Tag: NBA

Golden State Warriors Friday game wrap: Warriors turn ball over 25 times, still able to beat Kings 119-104

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Photo credit: nba.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, still smarting from a 30-point loss to the Utah Jazz, traveled to Sacramento to face the lowly Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. The Warriors have not lost two consecutive games in a row this season, and they were hoping the Sacramento would be their sacrificial lamb. The Kings, who beat the Warriors in Oakland the last time they met, had other thoughts. The Kings, who are in rebuild mode, gave the Warriors a fierce fight before succumbing 119-105. The 14-point lead at the end of the game was the biggest lead the Warriors had all night.

The Kings, coached by Dave Joerger, usually play a slow-tempo game. Most teams try to avoid an uptempo game with the Warriors as they know that the Warriors love to run and move the ball. The Warriors usually play great defense, and with the teams running up and down the court, the Warriors normally prevail. The Warriors did win but it wasn’t easy, and the game was much closer than the score at the end of the game. The Warriors played a very sloppy game as they were careless with their passes and careless handling the ball. The Warriors committed 25 turnovers and were still able to win. When the Warriors make more than 17 turnovers in a game, their record was 10-8 and less the 17, their record is 33-3.

The first two quarters of the game was competitive. The Warriors won both quarters by three points and led 58-52 at the half.  Kevin Durant led the club with 17, and Steph Curry added 13. The Warriors were able to take a nine-point lead after three periods 84-75, and it looked like they had taken control of the game. The Kings, to their credit, had other thoughts and made a run early in the final stanza to close the game to 89-88. The Kings’ Buddy Hield, who came to Sacramento last season in the trade the sent DeMarcus Cousins to the Crescent City, got hot and gave the Kings the spark they were looking for. The Warriors regained their composure to go on an 8-0 run to make it 97-88. That run seemed to knock the spirit out of the Kings, and the Warriors were able to put the game in the win column 119-105.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors were without four players Friday night. David West, Shaun Livingstone, Andre Iguodala, and Jordan Bell did not play. Bell is rehabbing from a sprained ankle, and Coach Steve Kerr gave the other three veterans the night off.

The Warriors shot 55% from the floor while holding Sacramento to 44.2%. The Kings, However, took 15 more shots than the Warriors. Had they been able to make some of those shots, the final score might have been different.

Durant led the Warriors with 33. Steph had 23, Klay 17, Draymond 13. Nick Young had 9, and JaVale McGee added 4. When McGee was in the game, the Warriors seemed to play with more energy.

The Kings had six players in double figures. They were running and finding the open man just as they were trying to emulate the Warriors’ style of play. Rookie De’Aaron Fox, who is on his way to stardom, tallied 14. Willie Cauley-Stein 13, the ageless Zach Randolph 18, Justin Jackson 17, Bogdan Bogdanovic 12, and Buddy Hield had 16.

The Warriors improve to 41-11 while the Kings drop to 16-35.

Up Next: The Warriors play the Denver Nuggets Saturday night in Denver.

Utah Jazz hit all the high notes as they blow out Warriors 129-99

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors had the best road record in the NBA, but ran into a buzzsaw Tuesday night as the Utah Jazz overwhelmed them 129-99 at the Vivant Smart Home Arena.

The Jazz started the scoring and led the entire way. The only time the Warriors came close was when the game was tied at eight apiece early in the first quarter. Utah’s head coach Quin Snyder found the recipe to shut down the Warriors’ vaunted offense. They pressured Steph Curry and hounded him at every turn. Curry was just one-for-seven from beyond the three-point arc. They also pressured Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. Their strategy was to let the other Warriors beat them.

Utah’s offense was led by guard Ricky Rubio and forward Joe Ingles. Rubio hounded Curry all night and finished the night with twenty-three points and 11 assists for a double-double. Ingles was on fire. Ingles made six three-point shots in 8 attempts, and the Jazz shot 58.25 from the floor and was 14-for-28 from 3-point range.

