Tag: San Antonio Spurs

Durant’s 37-point effort rallies the Warriors to a 110-107 victory over Spurs after Curry injures his ankle again

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Golden State Warriors won their seventh game in a row, but it was not easy as the San Antonio Spurs played their hearts out but could not prevail. The Warriors needed the win to keep their hopes alive for winning homecourt advantage for the playoffs. The Rockets lead the Dubs by one-half game and own the tiebreaker. The Warriors lost their star, Steph Curry, early in the first quarter when he tweaked his right ankle. He was able to two free throws, but the Warriors sent him to the trainer’s table for treatment and Steph was done for the night. Three other players were not available Thursday night. David West missed his second game in a row with an infected cyst on his arm. Andre Iguodala was out with a sprained left wrist, and Jordan Bell was sidelined when he re-injured his right ankle. Steve Kerr had to use Kevon, Looney, Omri Casspi, Quin Cook, and Nick Young and hope that the Warriors could beat the Spurs. The game was not pretty, but they were able to come back late in the fourth quarter and beat the Spurs 110-107.

Both the Spurs and the Warriors were cold to start the first quarter. The Spurs led 3-0 when Steph Curry was fouled as he attempted a layup with just 2 minutes and 32 seconds played in the game. Steph turned his right ankle when he landed. He tried to walk off the injury, but it was apparent that he would not be able to continue. Steph went to the free throw line and made the two free throws, and that finished his night. The Warriors got the offense going late in the quarter, and they outscored the Spurs 28-21.

The Warriors could not get anything going in the second quarter. They scored just 13 points against Brooklyn Tuesday night, and the Warriors were cold again in the second quarter. The Spurs took advantage. The Dubs built the lead to nine 34-23, but San Antonio went on a 14-2 run to take the lead 37-35. The Spurs outscored the Warriors 29-18 and finished the half with a 4-point lead 50-46. The Spurs LaMarcus Aldridge had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Durant scored 14, JaVale McGee 7, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green each had 4.

The Warriors played better in the third quarter. They have owned the third quarter, but on Thursday night, that did not happen as they were outscored 37-32 The game was tied at 78 when the Spurs went on a 9-0 run to finish the quarter leading 87-78. In the fourth quarter, the Spurs met every Warrior challenge and led 103-96 with under 3 minutes to play. The Warriors vaunted defense came through, and Kevin Durant scored 14 straight points to tie the game at 105. Draymond Green made a fantastic layup with his left hand to put the Dubs ahead by two 1:30 left. Klay Thompson made two free throws, and they led 109-105.  The Spurs scored and trailed by two 109-107. They fouled KD but he missed one, and the Spurs had a chance to tie if they could make a three-pointer. The Spurs got the ball to LaMarcus Aldridge, and he was fouled attempting a three. He made the first free throw but missed the second. He made the third, and the Spurs trailed 110-107. They got the ball back with 2.3 seconds left and, after a timeout, took the ball out from mid-court. Bryn Forbes missed a three-pointer with 0.01 seconds left, and the Warriors celebrated the win.

Game Notes and Stats. After the game Warrior head coach Steve Kerr announced that Steph Curry will travel with the team to Portland but will not play Friday night.

The Warriors won their 7th in a row and improved to 51-14. The Spurs dropped to 37-28.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 30 points and 17 rebounds. Kyle Anderson had 12, Davis Bertrans 13, DeJounte Murray 14, Tony Parker 11, and Rudy Gay 10. The Warriors were led by Kevin Durant’s 37 points, 4 assists, 11 rebounds, and four blocked shots. Draymond Green had a triple-double with 11 points, 10 assists,12 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. JaVale McGee added 13, Nick Young had 12, and Shaun Livington had 9 points, 7 assists, and seven boards. Klay Thompson had a tough night. The Warriors needed a big night from Klay the ball was not going down for him. He finished the night with 12 points. He made two 3-point shots in 7 attempts.

The Warriors play the Portland Trail Blazers Friday night in Portland.

