Tag: New Orleans Pelicans

Pelicans sweep season series vs Kings

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit Jacob Gonzalez

SACRAMENTO- The Kings had a great win last night in Los Angeles and things were looking up, but then the team came home. Recently, the Kings have struggled mightily at home and tonight was no different. The defense was flat out bad tonight especially in the first half.

The difference tonight was El Dorado Hills native, Ryan Anderson. Anderson’s huge second quarter change the game completely and the Kings really never had a chance thereafter.

The Oak Ridge high grad put up 21 points in the second quarter on 8-11 shooting, 3-4 from the field. The forward’s huge second quarter put the Kings down 74-53 as he made the defense look silly.  Some of his shots were incredible, but nonetheless giving up 74 points was inexcusable. As a team, the Pelicans shot 83.3% in the quarter.  The Kings offense slowed down in the second quarter, scoring 22 points to New Orleans’ 41. The Pelicans’ had their largest lead of the half in the second when they were up by 24 points.

Fans booed the Kings towards the end of the quarter as the Kings gave up the most points in a half all season. Maybe that sparked some fire under Sacramento’s belt out of the locker room.

Out of the break, the Kings scored 10 straight points and cut the deficit down to 11, looking for some hope. But New Orleans never let the Kings get any closer, going up by 21 points at one point in the third quarter.

The Kings continued to struggle while New Orleans kept pouring it on. The Pelicans’ largest lead of the game came in the fourth as they went up by 27 points at one point. New Orleans absolutely dominated the Kings tonight and there was really no question about if they would get the win. Although the Kings only lost the game by 15, 123-108, the Pelicans out played the Kings in every aspect.

The loss is not all that surprising with the Kings recent struggles, plus they have not been able to defeat New Orleans. This is their sixth straight loss to the Pelicans who won all four games this season. And as the Sleep Train Arena starts to see its last games, the Kings have dropped seven consecutive games on their home floor and the games really haven’t been all that close.

The Pelicans shot 54.4% from the field and an astounding 57.1% from behind the arc, knocking down 12 three-pointers.

Anthony Davis finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds, while Anderson totaled 29 points. New comer Tim Frazier scored 14 points for New Orleans and added nine assists.

Darren Collison was the Kings’ leading scorer with 23 points. DeMarcus Cousins finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for another double double. Cousins now has 26 double doubles in his last 32 games he’s played in.

The Kings once again showed struggles in playing back to back games. Heading into the contest, the team was 3-12 when playing consecutive games and now that makes it 3-13. It is difficult to play without three of the team’s guards, including Rajon Rondo, but there’s no excuse for the team’s poor effort tonight.

Sacramento is now 26-41 and will head to Detroit to take on the Pistons on Friday. With the season coming to an end, maybe it’s best for the Kings to hope for the best possible draft pick and regroup next season.

 

The Dubs Celebrate Steph’s Birthday with a win.

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors won their sixtieth game of the season downing the New Orleans Pelicans 125-107 Monday night at Oracle Arena. The Warriors won their forty-ninth consecutive home game in a row and now have a record of 60-6, something that had never been done before in NBA history.

The Pelicans came to play. The played the Dubs even for the first eighteen minutes of the game. They took a 42-40 lead with 6:38 left in the first half. The Dubs took control of the contest at that point.They went on a 19-8 run to end the first half with a nine-point lead, 59-50. Steph Curry scored twelve points and had four rebounds and four assists to lead the Warriors in scoring. James Michael McAdoo played well coming off the bench. McAdoo, who missed a lot of games due to an injury, looked like he was back in game shape as he played well on both ends of the court.

The third period was all Warriors. Golden State’s defense completely shut down the Pelicans and stopped their big man, Anthony Davis. The Dubs led 65-50 with *:36 left in the third period. They increased the lead to 80-55 as Andrew Bogut got the crowd buzzing with a three-point shot. Klay Thompson followed with a three. Curry made a two-pointer. Draymond Greem made a three-pointer much to the delight of the sold-out stadium. Steph made a three-pointer just before the end of the third period as the Dubs led 94-69 and the game was well in hand.