In the first quarter, the Jazz raced out to a 35-30 advantage. The Warriors were close, and if they could get their game going, they could take the lead. They didn’t do that. They had a bad night on defense, and they were sloppy handling the ball. The Warriors failed to gain ground and trailed by 13 at the half (69-56).

It was more of the same in the second half. The Jazz did everything right, and the Warriors did not look like a championship team at all. The Jazz increased the lead to 18, and the Warriors rested their stars in the fourth quarter as they could not mount a charge. The Jazz wins 129-99.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the Warriors drop to 40-11.

The Jazz improved to 22-28.

Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 27 points.

Kevin Durant had 17 while Steph Curry and JaVale McGee, of all people, tallied 14 each.

The Jazz controlled the boards. They made 16 steals and just 11 turnovers.

The Warriors, on the other hand, committed 19 turnovers. They just didn’t do a good job of handling the basketball Tuesday night. Donovan Mitchell, the high scoring rookie from Louisville, knocked down 20 and Derrick Favors, the other twin tower for Utah, had 18.

Up Next: The Warriors travel to Sacramento to face the Kings Friday night.

They will want to gain a measure of revenge as the Kings beat them the last time they met which was at Oracle Arena.

Curry scores 49, Warriors win a thriller over Celtics 109-105

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND, Calif. — The game was billed as a preview of a possible NBA Finals series between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics.

The Warriors lost to the Celtics by four points last November and Golden State knew that they would be in a dogfight against Boston Saturday evening. The Celtics came into Oracle Arena with a lot of confidence as they beat the Warriors in Oakland the past two seasons. Celtics coach Brad Stevens had his team playing great defense, and they are ranked No. 1 in that department in the NBA. The Warriors, however, are not too shabby in that department. They also knew how to play defense, showing their abilities it in the second and third quarters of the game. It was touch and go all night long, but the Warriors came up with the clutch plays when needed, and they beat the Celtics 109-105.

The Celtics–behind a strong offensive performance by Kyrie Irving–outscored the Warriors 37-27 in the first 12 minutes of play. Irving scored 14 points in just nine minutes of action. He was 5-for-5 from the floor, and he knocked down two 3-point shots. The Warriors tied the game at 10, but the Celtics went on an 8-0 run and kept the Warriors at bay.  Former Cal standout, Jaylen Brown, scored 14 in the quarter. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 13.

The Warriors played defense in the second period as they held the Celtics to just 17 points. The Warriors tallied 23 and cut the deficit to four as they trailed 54-50 at the end of the first half. Curry led the Warriors with 16, and Kevin Durant scored 11. Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 19.

The Warriors got it going in the third quarter as they have done so many times this year. They continued to play great defense, and the offense perked up as they outscored Boston 30-19 and finished the period leading 80-73.

The Celtics, the best team in the Eastern Conference, showed the Warriors and the fans in Oracle Arena why they are the best in the East. Irving made a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game (90-89). Curry made a bucket, but the Celtics took the lead (93-92). The game was tied at 95 with just 2:36 to play. Steph hit a three and followed with a layup with 1:08 left to put the Warriors up by five. The Celtics’ Terry Rozier hit a trey to make it 105-104 with 7.7 seconds left on the clock. The Celtics fouled Curry, and he hit two free throws. The Celtics could not convert, so they fouled Curry again, and he iced the game by making the two free throws. The Warriors won 109-105 over a very tough and determined Celtics team.

Game Notes and Stats: Curry was the star of the game. He scored 49 points, and the fans were chanting “MVP, MVP” many times throughout the game. He scored 13 points in the last 1:32 of the game.

Draymond Green had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Also, he blocked three shots.

Durant had 20.

Klay Thompson scored just seven points, but he played a fantastic game on defense. The Warriors shot 45.2% from the floor, and they were 10-for-27 from three-point range. They also had six steals and nine blocks on defense.

Boston was led by Kyrie Irving’s 37 points. Jaylen Brown recorded 20 and Marcus Morris–coming off the bench–scored 12.

With the win, the Warriors are now 40-10 for the season, and Boston drops to 35-15.

