Tag: NBA

Golden State Warriors podcast on David Zizmor: How Warriors came back to defeat Trailblazers Tuesday

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The Golden State Warriors Jonathan Kuminga (00) tries to give little territory to the Portland Trailblazers Damian Lillard (0) at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Tue Feb 28, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Warriors podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 The Portland Trailblazers outscored the Golden State Warriors 41-27. The Blazers made five threes to get things rolling in beginning of the game on Tuesday night. 

#2 In the Warriors comeback, Draymond Green is back after missing two games with a knee contusion and almost had a triple-double. Green knocked down 12 points, had nine rebounds, and eight assists. Jonathan Kuminga, coming off the bench, added 16 points and three rebounds.

#3 The Warriors meet the LA Clippers Thursday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 7 pm. Could this be a tough game for Golden State?

Join David for the Warriors podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors overcome 23-point deficit trample Blazers 123-105

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Portland Trail Blazers forward Drew Eubanks, middle, reaches for the ball between Golden State Warriors forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. (7) and forward Anthony Lamb during the first half at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Tue Feb 28, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

What a game! Still, without Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors hosted the Portland Trailblazers at the Chase Center in San Francisco Tuesday night and helped with a comeback win over the Blazers 123-105. The Warriors were hoping to get a win over Portland to avenge the 125-122 loss in Portland on February 8th and they did in a big way.

The Warriors knew it would not be easy as the Blazer’s star guard, Damian Lillard, scored 71 points Sunday night. The Warriors had to find a way to contain Lillard. If they couldn’t, the Warriors would lose the game. It looked that way as the Blazers pounded the Warriors in the first quarter.

The Blazers outscored the Warriors 41-27. The Blazers made five threes to get things rolling. The Warriors found their defense in the second quarter. They held the Blazers to 24 points. The Warrior offense was out of sync in the quarter as they tallied 21 points. The stadium was quiet as Portland blew the Warriors away in the first half by a score of 65-48. The Warriors trailed by 23 at one point in the second quarter. A late rally cut the deficit to 17.

The Warriors made 11 turnovers in the first half. The Blazers took advantage and put 16 points on the board due to the turnovers. The Blazers made 13 free throws. The Warriors made seven. Lillard finished the first half with 19. Jerami Grant had 14 for the Blazers. 

The Warriors had a lot to think about during the halftime intermission. Steve Kerr had to adjust his game plan, hoping to get his team back on track. The Answer was-attack the basket. The team that came out to play the second half looked entirely different. The Warriors drove to the basket.

The Warriors found the Blazers’ defense to be quite porous. The Warriors, led by Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson, propelled the team to the lead 89-82 at the end of the third period. Thompson and Poole each tallied 12 points each. The Warriors defense held the Blazers to 17 points in the quarter while the offense scored 39. The Warriors held Lillard to four points in the period. 

The Warriors kept the pressure going in the fourth quarter. They continued to score points in the paint. All five of the Warrior starters were in double figures. The Warriors went from being down by 23 points to win the game by 18. It was an amazing turnaround. The Warriors won the second half 75-40 and the game.

Game Notes: The Warriors won their third straight to improve to 32-30. The Blazers fell to 29-32. The Warriors’ home record now stands at 25-7

Jordan Poole led the Warriors with 29 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Poole made three threes. Thompson, who had seven points in the first half, tallied 24 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Thompson also made three threes. The Blazers double-teamed Thompson all night, but Thompson, as he has done so many times in his career, kept on shooting.

He knew he would find the range, and he did in the second half. Donte DiVincenzo had another outstanding game. DiVincenzo made five threes and finished with 21 points. Kevon Looney added 14 points and seven boards. Looney, as usual, was in the right spot, and his buckets helped the Warriors win the game.

Draymond Green is back after missing two games with a knee contusion and almost had a triple-double. Green knocked down 12 points, had nine rebounds, and eight assists. Jonathan Kuminga, coming off the bench, added 16 points and three rebounds.

The Blazers dominated the first half. The Warriors dominated the second half. Damian Lillard finished with 25. Lillard was held to six points in the second half. The Warrior defense kept the ball out of Lillard’s hands in the final 24 minutes of the game. Jerami Grant had 24 for the Blazers.