Thompson’s 25 points leads Warriors to a 122-105 beat down over Spurs

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs played a very competitive first half in Saturday night’s matchup at Oracle Arena. The Warriors led by three at the half, 58-55; but they once again owned the third quarter and went on to defeat the Spurs 122-105.

All five of the Warrior starters were in double figures. Klay Thompson, who scored 10 in the third quarter, led the team with 25 points. Draymond Green had a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists. He needed two more rebounds for a triple-double. By the way, he wasn’t called for a technical foul Saturday night. Zaza Pachulia, who celebrated his 34th birthday, scored 12 points. Steph Curry added 17 points. Kevin Durant was held to a season-low 10 points. However, Durant has been a force on defense and assisted on six buckets tonight.

The Spurs–who are always a dangerous team–kept pace with the Warriors for the first 24 minutes of the game. The Warriors pulled away in the third quarter as the Spurs are missing their leader, Kawhi Leonard, who’s out with a quadriceps injury that has caused him to miss most of the season. LaMarcus Aldridge and Kyle Anderson led the Spurs with 20 each. Manu Ginobili, the ageless wonder, scored 13 coming off the bench. Marc Gasol tallied 7 for the purs.

Game Notes: The Warriors shot 56.5% from the floor and held the Spurs to 45.7%.

The Spurs were 5-for-27 from behind the three-point arc, while the Warriors made 12 3-pointers.

The Warriors recorded 35 assists and turned the ball over 16 times.

The win marked the 250th for head coach Steve Kerr. He became the fastest to recorded 250 wins in NBA history.

Steph Curry had this to say about Kerr: “It’s been an amazing 3 1/2 years and hopefully more to come.”

“It’s a lot about him setting the identity and the culture around our team and just being a great people guy. There’s probably a better term for that. He just knows how to relate to each, and every one of us players and his coaching staff and you’re building that ultimate trust throughout the organization.”

Up Next: The Warriors welcome the Phoenix Suns for the first time this season on Monday night in Oakland at 7:30 pm PT.

Kings play short-handed – including no head coach – lose to Spurs 113-98

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

SASscoreby Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings went into the game in San Antonio with only nine players dressed for the game. Willie Cauley-Stein (right knee bone contusion), Skal Labissiere (shoulder strain), Frank Mason (partial tear plantar fascia), Malachi Richardson (ankle sprain), Garrett Temple (ankle sprain) and Georgios Papagiannis (unavailable due to coach’s decision) made for a very short bench. JaKarr Sampson was brought up from the Reno Bighorns for roster help.

If having only nine players did not make things tough enough, the Kings lost their coach two minutes into the game. Dave Joerger jumped up to protest the lack of a call from the officials and his knees buckled. Assistant coach Elston Turner reached out to help Joerger and to keep him from falling to the floor. At the encouragement of the Kings’ medical staff, Joerger walked under his own power to the visitor’s locker room.

The decision was made to for Joerger to sit the rest of the game out and let assistant coach Elston Turner coach the team. Reports later in the game confirmed that there was nothing seriously wrong with Joerger.

And now on to the game

The Kings fall behind by nine points early in the first quarter and it looked it might be a very long night for Sacramento fans. The Kings were down by seven as the second period began.

The Spurs increased their lead to 10 points early in the second quarter but then the Kings began chipping away at San Antonio’s advantage. By the time the second 12 minute period was over the Kings held a one point edge, 50-49.

The third quarter would prove to the Kings downfall as it has so many times this season. The Spurs outscored Sacramento 30-19 in the third period and they ended the quarter on an 8-0 run that would carry over into the final period.

San Antonio continued their run until it became a 12-0 run on the Kings which made it look like the game was over but someone forgot to tell De’Aaron Fox and George Hill. The two Kings guards continued to make incredible shots that kept the game reasonably close but in the end it was not enough.

The Spurs won the game 113-98 but the Kings could hold their heads high because they played hard under adverse circumstances.