Up Next: The Warriors will take on the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City 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.

Curry has 14th 30-point game of the season, Warriors defeat Knicks 123-112

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

After a nearly perfect road trip, the Golden State Warriors returned home to Oracle Arena to host the visiting New York Knicks. The Warriors were coming off a 116-108 win to the Houston Rockets Saturday. The Knicks were on the same boat as they suffered a 127-107 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday.

The Warriors’ starting lineup consisted of Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Zaza Pachulia, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.

Thompson hit a jumper to help the Warriors get going early in the first quarter. Curry followed with a 3-pointer. Then, Durant got it on the break and finished with a layup in the paint. Durant also made a quality pass to Kevon Looney, who put a two-point field goal into the net.

Despite the Warriors’ efforts, they trailed the Knicks by 10 (31-21) at the end of the first.

Fans were able to count on Curry, who came up with some artsy layups and 3s in the second quarter. Looney then stole the show with a successful rim shot attempt and the score was different by just two points late in the quarter.

The Warriors trailed the Knicks 60-58 at the half.

Here are the Warriors’ halftime stats:

There was a triple play in the third quarter in which the exciting action went like this: Pachulia to Durant to Green to the rim. The Warriors continued to have some good looks and Curry relieved fans with plenty of 3s.

For the first time in this game, the Warriors had a decent lead, as they led the Knicks by nine (95-86) at the end of the third.

Green joined the party of threes in the fourth quarter. Curry proceeded to catch and shoot a plethora of shots. Curry made a statement with his eighth three of the night with 2:16 left in regulation.

The Warriors defeated the Knicks 123-112 at home.

Here are the Warriors’ final stats:

Notes
Stephen Curry had his 14th 30-point game of the season with 32 points (8-of-15 3FG) to go with seven assists and six rebounds.

Kevin Durant had his 16th career point/assist double-double with 14 points and a career-high-tying 12 assists.

During NBA Fit Week, students learned about mindfulness with Stephen Curry as part of the Warriors’ Get Fit program, presented by Kaiser Permanente in partnership with Playworks NorCal.

Klay Thompson will be making his fourth consecutive NBA All-Star appearance.

Draymond Green got his third straight NBA All-Star selection.

Warriors are the first team in NBA history to have four All-Stars in consecutive seasons and will mark the ninth time in NBA history that a team has had four All-Stars appear in the game.

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Up Next
The Warriors host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday at 7:30 pm PT.

Kings take another fall in 112-107 loss to Hornets after Grizzlies’ rout

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Photo credit: @StrikaNation24_

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

Sacramento — The Sacramento Kings and the Charlotte Hornets both came into their game Monday evening coming off losses. The Kings lost in a big way on Friday night, losing to the Memphis Grizzlies 106-88. The Hornets, on the other hand, played a great game on Saturday. However, they fell 106-105 against the Miami Heat. The Kings and Hornets were looking to bounce back at the Spectrum Center on Monday.

The first quarter would prove to have plenty of offense in it. The Kings scored 33 and the Hornets scored 35 in the first quarter. The points in the first for the Kings came from all over the roster with no player having more than six points by the end of the first. Bogdan Bodanovic had five points in the first along with Fox and Hield. Kosta Koufos had six points in the first leading the Kings. Leading the Hornets in the first would be Jeremy Lamb with five points. Dwight Howard and Nicolas Batum each had seven, and Kembra Walker ended the first with eight points.

The second quarter would prove to be a good one. That is until the Hornets scored the last eight points in the second quarter. That would send the hornets into the locker room ahead 67-55 over the Kings. At the half, the Kings were shooting at 38.5% from downtown, and 46.2% in field goals while making two of three free throws.

The Hornets, on the other hand, shot 50% outside, 54.8% of field goals, and 11 of 13 free throws. Leading the way for the Kings was De’Aaron Fox with ten points after the first half. Kosta Koufos had six rebounds and Bogdanovic had four assists. The Hornets led the way with Jeremy Lamb scoring 13 points. Dwight Howard had eight rebounds and four assists for Kemba Walker.

