Category: Basketball

Zach LaVine helps Kings exhale after majestic road performance against Heat originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Kings went to South Beach and played their best game of the 2025-26 NBA season, coasting to a 127-111 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday at Kaseya Center. 

Yes, you read that correctly: Sacramento, in the midst of a losing skid and on the road, put together four impressive quarters against one of the league’s best defensive teams in a city notoriously known for distracting its visitors.

To many teams in the league, it could’ve been any other victory. For the Kings, especially at this juncture of the season, it’s a moment to exhale – and release some built-up tension.

“The preparation has been the same,” Zach LaVine told Kyle Draper, Morgan Ragan and Deuce Mason on “Kings Postgame Live.” “We’ve been fighting through it. Everyone in this locker room is a competitor. I’m a competitor. No one is quitting. No one wants to lose. 

“We are fighting through a little bit of adversity from top to bottom with the whole team. We’re just trying to figure out how to make it happen. Everybody in this locker room is going to stick with it regardless of what people say on the outside. We don’t care about that. We’re going to keep doing what we have to do.” 

"No one is quitting. No one wants to lose."

Zach LaVine emphasizes the Kings' commitment after tonight's win 👏 pic.twitter.com/9ZDHWccOSs

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) December 7, 2025

Sure, among the Heats’ inactives were guards Tyler Herro and Davion Mitchell, but the Kings, propelled by a season-high 42 points from LaVine, left coach Doug Christie – and Sacramento fans – with plenty to be proud of.

“We work on the defense when get practice days, and when these guys are locked in, we’ve seen them play some really good defense,” Christie told reporters.

“Now, they have some guys out, so you got to understand that. At the same time, they played on a back to back, so there are some things there. But still, their style of basketball plays to everyone on their team. I know with [Heat coach Erik Spoelstra], it’s the next man up. There are no excuses, and for us to come out and play that way mightily impressive.”

"For us to come out and play that way was mightily impressive."

Doug Christie was pleased with the Kings' defensive work 👏 pic.twitter.com/T52BYcVn38

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) December 7, 2025

LaVine, who also tallied eight 3-pointers, was supported by a pair of King rookies. 

After gaining Christie’s confidence through several strong performances, rookie Maxime Raynaud made his first career start tonight. 

The Stanford product finished with a double-double, registering 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. 

Meanwhile, first-round pick Nique Clifford, coming off the bench, demonstrated his best performance of the season, adding 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting.  

Before returning home, the Kings will make a stop in Indiana to face the Pacers on Monday. 

In the meantime, they’ve earned every right to take in some of the Miami experience.

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Warriors follow unlikely superhero Pat Spencer to encouraging win vs. Cavaliers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors wobbled into Cleveland on Saturday and, for the first time this season, summoned the kind of performance that delivers a warm cup of encouragement to everyone on the payroll.

Coming off a distasteful loss Thursday night in Philadelphia, they vanquished a quality opponent, on the road, without the services of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler III and Al Horford.

The Warriors’ 99-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers was accomplished behind the horsepower of a patchwork starting lineup, their 12th of the season, and a rotation that mostly made sense even if at times it looked as if the names were drawn from a hat.

No one was more vital to this stunning triumph than Pat Spencer, the Bay Area’s latest unlikely superhero. The two-way guard, making his first NBA start, submitted something of a movie trailer for his own Linsanity moment.

Spencer this week has moved from reliable part-time energizer to critical component of the Warriors. He is vastly outplaying his two-way contract.

“We’ve seen the competitiveness,” Kerr told reporters at Rocket Arena. “We’ve seen what a good player he is over the past couple years. But he’s really improved his jump shot. That’s the big thing. Last year, he would turn down a lot of threes, drive in, shoot a lot of floaters. He’s never going to be Steph, but he’s a threat out there. That’s what it takes. You have to be a threat from the line to pull the defense out. I just think now the shot quality we’re getting with him on the floor is way better than it was the last couple years.

“And the other thing is that his coach realizes that Pat is that motherf–ker. That became clear.”

Spencer scored a team- and career-high 19 points, on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including 3 of 4 from distance. He recorded a game-high seven assists, while committing only one turnover, and was plus-nine in 29 minutes.