Top Performers

Spurs

GeoManu

  • Second-year shooting guard Bryn Forbes was the Star of the Game for the Spurs on Sunday night. He came off the bench to lead San Antonio in scoring with 23 points shooting 9-for-15 overall from the field and hitting 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Forbes had a +16 rating during his 27-plus minutes of playing time.
  • Manu Ginobili came off the bench in first game back after being off for injury to post 15 points in 25-plus minutes on the floor. He put in 6-of-13 field goal attempts. He also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists.
  • Best supporting player award goes to Patty Mills who just kills this reporter every time. Late in the game as the Kings were trying to mount a comeback, Mills sank back-to-back 3-point buckets that killed that potential comeback. Mills finished with 11 points hitting 4-of-6 field goals with three of those baskets being 3-point field goals.

Kings

foxonfire

  • Star of the Game goes to De’Aaron Fox who recorded a game-high and career-high 26 points in the contest. “Swipa” hit a perfect 6-for-6 from 3-point land. He was as Dan Patrick would say – “en fuego!”. For a player who would never be able to shoot the 3-ball in the NBA according to scouting experts, Fox sure seems to have figured out how to hit from long-range.
  • George Hill may be on his way out of Sacramento but do not accuse him of laying down on his team. He came off the bench to score 19 points shooting 6-for-11 overall and hitting 3-of-6 from downtown. He also dished out four assists. Talk about making yourself more valuable in a trade situation. Hill gets a Co-Star of the Game credit.
  •  Special Guest Star credit goes to Vince Carter. The future Hall of Famer recorded 21 points coming off the bench converting 5-of-7 3-point opportunities. Carter also grabbed six rebounds in his almost 27-minutes on the floor. The 41-year old had +5 rating for his playing-time on the versus the Spurs.

Key Stats

San Antonio (33-19)

  • The Spurs shot 50-percent from the floor hitting 45-of-90 field goal attempts in the game.
  • San Antonio out-rebounded the Kings 52-34. The Spurs had 13 offensive rebounds to SAC’s six offensive rebounds. The Spurs outscored the Kings 16-9 in second-chance points.
  • The Spurs had an incredible 33 to 7 assists to turnover ratio. The seven San Antonio turnovers became 13 Kings points.

Sacramento (15-34)

  • The Kings shot an unbelievable 52.9-percent from 3-point land hitting 18-of-34 attempts. Fox hit 6-of-6 while Carter went 5-for-7 from behind the line.
  • Sacramento turned the ball over just nine times which became just nine Spurs points in the game.
  • The Kings shot 90.9-percent from the free throw line. They only went to the line 11 times but they converted 10 shots.

Up Next

Sacramento

The Kings wrap up this long six-game road trip on Tuesday night in New Orleans. Of course, the drama is gone because of the devastating season ending injury to DeMarcus Cousins.

San Antonio

The Spurs will stay at home and host Denver on Tuesday night.

Kings blow lead, lose to Spurs 107-100

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: London Marq

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Kings started their game with the Spurs with one of their better opening quarters of the season. While a trend of slow starts has plagued Sacramento for the better part of the campaign, tonight was not one of those nights.

For the Kings, it was a defensive effort to begin the game–a defensive effort that fueled offensive production. By the end of the first quarter, the Kings had the lead and Willie Cauley-Stein was well on his way to a double-double with 10 points and five rebounds.

The Kings kept the Spurs flat on offense. All five San Antonio starters had negative plus/minus efficiency after one quarter as they were held to just 21 points. The Kings played well through the second quarter and would go into the half with a 10-point lead (56-46).

When the Spurs stepped on the hardwood for the third quarter, they were a different team. The tempo of their effort kicked it up a notch on both sides of the court. Sacramento was forced to slow down and be more careful with the ball. Sacramento, who led by as many as 14, lost their rhythm. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 11 third quarter points and helped the Spurs get back to a three-point deficit going into the fourth quarter.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovic was complimentary of Aldridge after the game, saying: “He was a big factor tonight. He’s taking advantage of the extra minutes he’s been getting during the season”.

Indeed, Aldridge was a major part of San Antonio’s game plan. He finished with 31 points and 12 boards. Davis Bertans also poured in 28 for the Spurs. The Kings led for the vast majority of the game, with 5 plays scoring double digits.

