesday night at Oracle Arena.

“They generally both play well every night so it’s hard to assess that kind of stuff. In back-to-back games they have both been phenomenal,” Kerr said. “Obviously, we are tough to beat when they both play like that.”

The Warriors (5-1) continue their three-game road trip on Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets (2-3) at Barclays Center. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.

De’Aaron Fox, Kings defeat Grizzlies 97-92

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By: Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It was game number five for the Sacramento Kings. In the previous four they won one game. Tonight they were looking to build off a strong showing against the Denver Nuggets. However, there was one thing in particular, the Kings had to improve their defense. The Kings’ offense has been putting together good displays, but the defense must improve in order to win games. The Kings and Memphis Grizzlies went at it at 7 pm local time inside the Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night.

The game would go back and forth in the opening minutes. Having played all but four minutes in the first the game was tied at 17 apiece. The Kings’ top scorers at the time were Willie Cauley-Stein, Buddy Hield, and De’Aaron Fox–all of which had 8 points. Turnovers would be the story in the final minutes of the first. Harry Giles would turn the ball over in back to back possessions as the Grizzlies added onto the lead. By the end of the first, the score would be 28-19 with the Grizzlies on top.

The second quarter started exactly how the first ended. The Kings turned over the ball multiple times with the Grizzlies taking advantage of their turnovers. With 4 minutes to go in the first half, the game’s score was 48-36 with the Grizzlies on top. At this point, the Kings had allowed 10 turnovers, leading to 14 points. The Kings made a run in the next few minutes, cutting the deficit to 44-52 leading into halftime.

The Kings decided to change the narrative of the game in the third quarter. What could have turned into a blowout loss turned into a comeback. Having not led in the game since the first quarter, the Kings took the lead with 5:20 left in the third quarter. De’Aaron Fox finished a layup to give the Kings the lead, 61-60. Both teams matched basket for basket, bringing the game to a screeching halt after the third tied at 71 apiece.

It was clear going into the fourth that the Kings had momentum on their side. The only question was if they could harness that and sink baskets. The Kings would score followed directly by a Grizzlies’ basket. This until Fox went to the rim with an authoritative dunk–coming from beyond three-point range. he slammed it home one-handed. This was followed by a Buddy Hield dunk after a Memphis time out. The score was 87-80 Kings with 6:30 to play. Fox and Marc Gasol got tangled up on the next play leading to a time out. Gasol was lifted and taken out of the game with an apparent collarbone injury. With 3:44 to play in the game, the Kings were up 89-82. The Kings continued to put the pressure on the Grizzlies and that led to a 95-86 lead with 18 seconds to go. The game ended 97-92 in favor of the Kings for their second win of the year.

Up next: The Kings will stay home to host the Washington Wizards on Friday at 7 pm PST.

Sacramento Kings’ Tuesday report: Pooped out Kings drop third game of roadie to Nuggets 126-112

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photo from the sacbee.com: Kings forward Marvin Bagley III, right, works against Denver Nuggets forward Trey Lyles on Tuesday at Pepsi Center. Bagley scored 20 points in the Kings’ 126-112 loss

quotes from the sacbee.com

By London Marq

The Sacramento Kings were exhausted after completing their three game road trip in Denver to the tune of 126-112 loss to the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets are undefeated use the Pepsi Center to their advantage as teams come up to the Mile High City and sometimes struggle with the altitude such as the Kings’ Justin Jackson was referring to as the team got a little tired in the second half of the game, “It’s always hard to come to Denver and play,” Jackson said. “The altitude is pretty nuts out here. Did we get fatigued a little bit? We might have, and it’s pretty understandable. … It’s Denver. The altitude is — you can push for so long, (but) eventually you’re going to get a little tired.”

The Kings’ Marvin Bagley III enjoyed hitting a Kings’ mark for a rookie not achieved since 1995 with 20 points, nine rebounds, five blocked shots. The last time a Kings player did that was Brian Grant in 1995. Bagley became the third NBA rookie player to hit those totals joining former Detroit Piston John Salley (1987) and Stanley Roberts (1992).

“I’ve got to give it my all every time I step out on the floor no matter what the score is,” Bagley said. “I love playing this game and I think I’d be cheating myself if I didn’t go as hard as I possibly could and still be a great teammate no matter what the circumstances may be.”

The Kings return back to Sacramento for a Wednesday night contest with the Memphis Grizzlies at Golden 1 Center. Jeremiah Salmonson has your game coverage.

