Suns Wallop Golden State 134-105; Seven technicals and Thompson first career ejection

The Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson (right) drives on the Phoenix Suns Mikal Bridges (left) in first half action at Walking Stick Arena in Phoenix on Tue Oct 25, 2022 (AP News photo)

Suns Wallop Golden State 134-105

By Barbara Mason

Tuesday night the Golden State Warriors (2-2) took on the Phoenix Suns (3-1) at Footprint Center. Both teams are coming off wins, the Warriors beating the Kings Sunday 130-125 and the Suns handling the Clippers 112-95 on Sun Oct 23. Golden State has struggled in transition and will be looking for some improvement against a very tough Phoenix Suns.

The Warriors got a fast start and led through the opening minutes before the Suns got going. With five minutes left in the first quarter the Suns had taken a ten point lead and after the first 12 minutes Phoenix held a 37-29 lead. The Warriors had shot at 46% and the Suns edged them slightly shooting at 48%.

In the Warriors last game, the second unit had struggled but in this outing these young guys were nothing short of terrific. This unit had cut the Suns lead from eight points to a tie game at 39 in the early minutes of the second quarter.

This game remained close with the Suns holding slim leads throughout the quarter. The Warriors Jordan Poole hit a three that was nullified by a shot clock violation in the closing seconds. The Suns Chris Paul hit a three with 0.5 seconds left on the clock and at the half, it was Phoenix with a 72-66 lea

The Suns Devon Booker led the Suns with 16 points scored. Poole had the point high off the bench with 14 points and Warrior guard Stephen Curry led the starting roster with 13 points.

The difference in the first half for the Warriors was points in the paint. James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga would need to step up in the second half. They would need some defensive excellence if they wanted to beat the Suns.

The Suns began to run away with the third quarter. They had an 11-0 run and led 94-77 with four minutes left in the third. A blow for the Warriors was the ejection of Klay Thompson, the first of his career. The Suns were getting to the free throw line in this game while the Warriors were not and that had a lot to do with the score of this game.

The Suns had shot 28 free throws in the first three quarters. At the end of the third quarter the Suns had a considerable lead 105-86. Phoenix had scored 33+ points in the first three quarters; they were in total command of this game.

Things began to get tight in the fourth quarter when the Warriors cut a 19 point Sun lead to 12. The Warriors were on a 7-0 run before the Suns began to push back leading 115-99 with under six minutes left in the game.

The Suns continued to extend their lead for the remainder of the game. Booker was relentless finishing with 34 points. The final was 134-105 in a dominating game by Phoenix. The Sun’s defense was just better than Golden State’s.

The high score for the Warriors was Curry with 21 points. It was a lackluster offensive effort from Golden State. They hung with the Suns in the first half but it all came apart in the second half.

Thursday night the Warriors will play Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat at Chase Center. Tipoff will be at 7:00 PM.

Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason: Kings can’t hold back Curry as Warriors win it 130-125

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) has his arms raised up in hopes of scoring a three pointer against the Sacramento Kings on Sun Oct 23, 2022 at Chase Center in San Francisco (AP News photo)

On the Warriors podcast with Barbara:

#1 Golden State Warrior (2-1) guard Stephen Curry was lights out and the Sacramento Kings (0-3) couldn’t contain him. Curry scored 33 points for Curry’s third 30 point game.

#2 The Warriors were unstoppable scoring 89 points first half in a five point win over the Sacramento Kings.

#3 The Kings although they’ve now lost three in a row have been playing some close basketball games. The Kings cut the Warriors 26 point lead down to four points with 1:04 left in the game.

#4 De’Aaron Fox lead with 26 points he was doing everything he could to keep the Kings in it and worked on cutting down that Warrior lead.

#5 The Warriors head to Phoenix for a game there on Tuesday night the Suns have won two of their last four games how do you see the Warriors faring in this contest?

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

Headlines of the week podcast with Jessica Kwong: Here comes the Judge now AL season home run leader with 62; Broncos Wilson good enough to go under center Sunday; plus more news

History is made with the New York Yankees Aaron Judge connecting with his 62nd home run of 2022 surpassing former Yankee Roger Maris’s old record of 61. The Texas Rangers catcher Sam Huff and plate umpire Randy Rosenberg look on.

On Headline Sports podcast with Jessica:

#1 Jessica, in Texas last night the New York Yankees Aaron Judge launched his 62nd home run of the season against the Texas Rangers making Judge the all time home leader in a season surpassing former Yankees Roger Maris.

#2 Jessica, looks like Russell Wilson quarterback Denver Broncos could get in the starting line up against the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday Night Football. Russell had been listed as limited due to a shoulder injury but reports say that Russell could play the whole game.