However, like we’ve seen time and time again from Gregg Popovic and the Spurs found away to steal the game away from Sacramento. With the deficit disappearing as the fourth quarter progressed, the Kings began to make mistakes that young teams make: turnovers and bad fouls.

Sacramento had 18 turnovers that translated to 24 points for the Spurs, and six of those turnovers came in the final period.  The Spurs would close the game on a 17-5 run and snag a win before heading to Los Angeles to face the Lakers on Thursday. San Antonio has now won 12 straight games against Sacramento.

The Kings will chalk this one up as a learning experience, as they host Los Angeles’s other team, the Clippers on Thursday as well. With the latter half of the season quickly approaching the Kings will look to find some consistency they sorely need.

Final: Spurs defeated Kings 107-100.

Up Next: Kings host the Clippers on Thursday at 7 pm PT.

Kings Press Row Podcast January 5, 2018 with Charlie O & Jordan Chapin

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

press row podcast

Hosts Charlie O and Jordan “Chape” Chapin

  • Kings beat the Cavs and the expectations became very big for the men in purple and white

  • The loss to the Suns at home was a real “buzz kill” for the Kings and their momentum

  • The Grizzlies came to Sacramento and dominated the Kings. The fans were vocal with their displeasure

  • The Hornets continued the pattern of dominating the Kings with their big win at the Golden 1 Center

  • Denver visits Sacramento on Saturday and brings their high-powered offense in to challenge the Kings

  • If there haven’t been enough challenges, the Spurs come back to town on Monday

  • Charlie O & Chape break it all down for you on this edition of the Kings Press Row Podcast

Too much Aldridge, Gasol and Ginobili ends the Kings two-game win streak: Spurs win 108-99 on Saturday night

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
More Hield SAS
Buddy Hield drives to the hoop for two of his 24 points Photo: USA Today Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Kings stayed with the Spurs stride for stride in the opening quarter and played them to a 33-33 tie at the end of 12-minutes. The energy was high in the Golden 1 Center. Kawahi Leonard was declared unavailable due to injury management, so Sacramento fans felt their team was on a more even playing field talent wise.

They were wrong.

The Spurs outscored the Kings 29-16 in the second quarter as they shot 50-percent (11-for-22) from the field, hit 3-of-5 three-point attempts and converted 4-of-5 free throw attempts. San Antonio began a scoring drive at the 10:10 mark of the quarter and built up a 13 point lead by the time the horn sounded for halftime.

The Spurs went to the locker room at the half with a 62-49 lead over the Kings.

Sacramento came out in the third quarter knowing they had to make a run at the Spurs immediately. The Kings kept chipping away at the San Antonio lead and cut it to six-points twice. When the third period ended, SAC trailed by just eight points, 84-76.

Buddy Hield scored 10-points shooting 4-for-6 (including two 3-pointers) to lead the Kings 27-point scoring attack. Willie Cauley-Stein added eight-points.

The Kings needed to put together a run and cut the Spurs lead to five-points or less with two-minutes to go in the game to have a chance to win. That did not happen.

Former King Rudy Gay – who had previously not scored in the game – sank two jump shots and 25-foot 3-pointer in the opening 2:18 of the final quarter to help the Spurs rebuild a 14-point lead. The San Antonio lead would reach 15-points twice in the period which was too much for the Kings to overcome.

San Antonio won the game 108-99.

Top Performers

Spurs (22-11)

Gasol SAS
Pau Gasol recorded a triple-double versus the Kings on Saturday night Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Star of the Game: Paul Gasol – the Spurs 37-year old, 17-year NBA veteran – recorded a triple-double on Saturday night. Gasol scored 14-points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 10 assists in just over 30-minutes on the floor. After the game Gasol said, “I have to give credit to my teammates. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to get the assists, so it’s a team accomplishment. Just happy it turned out that way tonight. It’s been a couple of years since my last triple-double.” (February 27, 2016 as a member of the Chicago Bulls)
  • Co-star: LaMarcus Aldridge only gets a co-star billing for the game because he recorded just a double-double putting up a game-high 29-points and pulling down 10 rebounds. He also played a game-high 38-minutes and 33-seconds.