Going into the third, it appeared the Kings had lost some steam with the Hornets scoring the last eight points of the first half. Carter started the third quarter by hitting a three. That made the score 68-58 with 10:32 to play in the third. The Kings had fallen behind 13 points with 7:56 to go in the third quarter. The score would be 73-60 when the Kings took a timeout. One of the lopsided figures so far in this game was free throws. With 5:37 to go in the third the Kings had made three of four free throws.

Meanwhile, the Hornets managed to make 12 of 15 attempts from the line. Bogdan Bogdanovic took a blow with 4:45 to play in the third. He was down for a minute but made his way back up. The officials took it to replay and determined it was not a flagrant and play resumed. The Kings would battle but end the third trailing 92-75.

The Hornets would extend extend their lead to 20 points with only 10:30 to play. The score at the time was 95-75. 8:14 remained in the game with the Kings trailing by 16 points and coach Dave Joerger took a timeout. The Kings continued to battle with Buddy Hield and the Kings going on a 15-6 run. With 4:57 to go, the Kings got the score back to a respectable 101-92. The game would go back to forth until the Kings made it 107-102. However, the Hornets would pull away and bury the Kings 112-107.

What’s next?
Kings: Tuesday against Orlando Magic in Orlando at 4 pm PST.

Hornets: Wednesday against New Orleans Pelicans at 4:30 pm PST.

Warriors lose to Rockets 116-108; Houston ends Golden State’s 14-game road win streak

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Photo credit: @ESPNStatsInfo

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors were looking to sweep their five-game road trip in Saturday’s primetime game against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.

The NBA on ABC/ESPN pregame hosts counted down JaVale McGee’s top 10 plays, Klay Thompson signed some autographs for the fans, and then the Warriors walked onto their court, sporting their “The Town” jerseys.

Both teams entered the building as two of the best Western Conference squads, but the Rockets started off on a high note, making five of their first six shots. The Warriors were down 14-7 early in the first quarter. Golden State continued to make shots to pick themselves up off the ground.

However, the Rockets had a high-scoring first quarter, and they led the Warriors 40-28.
Houston shot 15-for-22 from the field and 7-for-11 from the 3-point line.

Warriors’ Nick Young had some solid production off the bench, hitting each of his first three shots early in the second quarter. Also, David West did his thing, shooting 4-for-4 from the field for a total of eight points.

James Harden and Chris Paul put in some work. With less than two minutes left in the quarter, Steph Curry hit a three, but the Warriors continued to trail the Rockets 65-58 at the half. Harden and Paul combined for 30 first-half points.

Here are the Warriors’ halftime stats:

Warriors’ Kevin Durant made a high-impact play, a 4-point play, to open up the second half. Durant also dished a pass to Draymond Green to set up a 1-on-1 opportunity. In addition, Curry hit a 3-pointer to help out the Warriors.

The Warriors made it a game as they pulled within one, 92-91, at the end of the third quarter. Rockets’ P.J. Tucker came up big in the quarter.

Green tied the score with a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter. The Warriors were down by 17, but went up to 4 (104-100) with 6:45 left in the quarter.

Prior to the timeout, the Rockets led the Warriors 111-108 with 2:17 left in regulation. Houston continued to flip the switch as Harden hit a 3-pointer for a 114-108 lead over Golden State. Then, Paul made a pair of free throws with 28.2 seconds left.

Both Curry and Young missed their final 3-point shots, and the Warriors lost to the Rockets 116-108. With the loss, Golden State’s 14-game road win streak and 4-game overall win streak.

Notes
Warriors’ injury update: Andre Iguodala (left calf contusion) is out.

Former Warriors player Jason Richardson turned 37 today. He played for the Warriors for six seasons from 2001 to 2007.

When asked about closing out the road trip in Houston, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told the local media: “It’s a good way to close the trip…it should be a fun atmosphere.”

Warriors’ Steph Curry made his 600th career regular season start tonight in his 606th career regular season game.