He was at his best in the fourth quarter, when the moment grew in magnitude and the Cavs intensified their defense, trimming a 13-point deficit with 5:17 remaining to two with 20.9 seconds left. Spencer scored 12 of Golden State’s 27 points in the quarter and assisted on two more buckets.

“It took a collective effort,” Spencer said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Warriors Postgame Live.” “We had 10 guys, but we had 10 pretty young guys today. And [the Cavaliers] were coming off a back-to-back [set]. We knew if we played with pace, got up and down, we’d find some shots that were beneficial for us.”

All 10 available Warriors provided something that helped the carve out the victory. Buddy Hield finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Quinten Post produced 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks while battling NBA All-Star big man Even Mobley to a virtual standoff. Jonathan Kuminga, making his first start since Nov. 11, scored four only points on 1-of-10 shooting but yanked seven rebounds.

The bench came through with enough solid play at both ends to ensure there would be no significant drop-off from the starters. Golden State generated leads as high as 14 points. Gui Santos gave the Warriors 14 points and three assists, with two crucial free throws with 11.3 seconds remaining. Brandin Podziemski, struggling of late, delivered 10 points, three rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes.

The Warriors pestered the Cavaliers into 34.6-percent shooting from the field, including 23.8 beyond the arc. Stars Donovan Mitchall, Darius Garland and Mobley combined to shoot 25 of 60 from the field.

“We were on a string,” Kerr said. “We were connected. We did a pretty good job taking care of transition, which was our No. 1 key. They are so fast in transition, one of the best teams in the league at scoring in the first eight seconds of the clock. They get the ball down the floor. I thought we took that away.”

There is no doubt, though, that the high-velocity spirit of Spencer was contagious enough to push the entire squad to levels that must be as dynamic as they can reach without the team’s best players.

When Spencer went the line to shoot two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining and the Warriors up 97-94, he followed his first make by waving goodbye to the crowd. He then dropped in the second for the final score.

“We’ll take any win we can get right now,” Spencer said. “Great energy in the locker room, just competing our butts off tonight. We’re trying to weather the storm until we get healthy. But yeah, we’re fired up.”

As well they should be. Who could have imagined the Warriors getting a quality road win with Curry, Green and Butler inactive? Who could have dreamed Spencer would be the driving force?

To be sure, this victory doesn’t mean Golden State’s failed two-timeline plan has been revived – goodness, no. But it’s proof that the supporting cast is hearing the pleas the veterans have been urging for a few weeks.

Given the turbulent play so far this season, there is legitimate value in that.

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Steve Kerr epically quotes Pat Spencer in NSFW podium quip after Warriors' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

If you’re not familiar with Pat Spencer by this point, then you probably should be.

After his defiant declaration on Thursday in Philadelphia, Spencer backed it up in the Warriors’ 99-94 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night at Rocket Arena. The 29-year-old point guard — in his first career NBA start — scored a career-high 19 points to go with seven assists and four rebounds.

Steve Kerr offered a priceless moment in his postgame presser, repeating Spencer’s audacious quote that could end up being iconic in Warriors lore.

“I think the other thing is that his coach realized that Pat is that motherf–ker,” Kerr told reporters. “I think that became clear.”

Was Kerr previously aware of that quality Spencer possesses? That was the next question for Golden State’s coach.

“No, I was getting the inkling, you know,” Kerr replied. “It was starting to creep in, but I didn’t realize it until he told the world, and tonight it was very clear.”

Minutes later, Gui Santos similarly agreed with Spencer’s assertion.

“A huge compliment for Pat, that guy,” Santos explained to reporters, before asking if he could swear. “Pat is that motherf–ker, you know. He’s great. It’s great to have a guy like that on the team.”

Pat Spencer: not the hero the Warriors deserve, but the hero they needed. Just as we all predicted.

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What we learned as Pat Spencer fuels depleted Warriors' upset win vs. Cavaliers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• BOX SCORE

Remember all those games where the Warriors played a team without multiple stars yet still found themselves on the losing side? Saturday night in Cleveland finally was the opposite for Golden State.