  • Ginobili to hoop
    The ageless Ginobili goes to the rack versus the Kings Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Co-star: The final co-star for the Spurs is man who should probably be playing “wheelchair basketball” if you listen to “the experts” who say he should retire at the end of every season he plays. 40-year old Manu Ginobili evidently does not know he is too old to play in the NBA. On Saturday night, he scored 15-points in just over 21-minutes of playing time coming off the bench.

Kings (11-21)

  • Star of the Game: Buddy Hield was the Kings leading scorer with 24 points versus the Spurs on Saturday night. He played almost 32-minutes shooting 9-for-17 overall and 4-for-7 from behind the 3-point arc. Hield also hauled in eight rebounds in the contest. In what was also a major improvement, he committed no turnovers.

  • WCS vs SAS
    Willie Cauley-Stein posted a double-double on Saturday night Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Co-star: Willie Cauley-Stein posted his fifth double-double of the season as he scored 22 points and recorded 11 rebounds. Cauley-Stein shot 10-for-18 for the game and added three assists.
  • Co-star: Bogdan Bogdanovic had a perfect shooting night as he was 6-for-6 overall and 3-for-3 from 3-point land. Bogdanovic played 28-plus minutes against the Spurs.

Key Team Stats

San Antonio

  • Field Goal Shooting: 44-for-88 (50-percent) It’s tough to beat a team that is sinking half of its shots
  • 3-point Shooting: the Spurs made 11-of-23 (47.8-percent) 3-point attempts. Six different players made 3-point baskets
  • Free throw shooting: the Spurs went to the line only 11 times but the made nine free throws (81.8-percent) which helped them to win this game
  • The Spurs also had a fantastic assists to turnover ratio. They dished out 29 assists and turned the ball over just eight times. That is very close to a 4 to 1 ratio with a 2 to 1 ratio being the goal

Sacramento

  • Field Goal Shooting: 46.5-percent (49-for-86) which is respectable until you look and see your opponent shot 50-percent from the field
  • 3-point Shooting: The Kings actually out-shot the Spurs from behind the 3-point line. They hit 12-of-22 3-point attempts (54.5-percent). Four Kings did all of their 3-point scoring – Randolph, Temple, Hield and Bogdanovic.
  • Free throw shooting: the Kings went to the line just 11 times and converted just seven of those shots. They still need to get more attempts per game
  • Assists to turnover ratio – The Kings finished with 20 assists and 10 turnovers or the magic 2 to 1 formula. It just was not enough in this case.

Up Next

Sacramento

The Kings are done until after Christmas. Sacramento will return to action on Tuesday, December 26 when the team will travel to Los Angeles to face the Clippers at the Staples Center.

San Antonio

The Spurs headed home after the game and will have Christmas Day off. San Antonio will host the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night.

 

Warriors start slowly but comeback in the second half to defeat Spurs 112-92

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates with his team during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

by Jerry Feitelberg

San Antonio, Texas – The San Antonio Spurs took it the Warriors in the first quarter to earn a 19-point lead. The Spurs were making three-point shots, rebounding, and shooting well as they appeared to be ready to blow out the Warriors. The Spurs were without the services of Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker, and they wanted to send the message to the Warriors that they could win without those two stars. The Spurs also knew that they usually beat the Warriors at home. That did not happen as the Warriors righted the ship late in the second quarter and shut the Spurs attack down in the second half to win by twenty (112-92).

The Spurs held a slight 10-9 lead in the first quarter. They went on a 21-3 run to lead 31-12. The Warriors ended the quarter on a 12-2 run to close the gap to 33-24. Steph Curry and Draymond Green led the charge. The Warriors tried to close the gap, but the Spurs were double-teaming Kevin Durant every time he touched the ball, and at one point, KD missed all of his first eight shots. The Warriors started to play better defense and kept chipping away at the lead. The Warriors offense was led by Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. The Warriors finished the first half trailing by five (55-50).