#3 Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver who had made racists comments and was suspended by the NBA for the rest of the season and fined $10 million had announced that the team is up for sale which is expected to sell for an all time price for an NBA team.

#4 Jessica, the Atlanta Braves clinched on Tuesday night defeating the Florida Marlins 2-1 at LoanDepot Park in Miami. The New York Mets who had trailed the Braves by just a game tried to catch up but just ran out of games and ran out of time.

#5 Jessica, big loss for the San Francisco 49ers left tackle Colton McKivitz is out for two months with a knee injury This comes after left tackle Trent Williams who went down with a right ankle sprain.

Join Jessica for Headline Sports podcast Wednesday nights at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong: Griner could be out of Russian jail in July; Mistakes the Celtics have made; plus more headlines

WNBA star and Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner mug shot from Russian jail. Griner could be released by the Russian government by July 2022 after being held since Feb 17, 2022. The Russians had wanted a prisoner swap Griner to the US for the Merchant of Death Viktor Bout. (file photo from NY Post)

On Headline Sports podcast with Jessica:

#1 WNBA star Britney Griner reportedly will have to stay in a Russia jail another 18 days and could be released by July. Griner is being held in Russia after being accused of having hashish oil in her suit case while trying to leave the country. Griner has been in jail since Feb 17th and is facing 10 years upon conviction.

#2 Jessica as game 6 of the NBA Finals will tip off on Thursday night the Boston Celtics have struggled losing games four and five to the Golden State Warriors who are now on the brink of winning the NBA Championship. Celtics mistakes described are a cross court pass intercepted, a dribble hand off is dropped, and a lob pass is picked off.

#3 Jessica, wanted to ask you about a female minor league announcer of the Lynchburg Hillcats the single A minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. Maura Sheridan whose story is making huge headlines after being sexually assaulted by minor league pitcher Daritzon Feliz of the Hillcats. Sheridan in August 2021. Feliz was let go by the Hillcats but the Hillcats further put out a job posting at the beginning of this season for Sheridan’s job. The Hillcats didn’t want any liability on road games with their announcers so they posted Sheridan’s job out.

#4 Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow speaking out on gun control during a press conference on Monday saying that there should be a law making it hard for people to buy those crazy guns. Burrow also said that no one should be able to just go in and buy one saying you have to go through the process to just go in and buy one.

#5 In another case of on the job harassment Phoenix Suns female employee Melissa Fender Panagiotakopoulos who reported that she was the target of bullying, retaliation from her employers after she complained of gender equity and misconduct. The Panagiotakopoulos had been with the Suns since 2007 and worked for eight years as a senior employee and resigned in May. Panagiotakopoulos had wrote a complaint letter to all 16 of the team’s ownership group.

Join Jessica every other Wednesday for Headline Sports at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Will US exchange Griner for Russia’s Merchant of Death? Plus NBA Conference Final predictions

WNBA and Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner is led away in handcuffs by Russian authorities as seen here Fri May 13th is up for prisoner exchange for The Merchant of Death Viktor Bout. The deal is up for consideration between the Russian and US governments. (photo from the Toronto Globe and Mail)

On Headline Sports podcast with Tony R:

#1 Tony, could you talk about the chances that you see in a prisoner swap Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner for Russia’s The Merchant of Death Viktor Bout?

#2 Griner no doubt is the face of basketball was stopped at the Moscow Airport for alleged drug possession of vape cartridges that contained hashish oil. Griner has been detained in Russia since February. Talk a little about her mental state and how she’s holding up through this process?

#3 Tony NBA playoffs Western Conference Finals are about to tip off starting on Wednesday night at Golden State with the Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors. All the talk has been about the Mavericks Luka Doncic. Will he be and the Mavericks be enough to get by Golden State in this third round?

#4 The Mavericks had a rather close series against the Phoenix Suns who had the best record in the NBA regular season and overcame adversity with a 4-3 series win. How much of a force would you say Doncic, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Jalen Brunson have been for the Dallas offense?

#5 Turning to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals the Boston Celtics are coming off a best of seven series win over the Milwaukee Bucks and tip off against Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in game 1 tonight in Miami.

Join Tony for Headline Sports each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings Beat No.1 Team in NBA 116-109; Positive result to end 2021-22 Sacramento season

Sacramento Kings forward Justin Holiday throws down in front of Phoenix Suns forward Cameron Johnson (23) in first half action at the Footprint Center in Phoenix on Sun Apr 10, 2022

Kings Beat No.1 Team in NBA 116-109; Positive result to end 2021-22 Sacramento season

By Barbara Mason

It has been a long long season for the Sacramento Kings (30-52). They have fought through the loss of a Head Coach (Luke Walton) and injury and lots of frustration. With all that they have endured throughout the season, they have to finish it playing the best team in the NBA the Phoenix Suns (64-18).