London Marq is a Sacramento Kings beat writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Splash-back: Warriors take on familiar, dominating look in 123-103 rout of the Suns

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By Morris Phillips

You know, the Warriors are a pretty good 3-point shooting team.

Seems obvious, but after three regular season games, the Warriors had missed 50 of 74 attempts from distance and ranked 24th in the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage. Even worse–and much to the consternation of coach Steve Kerr–all the fouling and turnovers (the Warriors ranked 28th out of 30 in both categories) were very un-Warrior like as well.

Then the not-up and still-coming Phoenix Suns walked into Oracle Arena on Monday, and the back-to-back champs got back to business.

In a 123-103 rout of the Suns, Golden State shot 51 percent from the field, 38 percent from three, and led by as many as 28 points, numbers that also caught Kerr’s discerning eye.

“That looked like our team, just the purpose of each possession, driving and kicking and trying to get guys better shots,” Kerr said.

The Warriors won by double-digits for the first time this season while Curry took flight, scoring 15 of his 29 points in the third quarter. Five other Warriors finished in doyble digits scoring led by Kevin Durant with 22. In all, 13 Golden State players saw action, including the NBA debut of first round pick Jacob Evans.

“We’ve got a lot of weapons out there, so they’ve got to play defense,” Jonas Jerebko said. “And it’s tough to play defense when the ball is moving.”

After playing more than 400 ballgames in the four, previous seasons and on the back-end of the new season’s first back-to-back, the Warriors struck fast and quickly fell into self-preservation mode.

The win was Golden State’s 14th consecutive over the Suns in Oakland, and their 16th overall. Both streaks are the longest in franchise history over one opponent.

Klay Thompson suffered an ankle injury and did not return. After the game, Thompson said he considers the injury to be of little concern, and said he could have returned to finish the game if necessary.

Shaun Livingston was scratched due to a knee sprain.

The Suns were led by Devin Booker with 28 points. TJ Warren contributed 27 in a reserve role, and first overall pick in the 2018 draft, Deandre Ayton had 20.

The Warriors continue their homestand against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday at 7:30 pm PT.

Nuggets block Warriors from overtime with 100-98 win

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By: London Donson

The Golden State Warriors traveled to Colorado for a Sunday edition of NBA Basketball. The odd on favorites to win the title faced off against the Denver Nuggets, both teams boasting 2-0 records entering play. While Steph Curry was on the precipice of history, needing to make just five 3-pointers to pass Paul Pierce for sixth on the all-time list, Denver was trying to get themselves an excellent home win against the defending NBA champs.

While the Warriors were in control early, they faced a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter. They would have their say before the night was over, however as they stormed back with a 21-8 run, tying the game at 97 with just under 90 seconds left in regulation. Heading down the stretch, however, the nuggets would regain their lead, 99-97. As the final seconds on the clocked ticked away the Warriors’ Damian Jones had an opportunity snatched away from him right under the hoop. After receiving the pass from driving Curry, Jones was denied from behind Juan Hernangomez and time would expire.

There is not much to glean from this early season tilt from the Warriors’ perspective. They had an off game, yes, shooting only 24% from deep and had problems with ball security through the night, coughing it up 18 times. That being said, they don’t have any true fundamental issues, and they will be getting all-star center Boogie Cousins later this season. A close game at Mile High can be expected when a team comes off two close wins over two of the tough western foes, the Jazz and Thunder.

For the Nuggets, it’s a great sign as things are headed in the right direction with a young core. If they can prove they can pull off close wins against the toast of the Western Conference consistently their streak of five consecutive years missing the playoffs may be coming to an end.

The Warriors return to Oracle Arena to host the Phoenix Suns on Monday at 7:30 pm PT on NSBA and FSAZ.

NCAABB podcast with Michelle Richardson: Differences in treatment between women’s basketball players and NBA players

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On the NCAABB podcast with Michelle:

It’s that time of the year folks. It’s NCAA basketball and NCAA basketball has all the drama that you could ask for in college basketball. It’s coming. The NBA is talking about paying players who don’t want to go to college and come out of high school and come into the G-League and give them $125,000 to play in the G-League.

That sounds really great, doesn’t it? But wait a minute, what about the WNBA? When will the NBA start paying the WNBA players? In case you didn’t know, WNBA players can’t go into the league until after four years of school. So basically the women players have to play all four years.

Listen to it all Michelle Richardson on the NCAABB podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com