The Warriors, without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, continued to show their competitive spirit. They only had 10 healthy players on the first night of a back-to-back while the Cleveland Cavaliers had their Big Three and the majority of their most important players. As the Warriors have learned time and time again, the game isn’t played on paper but on the hardwood. 

Behind the all-powerful Pat Spencer and a spunky bunch of role players, the Warriors pulled off a wild 99-94 upset win against the Cavs at Rocket Arena.

Spencer earned his first career start and continued to dazzle. The 29-year-old on a two-way contract scored a new career-high 19 points and was a plus-9 in 29 minutes. Spencer also had a team-high seven assists.

Scoring came up and down the Warriors’ roster. Gui Santos’ 14 points were second to Spencer, and five players scored in double figures.

Here are three takeaways from a huge Warriors win on the road.

Pat Spencer, Starting Point Guard

A major change was seen in the Warriors’ starting lineup with so many injuries. But the move wasn’t made solely because of a lack of players. Spencer on Saturday was rewarded with his first career NBA start after providing a needed spark with perhaps the two best performances of his career in back-to-back games.

Spencer on Tuesday tied his career-high of 17 points with three rebounds, six assists and one steal. He then followed that up with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and one steal. So, what did he do in his first start? 

The first quarter wasn’t easy because of two early fouls. But then Spencer got the Warriors going in the second quarter, pushing the pace, getting into the paint and assisting on three 3-pointers. That made Spencer a team-high plus-10 through the first half with four points, two rebounds and three assists as the Warriors led by nine points.

Winning time is Spencer time. He scored six fourth-quarter points against OKC, 12 in Philadelphia and another 12 in Cleveland with multiple clutch shots made. Spencer in the second half scored 15 points with two rebounds and four assists.

How JK, Podz Responded

During Steve Kerr’s pregame press conference, the Warriors coach laid out the best paths to success for Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, two former first-round NBA draft picks who have struggled as of late. 

“Well, JK, it’s always run the floor, take care of the ball – the turnovers have been an issue lately,” Kerr told reporters. “So I’m really urging him to get up the floor instead of, you know, holding back in the backcourt and asking for the ball. I want him to be the first guy down the floor, not the last.”

Kuminga was in the starting five after coming off the bench his past four games. He began by dribbling, dribbling, dribbling and missing between a couple fadeaways inside the arc, a missed three and a blocked layup. Kuminga missed his first seven shots and was the lone Warrior held scoreless in the first half, but he did have three rebounds and three assists. 

The game became easier for Kuminga in the third quarter, cutting to the hoop for easy points or getting to the free-throw line. Kuminga only played two and a half minutes in the fourth quarter. Though he did grab seven rebounds, Kuminga was just 1 of 10 from the field for four points.

“With Brandin, he’s got to get off the ball early,” Kerr continued. “When he gets into trouble is when he tries too hard to make plays on his own, instead of doing what he does best, which is to move the ball and be part of a five-man group that is really executing.”

Unlike Kuminga, Podziemski did not get the starting nod. All 10 healthy Warriors played in the first half, and Podziemski was the only one whose plus/minus wasn’t in the positive. Podziemski was a minus-1 going into halftime with five points, two rebounds and two assists.

Podziemski made a huge step-through layup with a minute and a half left and closed the game after not playing the entire fourth quarter Thursday night. The third-year guard ended as a minus-5, scoring 10 points and adding three rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Defensive Clinic

Great defense leads to offense, and that was the story for the Warriors in Cleveland. The Warriors’ defense was connected on a string and frustrated the Cavs for all four quarters. 

The Cavs came into Saturday night averaging 119.6 points per game, good for seventh in the NBA. They scored 36 in the first half and finished with 94. They average 15.3 made threes per game, good for fifth in the NBA. Their 10 threes made were five below their season average. None of this was by mistake. 

Donovan Mitchell averages 30 points per game and scored 29, but needed 26 shots. Nobody else scored 20 points for the Cavs. Evan Mobley (18 points) and Darius Garland (17 points) barely missed the mark. They also were a combined 14-of-34 shooting (41.2 percent). 

The Cavs’ 94 points was a season low. The Warriors quietly have cracked the top five in defensive rating and for the second straight game held their opponent to under 100 points.

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