Tag: NBA

The Warriors trounce the Lakers, Make NBA History

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The magic continues. The Golden State Warriors made NBA history Tuesday night as the won the sixteenth game in a row to establish a new record for the best start by a team. The Warriors broke the record by a defending champion starting a season when they won their fifteenth game in a row Sunday night in Denver. Tuesday night, they broke the record shared by the  1948-49 Washington Capitals and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets. Those teams started the season 15-0. Never in the seventy-year history of the NBA has a team started the season 16-0. Not the Boston Celtics or the Los Angeles Lakers or the Chicago Bulls. All those teams were great, but none of them ever did what the Warriors accomplished this season. The Warriors routed the lowly Los Angeles Lakers 111-77 at the Oracle Arena. The once-mighty LA Lakers were no match for the vastly superior Dubs. The tables have turned. The Lakers owned the Warriors for years. The Lakers, second in the NBA, with multiple championships to their credit,  have literally gone from the penthouse to the outhouse. The Dubs, on the other hand, are the toast of the NBA. They are fun to watch. The Dubs play the basketball the right way. They have no egos. They share the ball. They run the court, find the open man. They rebound. They are, in the opinion of many, the class of the NBA. In addition, they want to be better than the were last year and all they did last year was win the NBA Championship.

The Lakers starting five was made up of Julius Randle, Roy Hibbert, Kobe Bryant, D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson. Their aging superstar, Bryant, is having a subpar season so far. Bryant came into the game averaging sixteen points a game. He had, however, one of the worst games of his career. He hit just one field goal in fourteen tries and scored just four points in the game to match a career low. Injuries to his ankle, knee and shoulder have affected his play. Looks like it may be his last season. It is his twentieth season in the league and he has reached the advanced basketball age of thirty-seven.

The game was actually close for the first 3 minutes and twelve seconds of the first period. The score was tied at five at that point. The Warriors never trailed. The increased the lead to 8-5 and then went on a 15-0 run. The first period ended with the Warriors up by nineteen. The score at the end of one period was 30-11. The Dubs defense thwarted the Lakers at every turn. Draymond Green scored twelve to lead the Dubs.

In the second period, the Lakers played better and actually outscored the Warriors 27-24 but trailed 54-38 at the end of the half. It was the fewest amount of points in any half this year for the Lakers. The Lakers’ Lou Williams scored ten points to lead the Lakers. The Warriors had nineteen assists on   the twenty-two field goals made. This stat indicated how well the Dubs moved the ball and how well they found the open man.

The Warriors blew the game open in the third period. They scored thirty-five and held the Lakers to seventeen. The Warriors had an 11-0 run as Steph and Company blew away the Lakers. Interim coach, Luke Walton decided to keep Steph, Klay, Bogut, Green and Harrison Barnes on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. Final score 111-77.

Game Notes- Steph Curry tallied twenty-four points for the night. He hit four three-point shots and had nine assists. Draymond added eighteen, Klay had eleven and Leandro Barbosa, coming off the bench, had thirteen.

After the game, Steph had this to say when, if ever, did he think the Dubs would lose. Steph couldn’t really answer tat question but he said this about the team ” we play at a high level every night.” He also said this about setting the record “there have been a lot of great players in the league and no one has accomplished what this team did tonight.” Not Bill Russell, not Wilt Chamberlain, not Jerry West, not Larry Bird, not Magic Johnson, not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and not Michael Jordan.

The Warriors will try to make it 17-0 Friday night. They travel to Phoenix to play the Suns.

CongratulationsGolden State Warriors Point Guard Stephen Curry in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to the Dubs for a record-setting performance.

 

 

 

 

Kings’ defense leads to loss, 116-109, in offensive shootout against Heat

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by: Michael Martinez

picture credit Google Images

SACRAMENTO-  Coming off a tough loss against the Hawks the night before, the Sacramento Kings (4-8) looked to continue their solid play against the Miami Heat (6-4). After notching another triple-double against the Hawks, his 4th of the season, Rajon Rondo looked to carry the Kings who were without Demarcus Cousins due to a 1 game after a hitting Al Horford in the face with a forearm. Rondo did all he could to lead the Kings and was one rebound shy of another triple-double, but the Kings lack of defensive effort and carelessness with the ball on the offensive end (18 turnovers) cost them the game. The Kings lost to the Heat, 116-109, in Miami at American Airlines Arena.