Most of Grant’s points came at the free-throw line. Matisse Thybulle made five threes in six tries. He finished with 15. Shaedon Sharpe had 13, and Cam Reddish had ten.

The Blazers shot 50 % from the floor in the first half and 43% for the game. The Warriors defense stopped them cold in the second half. The Warriors were 54% from the floor. Each team made 12 threes. 

The Warriors challenged the Blazers’ defense in the second half. The Warriors scored an amazing 66 points in the paint. 

The Warriors meet the LA Clippers Thursday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 7 pm.

Sacramento Kings game wrap: No Fox? No Problem as Sacramento Beats OKC 123-117

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The Oklahoma Thunder’s forward Jalen Williams (8) sets up as the Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) gets ready to defend at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on Tue Feb 28, 2023 (@SacramentoKings photo)

No Fox? No Problem as Sacramento Beats OKC 123-117

By Barbara Mason

Tuesday night the Sacramento Kings (36-26) took on the Oklahoma City Thunder (28-33) at Paycom Center after beating them Sunday 124- 115. The Kings took the court without De’Aaron Fox out with a wrist issue. Sacramento extended the Thunder’s losing streak to four straight games 123-117 on Tuesday night.

Game recap: The Kings came out strong in the first quarter winning the first 12 minutes 44-38. Sacramento had a great offensive start shooting at 66%.

The Kings saw some beautiful ball movement in the second quarter as the Kings extended their lead to 68-59 with two minutes left in the half. They had led in the quarter by as much as 15 points. Their shooting percentage had dropped a bit but still outstanding at 60%. Sacramento took a 71- 66 lead into the locker room after the first two quarters.

The Kings got into some early foul trouble in the third quarter. Domantas Sabonis had four personals and Coach Brown had to pull him and with Fox out, the Kings would need all hands on deck for the remainder of the quarter. Sacramento had really cooled off from downtown but still held onto the lead after three 93-87.

They were shooting at 50.8 percent. The offense had fallen off and they would need to shore it up in the fourth quarter if they wanted to close this game out.

The Thunder would not go away and with nine minutes left in the game it was all tied up at 98. The Kings continued to struggle from beyond the arc. Harrison Barnes broke the drought hitting a three at 7:36 to give Sacramento a slim lead 101-98.

Sacramento had a frenzied sequence and with 5:46 left on the clock had extended their lead to ten 110-100. Again it was Harrison Barnes with yet another three that pushed the lead in favor of Sacramento. Every starter was shooting in double digits although the team was really missing the ball handling and speed of Fox. The final was 123-117 in favor of the Kings.

In the absence of Fox the man of the hour with the high score was Barnes shooting for 29 points. Sabonis had 22 and Kevin Huerter with 20 points. The Thunder got close at times but the Kings held on for the win.

Again the Kings struggled with protecting the ball. They had 17 turnovers.

Friday night the Kings will be facing a very tough Los Angeles Clipper team at Golden 1 Center. Los Angeles will be looking to avenge the double overtime they lost to Sacramento back on February 24th. The score in that game was 176-175. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Thompson and DiVincenzo lead Warriors to win over Timberwolves 109-104

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The Golden State Warriors Jonathan Kuminga (00) tries to reach in and get the ball while teammate Klay Thomson (11) watches at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sun Feb 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors (31-30) found a way to down the Minnesota Timberwolves (31-32) Sunday night at the Chase Center Sunday night. The Warriors, still without Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins. Could Steve Kerr’s revamped lineup do it again?

The answer was yes. It wasn’t easy, but it was a win. The fans had to hold their collective breaths as the Warriors almost gave away the game in the last 30 seconds of the game. Their longtime star, Klay Thompson, had another terrific outing and, along with Donte DiVincenzo, led the Warriors to a 109-104 win on Sunday night.

The Timberwolves, without big men Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, jumped off to an early 14-4 lead. Naz Reid led the Timberwolves attack. Reid poured in 24 points in the overtime win, 119-113, on February 1st. The Timberwolves point guard, D’Angelo Russell, also helped down the Warriors that night.

Russell was not in the lineup Sunday night as he was traded to the LA Lakers. Michael Conley was the new point guard. The Warriors started putting points on the board but finished the quarter trailing the Timberwolves 34-25.