The Warriors, as they have done so many times, won the third quarter as they outscored the Spurs 34-23. They took the lead 60-57 for the first time early in the quarter. The Spurs and Warriors exchanged buckets, and the game was tied at 63. The Warriors took over and did not relinquish the lead. Kevin Durant started to make baskets, Steph Curry, who had to leave the game in the second quarter as he tweaked his knee, returned to lead the club to an 84-78 advantage after three periods of play. The Warriors shut down the Spurs offense in the fourth quarter. They outscored them 28-14 to win 112-92.

Game Notes – Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich left the game in the fourth quarter when he was charged with a double technical.

The Warriors did not allow the Spurs to make a three-point shot in the second half. The Spurs made seven in the first half. The Warriors were led by Klay Thompson’s 27 points. Klay mad five threes. Steph Curry tallied 21, and he had four assists and eight rebounds. Durant, who had just five points in the first half, ended with 24. KD had five assists, eight boards, and three blocks. The Warriors shot 51.8% from the floor, made fourteen threes, had 30 assists, 11 steals, and 11 blocks. They committed nine turnovers in the first half, but just five in the second.

After the game, coach Steve Kerr said the Warriors had a “great response to the early shock we took. We weren’t ready for battle early, that’s why we fell behind. We started competing, running, and passing the ball.” Kerr also remarked this about the Warriors’ defense: “The last two games have been our best defensive efforts.”

Curry was asked how the Warriors rebounded from the big first-quarter deficit and he said that the team was “sticking with the program.” He also said the team was “starting to gel.” Curry left the game with a slight knee injury in the second quarter, but he came back to play in the third quarter. Curry said it was “a little scary, but I got out all right.” The Warriors coaching staff, players, and fans let out a collective sigh of relief when he came back into the game.

The Spurs’ offense was led by LaMarcus Aldridge, Kyle Anderson, Pau Gasol, and Rudy Gay. The Spurs lost their fourth consecutive game in a row and are now 4-4 for the season. The Warriors improved to 6-3 and have won five of the last six games. The Warriors travel to Denver to face the Nuggets Saturday night. Game time is at 5:30.

 

Young Kings can’t make it two wins in a row over Spurs; lose 113-93 on the road

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

spurs WCSby Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings learned the very tough lesson on Friday night that all NBA teams must learn – it is very tough to win on the road in “the Association”. After beating the Spurs in their preseason opener in Sacramento, the Kings suffered their first loss of the preseason on Friday night in “the Alamo City” losing to the Spurs 113-93.

Sacramento came out of the gate fast

The Kings outscored the Spurs 24-15 in the first quarter of the game on Friday night. Buddy Hield led the Kings scoring barrage putting up eight points in the first 12-minutes of the game. Willie Cauley-Stein and Frank Mason added four points each in what would be a 24-point first quarter for Sacramento.

Unlike Monday, it was the young the Kings who were chosen to start on Friday night on the road. Malachi Richardson, Skal Labissiere, Willie Cauley-Stein, Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox were the starting five in San Antonio.

The Spurs outscored the Kings in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters

The Spurs outscored the Kings by 12 points in the second quarter, six points in the third quarter and by 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Danny Green led the way with 20 points for the Spurs. LaMarcus Aldridge shot 5-for-10 from the field to score 10 points for San Antonio. Brandon Paul, Bryn Forbes and Davis Bertrans scored nine points each against the Kings.

The Spurs shot 55.4-percent from the field and 48.4-percent (15-for-31) from 3-point range. San Antonio had 28 assists and 17 turnovers. That is not the ratio a team wants to have but is was good enough to post a win on Friday night.

The Kings young players were featured on Friday

spurs hield

Willie Cauley-Stein was the Kings leading scorer in game with 14-points. He also grabbed nine rebounds and turned the ball over just two times.

Skal Labissiere had a 13-point game for the Kings on Friday night. He went 6-for-10 from the field, hauled in two rebounds and did not turn the ball over in 25-plus minutes of playing time.

Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox each added 12-points in their time on the floor.Georgios Papagiannis played 29-minutes and recorded 10-points and three rebounds. Marcus Williams who is fighting for a spot at the end of the bench put up nine points in 13-minutes of playing time.

The Kings shot 45.2-percent from the field and 26.7-percent from 3-point land. Sacramento had 32 rebounds and 13 turnovers.

The bottom line lesson

Winning on the road in NBA is very hard. Unfortunately for the young Kings, that is a lesson that will be a lesson that will be learned many times in 2017-18.

Up next for Sacramento 

The Kings will return to preseason action on Sunday night in Las Vegas when they will face the Los Angeles Lakers. Proceeds from the game will be donated to victims of the tragic shooting of the Route 91 Harvest music festival.

Harry Giles update

The Kings have revealed that Harry Giles will not be available to play until January 2018 as he continues to rehab from his surgery for an injury to his ACL. Giles who was originally projected to be the number one pick in the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery has suffered setbacks due to knee troubles.

Giles is just 19-years old so the Kings can afford to patient. He has been most often compared to Chris Webber. If he can be close to  Webber, waiting until he his fully healthy will be worth the wait.

Spurs take the Kings to school as they break a two game losing streak

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Sacramento Kings v San Antonio Spurs

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Coach Gregg Popovich is notorious for resting players whenever he decides it is necessary. He does not care what the league, broadcast executives or fans have to say about the practice. A team in the Kings situation is praying that “Pop” will rest a few stars against them.

Unfortunately for the Kings, San Antonio had lost two games in row coming into Sunday’s game, and there was no chance that the Spurs were going to rest anyone unless they had opened up an unbeatable lead. All the Kings could do was suck it up, give it their all and hope to keep the game close to have a chance at the end.

Sacramento came out of the gate starting quickly – something they have not always done this season – and put up 27 points in the first quarter. The Kings held a six point lead after the first 12-minutes.

Coach Pop got his team’s attention in the second quarter and they outscored the Kings 37-22 in the second 12-minutes. The Spurs took a 58-49 lead to the locker room at halftime and they would never look back after that.

The Spurs did not let up after halftime as they put up 41 points to the Kings 25 in the third quarter. After 36 minutes, it was a chance for the Spurs to rest the starters and for the Kings to go to school against a championship team.

Ultimately the Spurs (53-16) won the game 118-102 to drop the Kings record to 27-43 and to 1-2 on this three-game road trip.

Buddy Hield got back on track

Hield did not have the game he wanted to have in OKC on Saturday. On Sunday in the Alamo City, Hield put up 18 points. He shot 8-for-14 from the floor and went hit 2-of-3 from beyond the 3-point line. Hield also grabbed five rebounds, dished out five assists and made one steal. He played 32-minutes in his start versus the Spurs.

Look out here come those Kentucky guys

Willie Cauley-Stein got the start at forward and took advantage of that opportunity. He scored 18 points to tie Buddy Hield for the team high. WCS also pulled down four rebounds, distributed five assists and had a blocked shot. He shot 5-for-11 from the field and converted 8-of-11 from the free throw line.

Skal Labissiere did not start but he added 14 points. The rookie big man hit 7-of-9 from the floor to go with seven rebounds. Labissiere did all of that in just 23-minutes on the floor.

Papa G grabbed some serious rebounds

Georgios Papagiannis spent 24-minutes in the game versus the Spurs. The big rookie scored just six points going 2-for-7 from the field, but he grabbed 10 rebounds – including four offensive rebounds – in the contest. “Papa G” is getting the opportunity to learn on the job against some of the best players in the NBA.

Temple played well against Kawhi Leonard

Garrett Temple played tough on defense helping to hold Leonard to just 12 points in the game. At the same time, Temple scored 15 points hitting 3-0f-3 from 3-point land. Temple continues to be a solid leader for the Kings.

Kings had some solid team numbers

Sacramento shot a respectable 49.4-percent (41-for-83) from the floor. They shot 7-for-10 (70-percent) from beyond the 3-point line. The Kings had a very acceptable 29 assists to 11 turnovers posting for the game.

