Bay Area Buzz 11/26: Warriors Win, Kings Win, Tim Flannery, Jon Lester
Bay Area Topics
Warriors Win
"After a one-game slump, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, AKA “The Splash Brothers,” were back to themselves Tuesday night.Curry scored a season-high 40 points and Thompson added 24, as the Warriors posted a 114-97 win over a Heat team that kept things close until the final minutes in Miami.Harrison Barnes added 12 points and Draymond Green finished with 11 as the Warriors (11-2) won for the third consecutive season in Miami and extended their current overall win streak to six.Curry and Thompson both were coming off uncharacteristically bad games, combining for 11-of-35 shooting against the Thunder in Oklahoma City. They were a combined 22-of-38 on Tuesday.The Warriors used stifling defense to close this one out. After allowing Miami to score 62 points in the first half, the Heat were held to 35 after halftime – and only 11 in the decisive fourth quarter.While the Warriors shot 57.3 percent from the floor (46.4 percent beyond the arc), the Heat shot 27.5 percent in the second half, 38.8 percent for the game."
Kings Win
"The Sacramento Kings are proving to be a resilient bunch. With two starters nursing injuries and their coach ejected in the second quarter, the team pulled together admirably. In a total team-wide effort where every member of the team seemingly played its part, the Kings handed the New Orleans Pelicans a home loss reminiscent of the blow the Pelicans dealt to the Kings just a week ago by a score of 99-89.The Kings were led by DeMarcus Cousins, who was his usual sublime self. Although the return of Omer Asik made it more difficult for Cousins in the paint, Boogie still managed blow up the Pelicans with 22 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists. Most importantly, Cousins avoided foul trouble and played 35 total minutes. Cousins was joined by the relentless Omri Casspi, who started in the place of the injured Rudy Gay. Casspi is the Kings’ honey badger, giving not a damn who he was taking to the rack, including the Pelicans’ shotblocking savant Anthony Davis. Omri moves so well without the ball and the Kings’ offense is especially conducive to finding him in motion off of cuts and curls, giving Casspi a straight line to the rim where he is often able to finish because of his craftiness.Several players contributed in many key areas. Jason Thompson played marvelous defense against Davis, who struggled to find a rhythm all game. Thompson was in Davis’ chest all game, forcing him out onto the perimeter using his strength advantage, using his size to harass the lob passing lanes Davis usually thrives on, and blocking Davis off from being a menace on the glass. Davis finished with only 14 points on 4/12 shooting. Ramon Sessions shrugged off a sluggish start to help break down the Pelicans defense opportunistically down the stretch, including hitting a big three pointer to put the Kings up 14 with 3 minutes to go. Sessions ended with 15 points and 6 assists on 4/13 shooting."
Tim Flannery
"More sad news for the San Francisco Giants world comes today, third-base coach Tim Flannery has stepped down from his position with the Giants. He posted the message this morning on his band’s Facebook Page.“Hey friends.I thought you should know that today,officially, I have stepped down as the 3rd base coach of the 3 time World Champion San Francisco Giants. I talked to Brian Sabean, and Bruce Bochy this morning ,and shared some tears together. Without getting into this too deep, I just want you to know my family, and I have been talking,and praying over this for many months. The grueling grind, the schedule, the demands have taken a toll, and I feel it is the time to step off the highway and heal. This baseball life is a blessing, but collateral damage comes with it. After winning our 3rd World Tittle, (and I have no dreams of managing), I just didn’t know what else I could give as a 3rd base coach, especially at the level I demand myself to perform at.”"
–Melissa Felkins, Around the Foghorn
Jon Lester
"Free agent pitcher Jon Lester will meet with the Giants next week, according to multiple reports. ESPN’s Jim Bowden was first to report the news, which was later confirmed by the Associated Press.Lester, who was traded from the Red Sox to the Athletics in July, has drawn interest from several teams."