As the game got underway, the Heat got off to a slow start, while the Kings began to score points in the paint, per usual. As the quarter progressed, Heat big man Hassan Whiteside picked up 2 fouls within 4 minutes, forcing Amar’e Stoudemire to come in. The Kings had no answer for Stoudemire, who put up 10 points in the 1st quarter, shooting 4-5 from the field. The 1st quarter had little offense, but the Heat went on an 8-3 run and a 9-2 run later in the quarter, which gave them the lead. The Kings best offensive player was Rudy Gay who scored 7 points, 3-6, while adding 3 rebounds. Rondo did a good job of pushing the ball into the paint with 4 assists and kicking the ball out to Marco Belinelli who scored 6 points, 2-3 from behind the arc. The Kings collectively shot 52.9%, 9-17, with 10 points in the paint, however with the Heat ending the quarter on a run, they led 25-21 to end the 1st quarter.

Starting off the 2nd quarter, the Heat continued their run from the 1st quarter, making it a 14-2 run. Willie Cauley-Stein had a big block on the Heat rookie Justise Winslow and Belinelli stopped the run after he was fouled behind the 3 point line, sinking all 3 shots from the charity stripe. The Kings were able to flip the script and go on a 8-2 run, however their defense looked slow and lackluster. The Kings allowed the Heat to get into the paint much too often, 20 points in the paint in the 2nd quarter alone and 30 points for the half. Cousins’ presence as a big body in the paint was definitely missed throughout the night. On the offensive end, the Kings scored a little more, however their shooting percentage lowered. Ben McLemore put up 5 points on 2-4 shooting, with a field goal from behind the arc, finishing the game with 17 points on 7-12 shooting. Dwayne Wade was also an issue for the Kings by putting up 9 points in the 2nd quarter alone, 6-12 FG and 13 points for the half. Gay finished with 11 points to end the first half, 5-10 shooting, adding 8 rebounds. With the Heat’s offense getting easy buckets, they continued to hold their lead 56-46 going into the locker room.

The Kings looked to come out of the locker room with a vengeance as they went on a 15-4 scoring run, including the end of the 2nd quarter. After the Heat had seen enough, they wound up going on a run of their own. Whiteside brought unmatched energy and his blocking ability was unreal throughout the 3rd. Dwayne Wade started right where he left off and his shot looked really good. Rondo looked to help the Kings as he distributed the ball extremely well in the paint, especially to Cauley-Stein. Even though the Kings began to falter, Rondo’s play was keeping them in the game as he scored his first points of the quarter in the 3rd. Rondo only scored 4 points in the quarter, but notched 8 assists in the quarter alone. McLemore and Cauley-Stein benefitted from this, both scoring 7 points in the 3rd. The Kings were able to stick around by shooting 61.9% from the field, 66.7% from behind the arc in the 3rd alone, and shooting over 50% for the game. The Heat kept their lead, however, up 82-76 heading in the final 12 minutes of play.

The 4th quarter for the Kings was a lot of clawing and scratching, although at first the Kings let the Heat go up by 16 at one point. The defense was doing a terrible job of keeping defenders in front of them and keeping a hand in shooters’ faces at all times. The momentary lapses on defense crushed the Kings even though they started to come back. Rondo was a huge part of this by adding 10 points in the 4th, with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Rondo’s vision allowed him to get open looks for Belinelli who put up 10 in the 4th as well. Belinelli finished the game with a team high 23 points, shooting 5-11 from the field, 5-10 from 3 point range. Although the Kings tried to fight their way back into the game, Chris Bosh had himself a solid 4th. Bosh put up 13 points in the 4th, 23 for the game on 8-12 shooting and 11 rebounds to give himself a double-double. Wade finished with a game high 24 points. The Kings and Heat had a back and forth shootout, where both sides kept making three pointers. The Kings comeback attempt was hindered when Gay left early with a left shoulder strain. Rondo’s overall play, 14 points, the NBA’s season best 18 assists, and 9 rebounds was just not enough to get the victory. The absence of defensive stops gave the Heat the win over the Kings, 116-109.