Why did the Spurs win

San Antonio scored more points in the paint, had more second chance points and had more fast break points than the Kings. That pretty much guarantees a win for your opposition. In this case, it did.

Up next

The Kings are off until Wednesday when they will host the Milwaukee Bucks at the Golden 1 Center. The Bucks are battling to hold on for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference of the NBA.

 

It’s Just My Opinion: KD’s absence puts speed bump on Warriors’ season

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

AP photo file: Former Sacramento Kings forward Matt Barnes, right, goes to the basket over Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 6, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. Barnes returns to Golden State in light of the Kevin Durant injury on Tuesday night (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

OAKLAND, Calif — OK  Warriors fans you can breathe a bit easier this morning after hearing that forward Kevin Durant’s knee injury isn’t season-ending.

Durant injured his left knee in the first minute of Golden State’s 112-108 loss to the Wizards in Washington Tuesday night. The injury occurred on a loose-ball situation after Wizards center Marcin Gortat fouled Warriors center Zsa Zsa Pachulia, who then fell back on Durant’s left leg. Durant jumped back and tried to run off the injury, but was in obvious pain before walking off the court on his own power and into the locker room.

Durant will miss at least four weeks with a sprained MCL and bruised tibial bone in his left leg, the team announced Wednesday. The small forward will be out indefinitely, but will be re-evaluated.

Durant leads the team in scoring (25.3 points per game), free throw makes (5.5) and attempts (6.3) per game, rebounding (8.2 rpg) and blocks (1.6 bpg).

The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears received a text message from Warriors forward Draymond Green said that he is “relieved” by the diagnosis.

“I’m definitely relieved. I thought it would be way worse,” Green wrote. “Being away weeks sucks, but we will take that over what was initially thought.”

The Warriors (50-10) have the best record in the league and now with Durant’s injury, their perch atop the Western Conference could be in jeopardy with second-place San Antonio (45-13) hot on Golden State’s heels at just four games back.

San Antonio rocked Golden State 129-100 in Durant’s first game with Golden State at Oracle Arena after nine season with the Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder organization.

The Spurs and Warriors meet up twice this month, both in San Antonio.

For Golden State, it will be second game of a back-to-back after playing in Minneapolis and Houston respectively the previous night.

The play of Green, and guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will need to step up their individual games even more. Durant’s absence will be felt, but it will be up to the Warriors other three All-Stars to lead Golden State down the stretch heading into the playoffs.

Curry and Thompson both have struggled to shoot the three-ball post the All-Star break.

Curry is really in a shooting slump, connecting on just 2-of-20 of his 3s in his last two games. The two-time league MVP was converted 41 percent of his 3s before the break, but is just shooting 32 percent from beyond the arc post break.

Thompson is shooting just 31 percent from 3 post break after shooting 42 percent before the break.

Before racking up 24 points, 25 assists, and 14 rebounds while shooting 11-for-21 from the field in his last two games, Green struggled in the two games prior, totaling 12 points, six assists, and 14 rebounds.

Golden State is expected to sign free agent forward Matt Barnes for the remainder of the season in the wake of Durant’s injury, per Chris Haynes and Marc Stein of ESPN.

The Warriors will reportedly first sign free agent Jose Calderon, fulfilling their pledge to the 12-year veteran, before adding Barnes to fill void vacated by Durant.

Barnes was averaging 7.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game with the Kings before being waived shortly before Thursday’s trade deadline last week.

This will be Barnes’ second go-around with Golden State.

Barnes played with Golden State from 2006-08 and was part of the “We Believe” Warriors team led by Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, and Jason Richardson that squeaked in the playoffs as an eight seed and knocked off the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs in 2007.

Barnes told Spears of The Undefeated that his return to Golden State is “a dream come true.”

The versatile Barnes, who turns 37 on Mar. 9, brings another solid defender with toughness on the wing to go along with Green and swingman Andre Iguodala for Golden State.

The addition of Barnes isn’t a earth-shattering move by Golden State, but it does give the Warriors some flexibility to sustain Durant’s absence for the foreseeable future.