Things changed in the second quarter. Jordan Poole and DiVincenzo led the Warriors rally. The Warriors defense slowed down the Minnesota offense. The Warriors won the quarter 34-23 to finish the first half with a slim two-point lead 59-57.

The Warriors had four players in double figures. Thompson paced the Warriors with 12. DiVincenzo had 11, and Jordan Poole and Kevon Looney had ten. Reid led the Wolves with 22. 

The fans hoped the Warriors could continue to play as they did in the second period. That did not happen. The Timberwolves came out firing from behind the three-point arc. Minnesota made five threes early in the quarter. The Warriors did not wilt until late in the period.

The Warriors scored just two points in the last five minutes of the third quarter. They made one two-point bucket and missed 11 times in those five minutes. The Timberwolves outscored the Warriors 30-19 to finish the third quarter with a nine-point advantage, 87-78.

If the Warriors were to win, they had to play defense, stop committing turnovers, drive to the basket and get some free throws. They did all three. The Timberwolves increased the lead to ten, 94-84. The Warriors went on a 12-2 run to tie the game at 96. The Warriors continued to play well.

The Timberwolves went ahead 99-96. Anthony Lamb and DiVincenzo each connected on a three to give the Warriors the lead 103-99. Time was running out. Thompson made a three to put the Warriors in the driver’s seat 105-99. Looney made it 107-99.

The Timberwolves made a three to make it a five-point game, 107-102, with 44 seconds left. All the Warriors had to do was make a basket, and the win would be secured. The Timberwolves had other thoughts. Minnesota hit a three, and the possibility of tying the game and going to overtime was now possible.

24 seconds remained to be played. The Warriors had the ball. The Timberwolves’ defense forced the Warriors to turn the ball over twice. The Warriors could not inbound the ball. With eight seconds left, the Warriors finally got the ball to Thompson. The Timberwolves fouled him, and Thompson made two free throws to ice the win.

Game Notes: With the win, the Warriors are now 31-30. Minnesota is 31-32. 

All five Warrior starters were in double figures. Thompson finished the night with 32 points. Thompson had five rebounds and four assists, and he made six threes. It was the first time in Thompson’s career that he had 25 or more points in two consecutive games. DiVincenzo had 21 points, eight rebounds, and five assists and made four threes/ Poole had 15, Jonathan Kuminga 13, and Looney added 12 points and 17 rebounds for a double-double. 

The Timberwolves’ Reid had a career-high 30 points. Kyle Anderson had 12, Jaden McDaniels had 12, Anthony Edwards had 12, Nickiel Alexander-Walker 10, and Conley nine.

The Warriors host the Portland Trailblazers at the Chase Center Tuesday night. The game will start at 7 pm.

Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason: No.7 Warriors know each win is crucial; Golden State hosts Portland Tuesday

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Golden State Warriors guard Donte DiVincenzo (0) gestures after making a 3-point basket during the first half at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Sun Feb 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 Barbara just how important was this win for the Golden State Warriors (31-30), the playoff spots in the Western Conference are tight and winning is the alternative as Golden State got a big one over the Minnesota Timberwolves (31-32) on Sunday night 109-104.

#2 The Warriors have been using a big chunk of their bench while starters Andrew Wiggins and Stephen Curry are out of action.

#3 The Warriors Klay Thomson topped the top of the leaderboard 32 points and four assists Thompson has take over the offense in particular with Curry being out.

#4 Kevon Looney continues to play consistent ball with 17 points and has scored at least 13 or more in the last six straight games the Warriors have been some close games and Looney has been key in keeping them in the game.

#5 The Portland Trailblazers (29-31) who’ve won five of their last five games tip off against the Warriors this Tuesday night at Chase Center . Barbara talk about this game as you see it?

Join Barbara Mason for the Warriors podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings Wins Third Game In A Row Defeating Thunder 124-115

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The Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) goes for the two pointer against the Oklahoma City Thunder’s guard Isiah Joe (left) in Oklahoma City on Sun Feb 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

Kings Wins Third Game In A Row Defeating Thunder 124-115

By Barbara Mason

Coming off of what has got to be the craziest game of this NBA season, the Sacramento Kings (35-25) took on the OKC Thunder (28-32) at Paycom Center Sunday night. The double overtime game the Kings played on Friday night was the second highest scoring contest in NBA history. The Kings won that game over the Clippers 176-175 in a real thriller. They got one day of rest yesterday before heading to Oklahoma to take on the Thunder and picked up their third win in row 124-115.