After dropping their 2nd straight game in back to back night’s, the Kings are now 4-9 on the season. Minus Cousins and losing Gay in a close game hurt the Kings chances of defeating Miami. The loss is not one to dwell on completely as Rondo continues to play at an extremely high level and the Kings’ shooting percentage was 51.2% for the game, in part to Belinelli and McLemore’s shooting. With a slow start to the season. McLemore’s confidence looks much higher than it once was. The Kings will take on the Orlando Magic this Saturday and to get their first road win, they will have to take care of the ball and play much better defense.

 

 

Spurs hand Kings 6th straight loss, 106-88, after Sacrameto’s 4th quarter meltdown

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by Michael Martinez

picture credit Google Images

SACRAMENTO- On a night where the Kings celebrated women in sports, especially with Becky Hammon and Nancy Lieberman being the first opposing women coaches in NBA history to square off, the Kings looked to end their losing woes. Against one of the deepest teams in the NBA, the Kings knew they would have their hands full. While the Sacramento Kings continue to search for a way to stop their opponents on the defensive end, the San Antonio Spurs capitalized with offensive runs. As the Kings stuck around with the Spurs for the first 3 quarters, they collapsed on every end of the floor in the 4th, even with All Star Demarcus Cousins back in the lineup. Every ounce of hope the Kings had prior to the 4th quarter, was quickly lost when the Spurs outscored, out hustled and out played the Kings in all aspects of the game. The Spurs handed the Kings their 6th straight loss at Sleep Train Arena, defeating the Kings 106-88.

The Kings got their offense going in the 1st with a nice fast break push where Rudy Gay assisted Demarcus Cousins for a big jam. The 1st quarter was more about defense and the team’s willingness to hustle and put forth their best effort. The Kings held the Spurs to a shooting percentage of 37.5% from the field, 9-24. The Kings made sure to pressure the Spurs’ ball handlers at all times and kept a hand in their face. The team also did well crashing the glass, finishing the quarter with 15 rebounds. Most importantly, the Kings pushed the ball and had 14 points in the paint. As they pushed the ball around the perimeter, the team did a good job of getting the ball close to the hoop for easy looks. Cousins struggled early on, but finished the quarter with 8 points, shooting 3-8 from the field, adding 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Rajon Rondo matched Cousins with 8 points as well, shooting 4-4 from the field. Rondo’s jumper looked solid in the first quarter, which was important with Darren Collison inactive. Rondo played the whole quarter and with his efforts, the Kings held a lead over the Spurs 24-23 to end the 1st.

After a great 1st quarter, the Kings hoped to bring the same defensive effort to the 2nd quarter. Both teams started off slow, but Rondo quickly helped the Kings out with his passing ability. Rondo has great vision and he did a nice job of seeing Marco Belinelli coming off screens and anticipating when he would be open. The combination of the two helped the Kings score early on, but when Belinelli started missing the mark, the offense slowed down big time. As the offense slowed, the defensive end began to allow the Spurs to score and the Spurs went on an 8-0 run in the middle of the 2nd. Ben McLemore ended the run by driving to the hoop and scoring on a lay-up. The big blow to the Kings was their defense, allowing the Spurs to shoot 57.1% from the field in the 2nd. The Kings did not do enough to get to the paint and stop the Spurs in the paint. Rondo, who played the entire first half, finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Bellineli finished the half with 10 points, 4-7 from the field, 2-2 from behind the arc, with all points coming in the 2nd quarter. Cousins picked up a technical foul towards the end of the quarter and the Kings sloppy 2nd quarter, 5 turnovers, put them down 49-43 to end the first half.

After a disappointing 2nd quarter, the Kings looked to stay close with the Spurs. Gay started the quarter off strong, making all 6 of his points in the first 5 minutes. The Kings did a good job of scoring, but after tying the game at 55, the defense fell apart. Once the score was tied up, the Spurs went on an 11-0 run. The Kings defense was playing poorly, but once Kawhi Leonard came out of the game, the Kings began to find a bit of a rhythm. The Kings went on a 10-3 run late in the 3rd with Cousins getting to the foul line often. Cousins put up 13 points in the 3rd, going 9-12 from the free throw line. He shot 2-6 from the field and added 5 rebounds and 1 assist. To end the quarter, the Kings pushed the ball, playing to their up-tempo offense and were only down 72-69 to end the 3rd.