Warriors’ Draymond Green has his fourth 20-point game of the season with 21 points; his third 20-point performance in his last six games.

Up Next
The Warriors return home for a three-game homestand. They’ll first host the Knicks this coming Tuesday at 7:30 pm PT.

Curry and Thompson carry Warriors past Bulls 119-112

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Photo credit: @nbastats

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors played the fourth game of their five-game road trip against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Wednesday night.

Prior to the lopsided matchup, the Warriors walked into Chicago with a three-game win streak–all on the road; while the Bulls had a two-game win streak in their hands.

The Warriors were hit by some bad luck as Jordan Bell sprained his left ankle during the game and never returned, but that didn’t affect their performance against the Bulls.

JaVale McGee is not quite a dunk icon yet, but he made a dunk late in the first quarter. The Warriors’ defense struggled a bit, but their offense allowed them to trail the Bulls by just two (40-38) at the end of the first.

David West got the block on one end and the assist at the other end. Klay Thompson continued doing his thing, hitting three-pointers. Steph Curry also went left off the glass. The Warriors continued to trail the Bulls, 66-63, at halftime.

Here are the Warriors’ halftime stats:

The Warriors started the second half on the right foot. The Splash Brothers were a combined 12 of 19 from the three-point range in the third quarter. Golden State also went on a tremendous 19-0 run to end the third on a high note.

The Warriors led the Bulls 95-78 at the end of the third.

Thompson continued to do Thompson things in the fourth quarter. In addition, Patrick McCaw pulled up for a two-point field goal, giving the Warriors a large 112-99 lead with five minutes left in regulation.

The Warriors beat the Bulls 119-112. With the win, Golden State won their fourth straight overall game and 13th consecutive road game, tying the fifth longest winning streak in NBA history.

Here are the Warriors’ final stats:

https://twitter.com/warriors/status/953830840030474240

Notes
Warriors’ injury update: Draymond Green (right shoulder soreness) and Andre Iguodala (left calf contusion) are out.

For the first time in franchise history, the Bulls have made 15+ three-pointers in three games in a row.

Up Next
The Warriors close out their road trip with a game against the Houston Rockets on Saturday at 7:30 pm CT.

The Thunder beat the Kings 95-88; Sacramento has lost five in a row

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings suffered their fifth loss in a row as the Oklahoma City Thunder won 95-88 at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Monday night. The Kings’ losing streak may not end anytime soon with their intensified commitment to player development continues.

Sacramento went with a very young starting five on Monday night. Dave Joerger tapped Skal Labissiere, Willie Cauley-Stein, Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Aaron Fox and Garrett Temple to start the game. Temple was the only starter who was not playing on his original NBA contract and he played just under 18 minutes in the game.

Buddy Hield and Justin Jackson saw significant playing time coming off the bench for Sacramento. Veteran point guard George Hill played just over 24 minutes, but that may be the Kings trying to showcase Hill for a possible trade. There have been persistent rumors that the Nuggets have real interest in picking up Hill who has become expendable with the emergence of Frank Mason.

The Kings played well in the first-half and actually held the lead at halftime 52-46. De’Aaron Fox and George Hill each scored 10 points in the half to lead the Sacramento scoring attack.

As it has been so often this season, the third quarter was the Kings downfall. The Thunder outscored Sacramento 31-16 in the quarter. Carmelo Anthony put up 15 points for OKC shooting 5 for 11 in the period. The Kings used nine players in the quarter but only three of them scored. Willie Cauley-Stein posted seven points, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored six and Garrett Temple recorded three points.

The Kings had a glimmer of hope in the fourth quarter when Russell Westbrook received back-to-back technical fouls and was ejected from the game with 2:51 remaining to play in the contest and the Thunder leading 91-80.

Sacramento was never able to cut the Oklahoma City lead to less than seven points and wound up losing the game 95-88. The Kings are now 13-30 on the season and reside in last-place in the Western Conference. The Thunder’s record improved to 24-20 which puts them in fifth-place in the Western Conference.