Coach Steve Kerr rested most of his regulars in the fourth period, and the bench players were able to get some playing time. Mo Speights, James Michael McAdoo, Ian Clark, Shaun Livingston all were active in the fourth period. The Dubs win by a score of 125-107.

Warrior Notes- Steph Curry led the Dubs with twenty-seven points. He made three three-point shots and had five rebounds and five assists. Klay Thompson had eighteen. Draymond Green had a double-double with fourteen points and twelve rebounds. McAdoo pitched in with eleven and Mo “Buckets” Speights added fourteen. The bench contributed over fifty points in the win.Steph and Klay set a new record for three-point shots made by two teammates. They set the old mark of 525 last year and the new mark is now 531.

Pelican Briefs- The Pelicans were led by Anthony Davis and Tony Douglas. They each scored twenty-two. Other Pelicans in double figures were Jrue Holiday with thirteen, Alonzo Gee with ten while Ryan Anderson and Luke Babbitt scored nineteen and twelve, respectively, off the bench.

The Warriors square off against the New York Knicks Wednesday night March 16th at the Oracle Arena. Game time will be at 7:30 pm PT.

 

Turnovers cost Kings in New Orleans

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit USATSI

SACRAMENTO-I’m just as confused as the next person who watched tonight’s game against the Pelicans. The Kings looked dominate early on and played great basketball, however the team could not find a way to close out.

Turnovers and lackluster defense hurt this team especially down the stretch. After leading for the majority of the game, the Kings let a 17 point lead in the third quarter completely vanish. And while the Kings kept holding onto their lead, they let the Pelicans come back late and win the game, 115-112.

Out of the gate, both teams scored very quickly. Offense came in a hurry and the Kings started with a fast paced tempo. This allowed Sacramento to take the lead for most of the quarter, but the Pelicans never quit.

Up 27-20 with 3:35 left in the first quarter, the Kings allowed New Orleans to go for a 10-0 run that ended after Omri Casspi put back a lay up for the Kings’ first field goal in two plus minutes.. The Pelicans held a 30-29 lead, but Casspi knocked a pair of free throws to regain the lead. The Pelicans would finish the quarter with the lead after Alonzo Gee made a layup and was fouled with .3 seconds in the quarter. Gee made the free throw to put the Kings at a disadvantage after one, 33-31.

DeMarcus Cousins and Norris Cole put on a scoring frenzy for their respective teams. Cousins finished with 13 points and Cole scored 14 for team highs. The Pelicans shot 56% from the field, but their seven turnovers allowed the Kings to keep it close. Rajon Rondo added five points and five assists with Rudy Gay scoring seven.

The second consisted of a lot of scoring runs. New Orleans started it off with a 6-0 run, 9-0 continuing from the first quarter. But the Kings were able to hit a 9-0 run of their own. Again, the Pelicans scored 5 straight to take a 44-40 lead.

Sacramento once again answered with an 11-0 run to lead 51-44. Jrue Holiday stopped the run with a lay up but the Kings kept their scoring up. The Pelicans turnovers really cost them. Their 15 first half turnovers led to 18 Kings’ points. The Kings largest lead in the quarter was 15 and Sacramento would hold a 63-50 lead heading into the locker room.

Cousins held a game high with 23 points in the first quarter and tallied nine rebounds. The Kings shot at 54.2% in the half as they dominate the second quarter with their uptempo offense.

The third quarter is where things changed. Pelicans’ head coach Alvin Gentry picked up a technical before the third started. Gay hit the free throw for a 14 point lead before any time came off the clock.

Anthony Davis was dominate and chipped away at the Kings’ early 17 point lead. Davis kept the Pelicans right in the game in the third and the score was 89-83 after three. Cousins was once again phenomenal but Sacramento had seven turnovers in the third, which led to eight Pelicans’ points. The turnovers allowed the Pelicans to hang around even after the Kings had been up by so much.

The Pelicans started the final quarter with a 6-0 run to tie it up at 89. The Kings answered right back with an 8-0 run to go back up, 97-89. Sacramento was unable to figure out a way to close out the resilient Pelicans. The turnovers cost Sacramento again as they gave the ball away seven more times in the fourth quarter.