The Kings looked to make a stand and tried to pull out a win against the Spurs only down by 3. However, for the Kings, they allowed their opponents to score with ease. The Spurs began to pour it on when they went on a 22-0 run. Patty Mills contributed to this run by not only putting up 7 points while adding 6 assists in the 4th alone. Mills finished with 8 assists and 9 points. Omri Casspi was the little offense the Kings had, scoring 9 points on 4-6 shooting with 2 rebounds. All of the Kings star players, Gay, Rondo and Cousins did not do much on either end to help the Kings. With the Kings down, fans began to leave with 6:31 remaining in the game, as they were tired of watching the Kings get outrebounded and out hustled. The Kings’ players began to play selfishly and when the ball movement died down, the Kings did as well. The 4th quarter was the difference in the game as the Kings never found any moment on either end of the court, losing 106-88.

When asked about the 4th quarter, Coach George Karl said “Bad offense, creates bad defense.”

The Kings’ poor shot selection created easy opportunities for the Spurs to score.

In his first game back, Cousins was out of sync with his mid range jumper. Typically Cousins is money from mid range, but being a little rusty he shot 5-20 from the field. Cousins did a good job of getting contact at the rim and shot 11-15 from the charity stripe. Rondo played all 48 minutes and after a good scoring first quarter, he finished with the same 8 points and totaling 6 rebounds and 12 assists. The Kings shot 40.5% from the field for the game and 36.8% from behind the arc. The team was out played in the 4th quarter and hopefully the Kings can find a quick solution.

The solution might not be that easy though, as the Kings seem to have some issues in the locker room. Cousins told reporters that their would be a players only meeting and said “Just to make it clear, I believe in every single person in this room. We just got to stick together.”

Cousins reiterated this idea throughout the post game interview and it will be interesting to see if the Kings can figure it out at tomorrow’s practice.

I asked Gay if the difficultly of their schedule has played a factor in their 6 game losing streak.

“Not having a rhythm completely, and then playing against playoff teams, it doesn’t help,” said Gay.

The Kings will once again be tested by a good team as they take on the Pistons at home this Wednesday. The Kings will need to find an answer on the defensive end of the floor as newly crowned player of the week, Andre Drummond, looks to continue his domination.

The Warriors continue their winning ways, defeat the Detroit Pistons

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by Jerry Feitelberg

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photo courtesy of Google Images

The Golden State Warriors continued their winning ways Monday night by defeating the Detroit Pistons 109-95 at the Oracle Arena. The Pistons, coached by Stan Van Gundy, entered the game with a 5-1 record and had won three straight on the road. The Pistons’ stars are point guard Reggie Jackson and center Andre Drummond. Jackson scored twenty and Drummond had fourteen points and fifteen rebounds in Monday nights’ game.

The Warriors’ Steph Curry had a tough night as he missed five of his first seven shots and finished the night 7 for 18 and 22 points. Klay Thompson led the Dubs with 24. The Warriors led 27-15 after the first period and 55-46 at the half. The Dubs played good defense and were able to keep the Pistons at bay but could not put them away. Golden State led by 15 with seven minutes left in the third period but the Pistons clawed their way back due to the play of Stanley Johnson and Marcus Morris. Johnson, coming off the bench, notched twenty points for Detroit. The Pistons trailed by just four points 80-76 at the end of the third period. The Warriors then outscored the Pistons 29-19 in the fourth period to ice the win. They were able to run the court. The Pistons could not keep up with the pace, and the Dubs pulled away. Final score 109-95 for Golden State.

Game notes- The Warriors improved to 8-0 for the season and remain the only unbeaten team in the NBA. Detroit drops to 5-2. The Warriors had five players in double figures. Andrew Bogut was cleared to play, and he had 8 points in nineteen minutes of action. Festus Ezeli and Mo Speights played well and kept Andre Drummond under control.

The Warriors defeated the Piston for the ninth straight time, and they won their 23rd straight home game. The Warriors will be Memphis on Wednesday to play the Grizzlies for the second time this season.

Golden State Cruises Past Nuggets To Stay A Perfect 6-0 On The Season.

