Bay Area Buzz 11/3: Big Wins for Warriors/Kings, 49ers/Raiders Lose
Bay Area Topics
Big Win for Warriors
"Too few rebounds, too many costly turnovers and maybe an element of fatigue almost cost the Warriors on Sunday night.Klay Thompson made sure it didn’t.Thompson made a driving floater over Wes Matthews with 8.7 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a one-point lead and they went on to a 95-90 win over the Trail Blazers at Moda Center in Portland.Stephen Curry dropped in four free throws in the final with 4.5 seconds left to secure the victory.Thompson continued his torrid shooting, finishing with a game-high 29 points, 20 of which came in the first half.After Thompson’s 3-pointer with 2:46 gave the Warriors their last lead, 88-86, Portland pulled ahead behind back-to-back baskets from power forward LaMarcus Aldridge.But the Warriors held Portland scoreless over the final two minutes, as Thompson and Curry sealed the win that gave the Warriors their first 3-0 start since 1994-95.Three other Warriors scored in double figures, led by Stephen Curry’s 17. Leandro Barbosa came off the bench for 13 and Andrew Bogut added 11.The Warriors (3-0) committed 17 turnovers, off which the Blazers (1-2) scored 17 points. The Warriors scored seven points off 16 Portland giveaways.The Warriors were dominated on the glass, 56-41.None of it mattered, as the Curry-Thompson backcourt overcame it all."
Big Win for Kings
"You’re not alone if you spent most of Sunday’s matinee just waiting for the Clippers to rise up and dispose of the Sacramento Kings. After all, this was a Kings team that, despite an impressive win over Portland on Friday, had not proven themselves on the road in a decade. But maybe this is a new era in Kings basketball? Clippers runs were limited by active Sacramento defense, and the Kings offense ran efficiently around their two studs. Unlike years past, Sacramento did not succumb in the waning moments, taking down the Clippers, 98-92. In the process, the Kings took another big step forward in their hope to become relevant again."
49ers Lose
"The bye week supposedly came at a good time for the 49ers to rest up and recalibrate for the stretch drive.But the 49ers did not exactly look like a team that will be playing meaningful football games in December in a lackluster 13-10 against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.Quarterback Colin Kaepernick fumbled at the goal line on a third-down quarterback sneak attempt. Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis came out of the pile with the football. And the Rams came out of this matchup against the 49ers with an improbable victory.The 49ers (4-4) were awful in just about every imaginable way in their second matchup against the NFC West’s last-place team three weeks. The 49ers defeated the Rams 31-17 on Oct. 13 in St. Louis.The 49ers were especially in the area of pass protection. St. Louis sacked Colin Kaepernick eight times as the line experienced numerous breakdowns, and Kaepernick did not throw the ball away other times when he had the opportunity."
Raiders Lose
"For another week the Oakland Raiders remained competitive in large stretches, but were ultimately not good enough on Sunday to earn their first win of the season as an entertaining game with the Seattle Seahawks ended with the now 0-8 Raiders falling just short of one of the biggest upsets of the 2014 NFL season. Coming back from a significant halftime deficit, the Raiders got to within six points with under 2:00 left before a Sebastian Janikowski onside kick that was up for grabs ended up in the hands of a Seahawks player to give Seattle an expected win that Oakland put in doubt for the defending Super Bowl champions on more than one occasion."