Holiday was huge for the Pelicans with nine fourth quarter points. With a little under two and a half to play, the Kings had a 108-106 lead. Cousins knocked down a pair of shots at the charity stripe to go up 110-106. Davis had dunk to keep the game within two.

With a under a minute remaining, the Pelicans had the ball. The Kings left Dante Cunningham wide open for a three and the forward nailed the jumper. The Pelicans took the lead 111-110. Holiday came up big as he knocked down a shot after a Sacramento miss to put the lead up to three.

Out of the timeout with 12.8 to go, Gay was able to score a quick two. Cole was then fouled and made both free throws. Darren Collison rushed to bring the ball up court and lost it to Holiday who let time expire.

Cousins was his usual self, scoring 40 points and grabbing 16 boards. Rondo had a nice game with 18 points, 10 assists but the point guard had five turnovers. Gay added a double double as well with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Kings shot the ball at a great 49.4 shooting percentage from the field but 24 total turnovers led to 22 points for New Orleans. Davis had 31 points and 10 rebounds. The backcourt duo of Cole and Holiday was key to the Pelicans success. Cole totaled 23 points and Holiday scored 20 while adding 10 assists for the double double.

After looking to have a sure win, the Kings will need to regroup and figure out how to close out games. This is the Kings’ second consecutive loss after losing to San Antonio on Saturday.

The Kings will take on the LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 p.m. at Arco Arena.

Next 5 games pivotal for the Kings

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

memphis - kings

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The dim light you can see in the west is the Kings playoff hopes setting on the horizon. Sacramento is currently in tenth place in the NBA Western Conference Playoff standings. They are four games behind Houston who is in the eighth and final playoff spot.

The Kings have lost three consecutive games at home to San Antonio, the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City – all playoff teams. The Kings inability to create home court advantage has been devastating to their playoff hopes.

In his postgame press conference on Monday night, Kings head coach George Karl pointed out that his team has been playing some of its best basketball on the road. When he made that statement, it sounded like Karl was trying to convince himself that there is still hope for his team to make the postseason.

The team will need to play great basketball if they are to survive this four-game road trip. The Kings will play in Memphis, Dallas, San Antonio and New Orleans.

The Kings are a combined 1-7 versus the four teams this season. Their only win came over Dallas in Sacramento back on November 30th.

To make matters worse, the Kings will come home after the four road games to host “King James” and the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 9th.

The best scenario for the Kings would be to finish the road trip 2-2 for the four games. The Memphis and New Orleans contests should be winnable games for the team.

Memphis is without Marc Gasol who is out for the season due to a fractured foot. Even without Gasol, the Grizzlies are going to be a playoff team. They are currently 35-24 on the season and are in fifth place in the Western Conference. Sacramento will have to start fast and finish strong to beat Memphis.

A win in Dallas is going to be tough for the Kings. The game is second game of a back-to-back for the team. Sacramento is 2-12 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.

The Spurs are on a five game winning streak and have lost only nine for the season. The best the Kings can hope for is to have San Antonio rest one or two of their starters to give Sacramento a fighting chance.

That brings us to the final game of the road trip in New Orleans. There is no reason for the Kings not to come away with victory from the Crescent City. The Pelicans are 23-35 on the year and in 11th place in the West. The Kings will need to play some top-notch perimeter defense to shutdown Ryan Anderson – the 3-point making machine that killed them on their last visit to NOLA.

In order to make the playoffs, it is going to take 37 to 41 wins. Looking a best case scenario of 37 wins being the magic number – the Kings need post a 13-11 record over the final 24 games. To say that is a tall order is to make an understatement about the Kings chances.

The next five games will make or break the Kings chances of making the playoffs. The Kings schedule will get easier later in March but later will be to late to make a playoff run.

 

 

Worn Down Kings lose, 112-97, in Portland

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

Picture by (Steve Dykes/AP Photo)

SACRAMENTO- DeMarcus Cousins has been a treat to watch, notching career highs in points in back to back games. 48 in a win against the Pacers and 56, a Sacramento franchise high, against the Hornets in a double overtime loss. But Boogie looked tired and struggled mightily tonight, which really hurt the Kings who were without Rudy Gay who suffered a corneal abrasion in last night’s ball game. Nobody for the Kings stepped up and there was not much from the bench besides Marco Belinelli, giving the Portland Trailblazers the victory, 112-97.