The Kings got a nice start in the first quarter winning it 36-26. De’Aaron Fox was on fire from the get go and did not take his foot off the pedal through the first half. After two quarters the Kings led 58-50 even though the Thunder won the second quarter 24-22.

OKC continued to push back winning the third quarter 40-36. The Kings still had the lead after three quarters but it was becoming uncomfortably close at 94-90.

Sacramento got some great play off the bench from Trey Lyles and Malik Monk and Fox continued to drain shot after shot in the fourth quarter. With under two minutes the Kings held onto an eight lead 120-112. The nine point win in favor of the Kings for their 35th win of the season.

It was another monster game for Domantas Sabonis with another double double and the man of the hour was Fox with yet another thirty plus game finishing with 33. The guy is a master on offense, defense and at the line. He leads the NBA in clutch points which we saw tonight. Off the bench Lyles had 16 points.

If there was any negative for Sacramento in this game it had to be the uncharacteristic number of turnovers with 20. That most certainly will be addressed before they take the court again.

Tuesday night the Kings will meet in a second game against the Thunder at Paycom looking to win a fourth game in a row since the break. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM.

Kings Battle Through Double Overtime To Beat Clippers 176-175

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Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, left, celebrates after scoring as Los Angeles Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. stands in the background during the second half at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Fri Feb 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

Kings Battle Through Double Overtime To Beat Clippers 176-175

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Sacramento Kings (34-25) took on the Los Angeles Clippers (33-29) at Crypto. com Arena in Los Angeles. The Kings are coming off a win over the Portland Trail Blazers 133-116. De’Aaron Fox scored 31 points in that game and Domantas Sabonis had his seventh triple-double of the season.

They will need more of the same against the Clippers. This was a huge game for the Kings. Right now they were holding onto third place in the Western Conference 1 1/2 games ahead of Los Angeles.

The addition of Russell Westbrook to the Clippers was just one of the many challenges that the Kings faced in this game and they got through it with NBA All Star game type final score Kings edging the Clippers 176-175.

Game recap: Sacramento had a great start knocking down three straight shots from downtown in the first quarter. With 7:39 left in the first 12 minutes the Kings had only missed two shots and led 21-16. They were shooting 66.7% from the field and 60% from downtown.

The Kings were having great success shooting the three ball but as the quarter wore down, the Clippers Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Westbrook really began to flex their muscles. After the opening quarter, this game was tied at 40. The second quarter was close for the most part.

At 5:41 the Clippers had a nine point lead 64-55 but the Kings battled back and at the half trailed by four points 80-76. Fox had the high for the Kings with 16 points. Malik Monk had 13 off the bench and starter Domantas Sabonis had 12 points and 7 rebounds.

The Clippers threatened to take control of this game in the third quarter leading at one time by 12 points but the King fought back throughout the quarter. After three quarters the Clippers hung onto a 117-110 lead.

At 7:26 in the fourth quarter the Kings trailed by a single point 130-129. The Clippers were highly favored to win this game but the Kings were stubbornly hanging around throughout this game. Shots from the field were even but the Clippers were having a hay day from downtown shooting at 63.2% to the Kings 44.1% giving the Clippers a huge edge. The Kings would pull to within a single point 149-148 with 33 seconds left in play. As regulation came to an end this game was tied at 153 and the two teams went into overtime.

We would see if the Kings had enough left in the tank after battling from behind throughout much of the game. With 20.4 seconds left in overtime this game was tied at 164. The two teams would take this battle into a second overtime. With 36 seconds left on the clock the Kings had a one point lead.

This was a highly competitive game between the third and fifth place teams in the Western Conference.

Fox would finish the game with 42 points and Monk off the bench had the high for the team with 45 points. Every starter for the Kings finished in double digits.

Sunday the Kings will travel to Oklahoma to take on the Thunder. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM.