Stars of the Game

Thunder

  • The “Big Three” for OKC take the honors and that is really no surprise. Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 20 points shooting 7 for 19 and grabbing nine rebounds as well. Russell Westbrook posted a double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Paul George put 18 points in the book.
  • Steven Adams receives the award for “mouth of the game”. The big man did not stop chirping at the officials throughout entire contest. If Westbrook was ejected for going overboard with his complaints, Adams should have received the same punishment. The constant negative chatter directed at the officials has to stop. Adams scored 13 points shooting 5 for 11 from the floor, but he hit only 3 of 12 from the charity stripe.

Kings

  • Buddy Hield led the scoring attack for Sacramento. Hield came off the bench to score 16 points in almost 28 minutes on the floor. Hield shot just 6 for 15 and was 0 for 5 from behind the 3-Point line. He was a perfect 4 for 4 at the free throw line.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein had another strong game. The Kings starting center played 39 minutes and 52 seconds in the game and scored 15 points. He hit 6 of 13 field goal attempts while pulling down seven rebounds and adding three steals.

Key Stats

OKC

  • The Thunder out-rebounded the Kings 58-37. Of their 58 rebounds, 18 came on offense. Those 18 offensive rebounds turned into 13 second chance points for the Thunder.
  • Turnovers: OKC had 20 TOV but they led to just seven points for Sacramento. The Kings committed 15 turnovers which the Thunder turned into 18 points.

SAC

  • The Kings had a 15 point lead at one point in the game.
  • SAC scored 13 second chance points converting 5 of 6 opportunities.
  • The used 10 players in the game including Georgios Papagiannis.

Up Next

Kings

SAC will host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night at the Golden 1 Center. The Kings will then head out on a six game road trip – the longest of the year.

Thunder

OKC will host the Lakers on Wednesday night.

Warriors pick up third straight road win with 118-108 victory over Cavaliers

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors continued their road trip with a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on Monday.

The Warriors’ starters consisted of Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Jordan Bell, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.

Thompson got things going in Cleveland with a catch and shoot early in the first quarter. He got a total of 11 points in his speedy run.

However, the Cavs went toe-to-toe with the Warriors and they were up 25-23 with 4:14 left in the first. Golden State then tied the game at 25 on a commanding two-point shot by Durant.

The Warriors trailed the Cavs 37-35 at the end of the first.

Curry, Durant and Shaun Livingston made the necessary shots in the second quarter, but the Warriors continued to trail the Cavs 64-57 at halftime.

Here are the Warriors’ halftime stats:

Durant and Green weren’t having it in the third quarter. Curry dunked like it was nothing. Curry also took a pass from Durant and attacked the rim with a two-handed jam. In addition, Curry hit quite a few 3-pointers.

But the Warriors had to settle for a two-point lead, 93-91, over the Cavs at the end of the third. Golden State had hoped for a strong finish in a tough matchup against Cleveland.

The Warriors got their largest lead of the game in the fourth quarter. Nick Young made a jumper to give his team a 10-point lead with 5:08 left in regulation. Green had a perfect vision to Andre Iguodala.

The Warriors finished off the Cavs to win the game 118-108 for their third straight road win.

Here are the Warriors’ final stats:

Notes
Warriors’ injury update: Omri Casspi (low back soreness), Andre Iguodala (hip flexor strain) and Shaun Livingston is (left shin contusion) are available to play.

Cavs’ injury update: Derrick Rose (left ankle sprain) and Iman Shumpert (left knee effusion) are out.

When the holiday became nationally recognized in 1986, Cleveland has played on MLK Day 16 times (9-7 record). Today was the 11th time the Cavs will play on the holiday at home and will just be the fifth time the Cavs have played on MLK Day at Quicken Loans Arena (2002 vs. Heat, 2014 vs. Mavs, 2015 vs. Bulls, 2016 vs. Warriors).

Up Next
The Warriors take on the Bulls in Chicago on Wednesday at 7 pm CT.