Early on, the Kings looked good with Rajon Rondo and Willie Cauley-Stein connecting on consecutive alley-oops for the team’s first two field goals. Rondo penetrated the defense well and did a nice job of getting open looks or easy baskets for his teammates, especially Cauley-Stein. Rondo tried to give a team who looked tired some early energy. The team’s ball movement was nice with nine team assists in the quarter.

Tied at 15, Cousins got called for a charge and Coach George Karl was not happy, picking up a technical foul. Once the Blazers knocked down the free throw, Portland never looked back and held the lead for the majority of the game afterwards. Both teams were not too careless with the ball and scored well in the paint as the Blazers led 33-29 at the end of the first. Nonetheless, the game still looked close.

As the second quarter got underway, Cousins frustration grew and Rondo and Cauley-Stein couldn’t continue their hot start. Rondo scored nine in the first and WCS notched eight. Cousins could not buy a basket from the field going 3-14 in the half, but getting to the line seven times and making six of the seven shots. The Kings played pretty good defense, but the Blazers found a way to shoot at a high percentage, 50% for the half. The Kings found a way to hang around even with their offensive struggles as Portland’s largest lead in the half was nine. Cousins had a half time high with 12 points and CJ McCollum had 11 to lead Portland.

With just under three minutes to play in the quarter, Cauley-Stein took a bump to the eye and headed to the locker room. Willie received stitches and donned a bandage on his eyebrow in the second half.

After a tough half of basketball, the Blazers held a six-point lead, 58-52.

In the third, the Blazers continued to shoot at a high percentage and the Kings faltered. Portland put up a 30-point quarter on 50% shooting. Every Blazers player who entered in the third scored, while the Kings shot at 40% and couldn’t get a bucket from their best player. Cousins only way of scoring was from the free throw line and in the quarter he went 2 of 8. The Kings were down seven at one point and could not score on possessions where they had a wide open look from Cousins and a couple of missed lay ups by Rondo. When the Kings failed to cut the lead to five, Portland attacked the Kings defense and went up by as many as 14 points. Missed free throws also kept the Kings from hanging around, 4-12 in third. With three quarters in the books, Portland led, 88-74.

The Trail Blazers started the fourth with a 10-4 run causing Sacramento to call a timeout. Portland’s offense continued to sizzle as they went up by as many as 22. With the lead very much out of reach, Karl took out Cousins, Rondo and Willie to give them some much needed rest after logging a ton of minutes the night before.

In garbage time, Seth Curry put up seven points and gave the Kings a little offense. The Kings turned the ball over six times in the quarter and after a good first quarter and mostly first half, slowed down. The Blazers took advantage of a tired Kings team to put themselves in line for the eighth seed, defeating Sacramento, 112-97. Portland came into tonight’s ball game a game behind the Kings for that eighth spot.

Myers Leonard frustrated Boogie big time and Cousins was absolutely drained. His legs weren’t quite under him, 4-21 on field goals and 9-17 from the free throw line. Cousins had a team high with 17 points. McCollum finished with a game high 18 points. The Blazers shot really well and the Kings did not shoot as well as they would have liked, 41.9%. Seven of Portland’s players scored in double figures, with their leader Damian Lilliard notching 15 points.

Rondo finished with 15 points and 11 assists for another double double as he played an excellent game, but just couldn’t get enough energy from the rest of the team. Belinelli finished with 14 points as his shot looked much better. Belinelli and the Kings hope that he can get his stroke back. Cauley-Stein finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Willie’s defense has been a huge plus for the Kings since his return.

The Kings have an off day tomorrow before they face the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday. Tomorrow will be a well deserved rest day as the team travels and hopefully Boogie will find his stride once again. After all, this is his first mediocre game of January, Big Cous has been dominant. The Kings have dropped two in a row now and will look to get back to their winning ways in January on Thursday at New Orleans.

Curry’s 19 points drives Dubs to 11th straight win

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Western Conference Player of the Month for November Stephen Curry continued his steady play into December, scoring 19 points and handing out a season-high 11 assists leading the Golden State Warriors to their 11th consecutive victory with a 112-85 win over the New Orleans Pelicans Thursday night in front of 19,596 fans at Oracle Arena.