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By Shawn Whelchel

The Golden State Warriors stayed perfect on the season at the conclusion of Friday night’s contest, as an explosive first-half of play saw them easily dispatch the Denver Nuggets in a 119-104 victory at Oracle Arena.

The game seemed all but won for Golden State at the conclusion of the second quarter, when the reigning NBA champions took a 30 point lead into the locker room. But Denver refused to be downed quietly, mounting an admirable second half charge- outscoring Golden State by 15 through the final two frames- before ultimately suffering their fourth loss of the season.

Golden State’s hot start was too much to handle for the Nuggets, who gave up 74 first-half points to the Warriors before heading into the locker room. Leading the pack was none other than Steph Curry himself, who finished the night just shy of a triple-double with 34 points, seven rebounds, 10 assists and three steals. Harrison Barnes followed Curry with 21 points and five rebounds, Klay Thompson had 18 points and six rebounds, and Draymond Green finished just short of his own triple-double with 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Although Curry stole the offensive show, he wasn’t alone in his endevour, as all of the Warriors’ starters finished in double-digits. The team as a whole shot 49.5 percent on the night while tying their second highest point total on the season. Golden State has now scored 119 points three times through their first six games.

The Warriors put on an unselfish clinic on the night too, as their 28 first-half assists were a new franchise record.

Denver was led by SF Danilo Gallinari, who had an efficient night from the field, shooting 7-of-13 for 25 points. Golden State was able to contain the talented Kenneth Faried, who scored just eight points- the least amongst Denver starters- in 21 minutes on the court.

Golden State is now a perfect 6-0 against Western conference teams, and 2-0 against those in the Pacific division. The team has another divisional matchup on Saturday, as the Curry brothers will meet when Golden State takes on Sacramento at Sleep Train Arena. Tip off starts at 7 p.m.

Suns down Kings, 118-97, as Sacramento gives poor defensive effort

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by Michael Martinez

picture credit Google Images

SACRAMENTO- After a mediocre performance at home the night before, the Kings looked to pick up the slack from last night. The defense needed improvement and so did the offense. The offense did improve, but the defense was even more horrendous than the night before. With Demarcus Cousins out for the second consecutive game, the Kings hoped to fill his void with Rudy Gay and Rajon Rondo, but neither player truly stepped up. With some many open looks and letting the Suns shoot the ball at a high percentage, the Kings lost to the Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena, 118-97, never once holding the lead.

The Kings starting lineup added a couple of new members with Darren Collison and James Anderson. As the Kings have done a lot lately, they started the game down early as the Suns took a 9-2 lead with 9 minutes remaining. The Kings transition and perimeter defense looked poor from the start and was a trend throughout the game. Rondo had his hands full all night being asked to guard Eric Bledsoe who put up 10 points in the first quarter. The Kings kept allowing the Suns to get wide open looks although their defense started to improve towards the end of the 1st. On the offensive end of the court, the Kings did not do much with Rudy Gay having a rough night. Gay has been unable to fill the large hole the Kings are left, without All Star Demarcus Cousins. Kosta Koufos and Rondo were the only real offense in the 1st with a measly 4 points a piece. Phoenix took advantage of the Kings’ poor defense and shooting, 38.1% from the field, to take a 28-18 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.

With the Kings looking to turn things around, they started off the quarter with Omri Casspi missing 2 free throws. Missing free throws has become a trend for the Kings as of late who are the worst free throw shooting team in the league according to ESPN. The Kings were not careless with the ball, however their shot selection was poor and when driving to the hoop they were out of control. The Kings began to turn things around when they were able to attack the basket and get the ball in the paint to Koufos who put up 6 points in the 2nd quarter and shooting 5 for 6 with 6 rebounds at the end of the 1st half. Unfortunately, even with a little bit of better ball movement, the Kings could not stop the Suns on the defensive end. Most of the Suns players scored in the 2nd quarter to hold the lead, 49-40, at the end of the 1st half.