It was a bit of a surprise to see the Kings leading after the first quarter 33-24. What was even more surprising was the fact that they extended their lead to 67-51 at the half. Of course the Suns were not playing Devon Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton not risking injury to their starters and keeping them fresh for their post-season run.

On the other hand the Kings De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis were out with injury so missing their top scorer Fox and newest acquisition Sabonis.

A win for the Suns makes no difference in the standings. A win for Sacramento would give them their 30th win of the season and a little something to hang their hat on after the disappointment they have gone through all year. The Kings shocked picking up a win at Footprint Center in Phoenix over the first place Kings 116-109.

The Suns made up a little ground in the third quarter but the Kings stubbornly held on with some great play from Justin Holiday and Davion Mitchell. They continued to hold a double digit lead mid-way through the third.

The Kings saw their 16 point lead start to shrink as the quarter came to an end. After three quarters Sacramento held a 86-77 lead. They would have to dig deep to finished the season with a win.

The Kings maintained a double digit lead until the final three minutes of this game. With 2:38 left on the clock the Suns were trailing by eight points. The Suns would make if really interesting trailing by three points with 8.6 left on the clock. The Kings refused to go down in this game and finished off the Suns.

Sacramento had some great work from Damian Jones, Mitchell and Donte Divincenzo all with 19 points. So now we bid a brief farewell to the Kings as they head into the off-season. With a healthy De’Aaron Fox, Sabonis, Damian Jones, Mitchell Divincenzo and Harrison Barnes there is some optimism going forward for the Kings.

Our thanks to our Sacramento Kings beat writer staff for the 2021-22 season, Jeremiah Salmonson, Charlie O, Morris Phillips, Barbara Mason, Jessica Kwong, Daniel Dullum and Marko Ukalovic

Kings win fourth in five games defeat Rockets 122-117

The Sacramento Kings Harrison Barnes (40) goes high above the Houston Rockets Kevin Porter Jr (3) but is grabbed by Porter on the arm for a foul in first half action at the Toyota Center in Houston on Fri Apr 1, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Sacramento Kings (29-49) continue to roll with their second straight win over the Houston Rockets (20-58) completing the two game series at the Toyota Center on Friday night 122-117. The Kings also defeated the Rockets on Wednesday night by four points 121-118. The loss on Friday was the Rockets third straight defeat and the Kings have now won four of their last five games.

Onto Friday, the Kings Harrison Barnes led with 25 points. It’s rare to have on the schedule but the two teams met for the second time in three days in Houston. The Kings Damion Jones had himself a good game with 17 points, 17 rebounds, and six blocks, Donte DiVincenzo played 30 minutes got 19 points, nine assists and nine rebounds.

The Kings  Chimezie Metu scored 18 in 27 minutes, but it was Barnes who had the hot hand with ten out of 16 shooting from the field and hitting four three pointers. All around Kings head coach Alvin Gentry was satisfied with the Kings play, “I thought everybody contributed, and when we needed a stop or a basket, different guys did it for us,” Gentry said. “We had guys stepping up, and I think that’s the main thing. It was a really good team win.”

The Kings will try to keep it going at the Golden One Center in Sacramento when they return to play the Golden State Warriors (48-29) on Sunday for a 6:00 pm PDT tip. Like the Miami Heat who were in a slump when the Kings came into Miami the Kings got trounced 123-100 on Mon Mar 28th.

The Warriors are not in the best of moods and have lost four straight games before defeating the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. The Warriors had lost to the powerful Phoenix Suns 107-103 last Wednesday. The Suns Mikal Bridges and Devon Booker both led with 22 points. The Warriors also have lost their star player Stephen Curry for the next five games meaning the rest of the regular season and have shown they’ve been badly handicapped by his absence.

Suns edge Warriors in a Shootout 107-103; Fourth loss in a row for Golden State

Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson driving to the basket gets the ball knocked out of his hands by the Phoenix Suns Devin Booker (1) at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Thu Mar 30, 2022 (AP News photo)

Suns Edge Warriors In a Shootout – 107-103

By Barbara Mason

Wednesday night the Golden State Warriors (48-29) took on the best team in the NBA, the Phoenix Suns (62-14).