“We are off to a great start,” Curry said. “We have a laser focus and we never get too head of ourselves.”

Golden State’s 11-game win streak matches their longest in franchise history, dating back to the 1971-72 season. Their NBA-best 16-2 mark this season is also their best start in the team history, while improving to 7-1 at home.

After starting 1-of-8 shooting, Klay Thompson finished with 23 points on 8-of-16 from the floor.

Harrison Barnes added 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Draymond Green had 14 points and matched his career-high with 14 rebounds.

Marreese Speights continues to provide scoring off the bench for the Warriors, finishing with 12 points. In his last five games, Speights is averaging 14.6 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game, and shooting 42 percent from the field.

Golden State destroyed New Orleans in points in the paint (62-48), rebounds (56-47), and held the Pelicans to just 41.6 percent shooting from the floor (3-0f-15 from 3-point range).

After trailing 30-22 early in the second quarter, Golden State went on a 20-4 run to close out the first half. Golden State led as much as 22 points over a New Orleans team that couldn’t get it going tonight after coming off a 112-104 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night.

Anthony Davis scored 30 points and 15 rebounds, Jrue Holiday finished with 12 points and eight assists, and Tyreke Evans chipped in 11 points for New Orleans, who fall to 8-9 this season.

Omer Asik finished with nine points, and 15 rebounds for the Pelicans, who also committed 17 turnovers compared to nine by the Warriors.

Golden State looks to set a new franchise mark Saturday when the team heads to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bulls.

Extra dribbles:

  • Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he hoped power forward David Lee (hamstring strain) would return to action next week while ruling Lee out for the Bulls game.
  • Warriors guard Justin Holiday got into the game for the final two minutes and had a dunk, marking the first time he played in a game with his brother, Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday, on the opposing team.
  • Sarunas Marciulionis bobbleheads did not arrive at Oracle Arena in time for them to be distributed because of labor issues at the Los Angeles and Long Beach waterfront, so fans were given vouchers instead for the giveaways to be shipped to their homes.

 

Iguodala returns, Warriors cruise to 104-93 win over Pelicans

Published on by gabeschapiroLeave a comment

Photo Credit: Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty

By Gabe Schapiro

The Golden State Warriors (14-12) made easy work of the New Orleans Pelicans (11-12), cruising to a 104-93 victory, Tuesday night at Oracle Arena. The final margin of victory doesn’t do justice to a game that Golden State controlled from the tip-off. Andre Igoudala returned to the lineup after missing 12 games with an injury, and Stephen Curry was his usual electric self.

In a pleasant departure from the last several games, the Warriors started the game guns blazing. They hit seven of their first 10 shots, and in general played with a sense of urgency we haven’t been seeing until the second half of games. They held a seven-point first quarter lead, and extended that into an 18-point lead at half time.

They never gave New Orleans even a glimmer of hope. Golden State kept their foot on the gas pedal, opening up a whopping 23-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. From there the Warriors emptied their bench, but the final 11-point win was as close as the Pelicans ever got.

Golden State never trailed in this one, and led for 47 of 48 minutes. They had an uncharacteristically poor game from the three-point line, hitting just five-of-20 from beyond the arc, but that was just about the only negative on a night full of positives.

From start to finish Curry was phenomenal. He finished the game with a double-double, posting a game-high 28 points and 12 assists. For good measure he also had four rebounds and three steals. This marks his 11th consecutive game with 20+ points, the longest active streak in the NBA, and a personal career high.

David Lee had possibly his best game of the season. He was extremely active on both ends of the floor, and produced his almost customary double-double. He finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds.

Bogut finished just two points shy of the teams third double-double on the night. He had eight points and 10 boards.

Iguodala had a quiet night, as he was slowly eased back into game action. He played just 17 minutes, scoring two points and dishing out two assists. As always he was active on the defensive end, and seemed to be moving around well and without pain.

Five New Orleans players finished with double-digit points in the loss. Ryan Anderson led the team with 21 points, and had six rebounds.

Golden State is back in action this Thursday against the always tough San Antonio Spurs. The game begins at 7:30pm, back at Oracle Arena.