After a pretty effortless 1st half, the Kings came out with fire under their belts. James Anderson came out on fire as he hit 3 3 pointers quickly as the Kings went on a 15-6 run to start the 3rd quarter. The Kings did a good job of swinging the ball around the perimeter and pushing towards the hoop on fast breaks. The Kings almost matched their first quarter total of 18 points in less than 5 minutes and tied the game at 55 all. This caused the Suns to take a timeout and after the timeout, Phoenix never looked back. Brandon Knight, who had no points in the 1st half, came alive and found his stroke. Knight was 5-8 from the field, going 2-4 behind the arc, scoring 12 points in the 3rd alone. Koufos continued to help the Kings with his presence when he finished the 3rd with 14 points, yet the Kings could not find a way to get back in the game. The Suns went on a 26-14 run after the Kings tied the game. The score at the end of the quarter was 81-69, the Suns over the Kings.

If the Kings had any hopes of getting back into the ball game, they needed to step up their defense. Nonetheless, the Kings could not do so and the Suns shot 65.2% from the field in the 4th quarter and scored 37 points. Alex Len broke out big for the Suns as he scored 14 points in the fourth on 6-9 shooting. Len would finish the game with 16 points. Bledsoe had a game high of 19 points going 8-18 from the field and Knight finished with 17 points shooting 7-16. Even though the Kings left open way too many shooters and allowed easy finishes, Marco Bellineli did a good job of shooting the ball tonight. He scored 8 points in the fourth quarter, had 15 in the game on 6-11 shooting including 2-5 from beyond the arc. Koufos was the Kings best player tonight, finishing with 16 points going 8-11 from the field with 7 boards. Anderson finished the game with 15 points but on a poor 33% shooting percentage. The Kings finished the game shooting 47.6% from the field and 45.8% from downtown. The Suns held the lead the entire way by shooting 54.2% from the field and incredible 60.9% from 3 point range, giving them the victory over the Kings, 118-97.

As the Kings continue to play poorly, they really need to get effort from their big names, particularly Gay and Rondo. Without Cousins, the Kings seem to be lost and are not showing any reason why they should be a playoff contender. Hopefully for the Kings, Cousins will be able to play in their home game this Friday against the Rockets. The Kings will need to figure out how to stop shooters on the perimeter as James Harden comes to town, otherwise it is going to be another miserable night.

Kings look sloppy at home, lose to the Grizzlies, 103-89

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By Michael Martinez

picture credit Google Images

SACRAMENTO- Any team that has to play a playoff caliber team without their starting All Star center is going to struggle. Not only is it difficult to play without your only All Star, but when the team you are playing lost by 50 the night before, you know you could be in even more trouble. Without Demarcus Cousins, who is dealing with an achilles injury, the Kings looked lost and hopeless in many aspects. As nobody was able to step up to replace Cousins, the Kings ball movement was lifeless, the defense was filled with holes and the Grizzlies got an easy win at Sleep Train Arena, 103-89, boosting their morale after an embarrassing loss to the Warriors the night before.

For the Kings, the whole game was not a complete disaster as the 1st quarter went well. To start the 1st quarter, the Kings looked sluggish on the offensive and defensive end. They allowed the Grizzlies to take an early 7 point lead, but nevertheless the Kings came back swinging with a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 2. The Kings began to put themselves in a better position with good ball movement and Rudy Gay’s hustle really helped as well. When Gay was asked to guard Zach Randolph, he used his length to his advantage on the defensive end and his speed on the offensive end as well. Gay put up 8 points in the first quarter by attacking the rim and getting good looks from the field. Marco Belinelli also helped the Kings by finishing the quarter with 8 points on 2 for 2 shooting behind the arc. The Kings began to cause Memphis to turn the ball over and by shooting 58.8% from the field the Kings finished the quarter with a 29-25 lead.

Entering the 2nd quarter with a 4 point lead over the Grizzlies, the Kings looked to continue scoring on the offensive end. However, the second quarter was absolutely atrocious for the Kings in many ways. Nobody on the team could hit the broad side of the barn with their shots, including free throws. Free throws aka free points were more of a kryptonite for the Kings who finished the half shooting 57.1% from the charity stripe. Their field goal percentage also dropped 20% as they finished the quarter shooting 37.5% from the field. Gay looked to continue to step up but his shot was completely out of sync. The ball movement was stagnant as the Kings had 0 assists in the 2nd quarter. Sloppy play and being out rebounded, 27 to 16, caused the Kings to be outscored. Without Demarcus Cousins and with Kosta Koufos in foul trouble, it was to be expected but this hurt the Kings. Luckily the Grizzlies did not play well either, except they had a couple big put back jams from Jaymychal Green and Courtney Lee, which were the only real highlights of the quarter. The Grizzlies finished the quarter with a fast break lay up at the buzzer to take a 50-40 lead as they outscored the Kings 25-11.