With Stephen Curry still on the sidelines the Suns were highly favored. The way this game started in the opening quarter all signs pointed toward another Sun road win. They jumped out to a quick 12-2 start. The starting roster for the Suns is a litany of stars. Chris Paul, Devon Booker, Jae Crowder, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton. A formidable starting lineup. There was no stopping the number one team in the NBA as the Suns won in a close game 107-103 at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Thursday night.

After trailing for much of the first quarter the Warriors started to heat up and after the opening quarter the Suns held a slim 32-29 lead.

Both teams would trade the lead in the second quarter. The Suns continued to lead at the half 50-48. Despite having 14 turnovers in the first half the Warriors were hanging in this game holding the Suns to 36% shooting and only 19% shooting three’s. They had to maintain that defense in the second half.

Much of the Warriors success was due to the shooting of Jordan Poole who had 20 points in the first half. Andrew Wiggins had ten points and Golden State was waiting on Klay Thompson to come to the party. He finished the half with six points and no rebounds with one assist.

The third quarter was a wild wild west shootout with the Warriors taking a seven point lead that quickly dissolved. The Suns had a slim 77-75 lead after three. The Warriors had continued the great defense that they played with in the first half.

The fourth quarter saw a series of ties in the early minutes. The Warriors had 20 turnovers and too many empty possessions. Despite that Golden State refused to go away. With 7:30 left in the game the score was again tied at 86.

The Suns would take a 96-93 lead with 2:59 on the clock. With the great defense that Golden State had played with in this game, they needed their offense to really step up in the final minutes. Draymond Green had key play after key play in this game and was a big reason that the Warriors were still hanging around with every chance to take this game. At two minutes what else, a tie game.

The Suns had a two point lead at the half, a two point lead after three quarters and this game was up for grabs. The Warriors led 101-100 with 39.8 seconds left in this game. The Warriors needed a stop and a little offense and this game could be a wrap.

Golden State came up just short losing by four points. Empty possessions and 20 turnovers spelled disaster for the Warriors. The Warriors did so many great things in this game and it was a tough loss for them.

Poole finished the game with 38 points and this game was a great improvement over their last road trip. This was a great effort for the Warriors and they really looked like contenders in the upcoming playoffs.

The Warriors will have a few days to rest up before taking on the Utah Jazz Saturday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors host one of the NBA’s hottest teams the Suns tonight at Chase

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) shoots over Philadelphia 76ers forward Danny Green at the Footprint Arena in Phoenix on Sun Mar 27, 2022. The Golden State Warriors host the Suns tonight at the Chase Center in San Francisco (AP News photo)

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 Dave, the Golden State Warriors (48-28) have lost six of their last seven games and have lost three in a row. Its seems that when Stephen Curry is present in the line up this team is on it’s A game without him they either are in close games or as you see in their last seven games struggle to win.

#2 Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was ejected during their last game against the Memphis Grizzlies (53-23) do you see this as just frustration or Kerr really knows this team is not the same winning team they were in the first half of this season.

#3 Things don’t get any easier as the host Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns (64-14) who’ve won eight in row and defeated one of the best teams in the NBA the Philadelphia 76ers (46-29) by ten 114-104 in Phoenix. Do you see the Warriors who host the Suns having their hands full tonight at Chase Center?

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

Sacramento Kings podcast with Morris Phillips: Kings gave it their all in overtime loss to Suns on Sunday

The Phoenix Suns Landry Shamet takes a three point shot against the Sacramento Kings in the overtime stanza for what would be the game winner at Golden One Arena in Sacramento on Sun Mar 20, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris at one time during Sunday’s game against the Phoenix Suns (58-14) the Sacramento Kings (25-48) had a ten point lead in third period but with a whole fourth period left the Suns came back out scoring the Kings 27-23 to force a tie and go into overtime.

#2 The Suns Devin Booker fouled out of the game and that handicapped the Suns slightly and the Kings who tied things up at the end of the fourth period 124-124 looked as if they might have a shot at beating one of the best teams in the NBA.

#3 With 31 seconds left the Suns Landry Shamet hit a three pointer in the overtime stanza after missing an previous shot above the arc and the three pointer by Shamet proved to be the game winner.

#4 The Kings in their own right were short handed missing their key offensive star point guard De’Aaron Fox as Davion Mitchell started for Fox and scored 28 points and Domantas Sabonis had 18 points great effort tough loss for Sacramento.

#5 The Kings will tip off against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night at 4:00 pm PDT. The Pacers have won four of their last six games including a 129-98 win against the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis. On the other hand the Kings have now lost six of their last seven games and Sunday’s game against the Suns could actually have been one of their best despite losing.

Join Morris for the Kings podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com