Thompson’s big night leads Warriors to win over Rockets; Understaffed Golden State defeats Houston 116-101

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Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole (3) celebrates with Klay Thompson, left, after scoring a 3-point basket against the Houston Rockets during the first half at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Fri Feb 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The understaffed Golden State Warriors faced off against the young Houston Rockets Friday night at the Chase Chase. The Warriors were without Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins(for personal reasons), and Draymond Green, out with a knee contusion suffered in the loss to the Lakers Thursday night in Los Angeles. 

Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr had Jonathan Kuminga fill in for Green. Donte DiVincenzo replaced Andrew Wiggins in the lineup. Poole and Klay Thompson were in the backcourt. The Rockets arrived in town owning a seven-game losing streak. Their coach, Stephen Silas, hoped his young troops could pull off the upset. The Rockets gave the Warriors a tussle in the first quarter, but the defending NBA champions, behind Thompson’s stellar performance, pulled out a win beating Houston 116-101.

The Rockets had an early lead, 12-5. The Warriors regained the lead 17-16, and the fans started thinking that the Warriors would easily beat the Rockets. That didn’t happen as the teams battled to a 26-26 tie at the end of the first quarter.

Things changed in the second quarter. Thompson got into a rhythm and knocked down four threes to lead the Warriors to a 66-49 advantage at the end of the first half. Poole had two threes, and DiVincenzo made four threes. The Warriors outscored the Rockets 40-23 in the second period.

The Warriors did not put the game away in the third quarter. The Warriors started giving the Rockets opportunities to score points. The Warriors committed too many turnovers, allowing the Rockets to shave eight points off the Warriors halftime advantage. The Warriors led by nine heading into the fourth quarter.

The Warriors had an answer. His name is Klay Thompson. Thompson, playing in back-to-back games for just the second time this season, continued to knock down three-point shots. With his 12th three of the night, the Warriors led 116-99. The game was over. The Warriors went on to win.

Game Notes: With the win, the Warriors are now 30-30. The Rockets lost their eighth in a row, and their season record in now 13-46.

The Warriors had four players in double-figures. Thompson led the way with 42 points. His 12 three-pointers were two short of his NBA record of 14. Thompson did not have a two-point bucket all night. His other six points were free throws. Poole and DiVincenzo each had 15. Poole made two threes, while DiVincenzo had five. The other player in double-figure was Patrick Baldwin, Jr. PBJ made three threes.

The Rockets had five players in double figures. Jabari Smith, in his rookie season, had 13. Kenyon Marttin, Jr., 22. Jae’Sean Tate, 14, TyTy Washington, Jr., 15, and Josh Christoper, 13.

The Warriors shot 47% from the floor. They made 26 three in 47 tries. The big negative of the night was the 18 turnovers.

The Warriors meet the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 5:30m pm.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings on back to back nights battle Clippers tonight in Southland

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Portland Trail Blazers guard Keon Johnson drives to the basket past Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) during the first quarter at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Sacramento Kings (33-25) were sloppy with the ball on offense, and the defense was nonexistent. It makes it even worse that Portland Trailblazers (28-31) didn’t have a single starter in the game. They were all resting due to the plane ride delays and injuries in spite of all of that the Kings mastered a pretty sizable win 133-116 at Golden 1 Center Thursday night.

#2 In the second quarter, the Kings played much more competitively. They sharpened up the defensive side of the ball a little bit.

#3 In the third quarter, the Kings and Blazers both scored 34 points. It was an uneventful quarter in which neither team played any defense. The Kings offense stayed hot after a sizzling second quarter.

#4 In the fourth quarter, the Kings efficiently handled the Blazers. The Kings outscored the Blazers 33-25 in the final quarter to defeat them. It was a solid win for the Kings. 

#5 The Sacramento Kings take on the Los Angeles Clippers tonight at 730 PM PST at Crypto.com Arena in the Southland.

Join Jeremiah for the Sacramento Kings podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors really feeling the absence of Curry and Wiggins

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The Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James wasn’t blowing smoke as he and the Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thu Feb 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 Golden State needed to turn their defense around, protect the ball and make the most of every possession tried as they may the Lakers came away with a 124-111 win against Golden State at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

#2 The team will still be without Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins will also be out for personal reasons with no return date right now.

#3 After the first 12 minutes, the Warriors were trailing 31-23. While Golden State did not get the hot start that they were looking for, they did get a decent start. They needed to be better in transition and protect the ball.

Join David Zizmor for the Golden State Warrior podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com