After an awful second quarter, the Kings hoped to come out of the locker room with a vengeance. Unfortunately for the home team, their defense looked even sloppier than the quarter before. The Grizzlies continuously got wide open shots and were able to get easy hoops close to the basket. Randolph came out strong and had 8 points in the quarter. He finished the game with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Although the Kings scored more than they did in the second quarter, thanks to Gay and Darren Collison, their field goal percentage dropped to 37% for the game. The ball movement that helped the Kings play well in the preseason became nonexistent in the 3rd quarter. A lot of selfish play put the Kings in a bad position even though they put up 27 points in the 3rd. As the Kings’ defense failed to improve, the Grizzlies led 83-67 to end the 3rd.

With the Kings down by 16 to start the 4th, Cousins sat with his teammates on the bench to try and encourage a come back. The come back was not meant to be, as nobody on the team could get enough offense going to cut the Grizzlies lead. Belinelli had a nice pass to Willie Cauley-Stein for a big dunk, but once Coach George Karl saw the lead was too much, the bench players came in. For the Grizzlies, Brendan Wright did a good job in the 4th quarter off the bench. Wright finished with 10 points on 4 for 5 shooting, adding 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Although the Kings outscored the Grizzlies, 22-20 in the 4th, they simply could not shoot the ball all night. They finished the game with a 39.2 shooting percentage and shot 60% from the free throw line.

The only bright spots for the Kings, more like dim spots, was the scoring of Collison and Gay. Collison finished the game with 18 points, but uncharacteristically only had 1 assist. Gay finished the game with 19 points, adding 5 rebounds and 3 assists. The Kings biggest problem was that there was very little ball movement. After 7 assists in the 1st quarter, they finished the game with only 17 assists. Without the team’s best scorer and rebounder, the Kings are going to need Rajon Rondo to create open shots and the Kings’ shooters are going to need to hit open shots and get better looks. The Kings will take on the Phoenix Suns tomorrow night, where hopefully they can improve in every aspect as Cousins will be sitting out once again.

The Warriors blow away the Grizzlies, win by fifty

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by Jerry Feitelberg

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The Golden State Warriors won their fourth game of the season Monday night against the Memphis Grizzlies at the Oracle Arena. Monday’s game was the first meeting between the two teams since the Warriors eliminated the Grizzlies in the playoffs last season. In that series, the Warriors lost two of the first three games but rallied to win the next three to eliminate Memphis and continue their run to the NBA title. The Warriors knew that they would have to contain Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph to win. The Warriors stopped them cold and after a very low scoring first period, they put on a performance at both ends of the court to blow the Grizzlies away, beating them by fifty points. The final score was 119-69 for Golden State.

The first period was fairly even as the Grizzlies slowed the game down. The Warriors did manage to take a six-point lead with 4:03 left to play in the period, but the Grizzlies came back and led 22-21 at the end of the first twelve minutes of play.

The second period belonged to the Warriors. Steph Curry and company picked up the tempo of the game. The Warriors moved the ball well. They ran the court and dazzled the Grizzlies. The Warrior defense was spectacular as they held the Grizzlies to just 28& from the floor. The Grizzlies could not make a three-point shot. Draymond Green and Festus Ezeli blocked shots and cleared the boards for the Dubs. The Warriors led 29-26 with almost three minutes played in the second period. They never looked back. They increased the lead to eleven leading 4-0-29 then 47-31 with two minutes left in the half. The Dubs finished the half with a nineteen point lead 53-34.

The Warriors, led by Steph Curry’s twenty-one points in the third period, iced the game for Golden State. Curry was brilliant again. At one point, he made two steals on defense. Curry demoralized Memphis with his brilliance. The Warriors were on a 52-16 run at this time in the game. They finished the third period with a 93-49 advantage. Interim coach, Luke Walto, pulled his regulars from the contest. Ian Clark, James Michael McAdoo, Brandon Rush, Jason Thompson and Mo Speights played the entire fourth period. Final score 119-69.

Game Notes- Steph Curry finished the night with thirty points to lead the Warriors in scoring. Klay Thompson had fourteen and Ian Clark, coming off the bench , finished with fifteen. Festus Ezeli had ten rebounds. Draymond Green recorded nine and Mo Speights had eight. Green had eight assists to lead the Warriors in that category. Leading scorers for Memphis were Marc Gasol with thirteen and Michael Conley with ten.

The Warriors set another record as they won their twentieth straight game at home. They face the Los Angeles Clippers  Wednesday night at the Oracle Arena. The Clippers, led by Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, are aiming to send the Dubs a message. The Dubs and the Clips do not like each other, and the game should be a bruising battle between two elite teams. Game time will be at 7:30 pm.

Curry Shows Up Harden, Downs Houston 112-92

Published on by swhelchLeave a comment

By Shawn Whelchel

In their first meeting of the 2015 NBA season, Steph Curry gave James Harden a first-hand demonstration as to why he was voted the leagues MVP over the disgruntled Rockets player, dropping 25 points while leading his team to a 112-92 victory on Friday.

The league MVP and NBA Champion shot an efficient 9-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, while also dishing out six assists and grabbing seven rebounds in 27 minutes of play. Curry’s MVP challenger struggled for the second straight game, shooting just 4-for-18 for 16 points on the night in a losing effort.

Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson, Marreese Speights and Andre Iguodala all finished in double-digits for Golden State, with Speights leading the group with 14 points on the night.

The contest was tight and physical through the first quarter, with Golden State holding on to just a one point lead at the end of the first quarter. But a posterizing dunk from Barnes on Houston center Dwight Howard seemed to energize the team and swing the match in their favor, as they jumped out to a comfortable 57-44 lead at the half.

Golden state would continue to expand upon their lead as the game went on, cruising their way to a 20 point victory by the games end. The team worked their way into a 2-0 record, while denying Houston their first win of the season.

Houston was led by Montrezl Harrell’s 17 points off the bench, followed by Harden’s 16. Even without C Andrew Bogut, Golden State was able to limit Dwight Howard’s impact on the game, holding him to just nine points on 4-of-11 shooting and seven rebounds.

The Western conference runner ups were clearly frustrated by being steadily handled by the reigning NBA champions, as both Harrell and Houston coach Kevin McHale were called for technical fouls during the night’s contest. The team suffered a 4-1 series exit at the hands of Golden State before the team moved on to the NBA Finals last season.

The team will now move on to continue their win streak with their second game of the season against the New Orleans Pelicans on the road on Saturday, their first back-to-back games of the season.

 

Lakers and Warriors end early due to wet floor

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

SAN DIEGO — With the playing surface at the Valley View Casino Center filled with too many wet spots and players noticeably slipping, the game between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers was called at the 2:16 mark in the third quarter with Los Angeles holding a 85-70 lead.

According to CSNBayArea.com’s Warriors’ Insider Monte Poole, “On no fewer than seven occasions, players were seen slipping and sliding on the floor. In one notable first-half instance, Warriors guard Steph Curry slipped and recovered to drain a 3-pointer over Jordan Clarkson.”

Curry finished with 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting (5-of-10 on 3s), leading all Warriors in scoring. Curry also added four assists and three rebounds. The reigning MVP scored 14 points in the first half and drained 4-of-8 3s.

Festus Ezeli, starting for injured center Andrew Bogut, scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Clarkson led all Lakers with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting, while forward Julius Randle added14 points.

Lakers guard Nick Young, who scored 10 points, said after the game per ESPN, “It was just too dangerous to play on, people slipping left and right.” Young began the game hot, knocking down three straight 3s in under two minutes in the second quarter.

Los Angeles (2-4) shot a better percentage from the floor than Golden State (46% to 38%), and controlled the points in the paint outscoring the Warriors 34 to 22. Golden State turned the ball over 12 times, compared to just five by the Lakers.

Golden Staten continues their three-game SoCal road swing Tuesday against the Clippers on ESPN, before finishing up against the Lakers once more on Thursday on TNT.