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Frustrated Draymond chides Warriors for ‘terrible' loss to Hawks

Frustrated Draymond chides Warriors for ‘terrible' loss to Hawks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Every remaining game on the Warriors’ schedule should be considered an NBA playoff game.

The stakes are that high right now.

That’s why Golden State’s 124-115 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night at State Farm Arena feels so consequential.

No one knows that better than star forward Draymond Green.

“Bad loss,” Green told reporters after the game. “It’s a terrible loss. When you’re in a position we’re in, we’ve got a chance to compete for something. Eleven games left with everything to play for, you shouldn’t have a loss like this. Too much on the line. Got to win the games you’re supposed to win. Obviously Steph’s out. Still a game we should win. So, it’s a terrible loss.”

The loss to open a six-game road trip drops the Warriors to 41-30 and cuts their lead over the Los Angeles Clippers (40-30) and Minnesota Timberwolves (41-31) for the Western Conference’s No. 6 seed to half a game.

A win in Atlanta would have moved Golden State within one game of the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 5 seed. Instead, the Warriors fell two games behind Ja Morant and Co.

“We just didn’t come out ready to play,” Green said. “We came out like we were just going to win the game. And we got diced up defensively in the first quarter and from that point on, you’re fighting an uphill battle. So everybody’s comfortable and they took it to us. We’ve got to be better. That starts with me. We were terrible defensively. It’s the NBA. Once guys get into a rhythm, it’s hard and they got into a rhythm and had it rolling. It’s tough to stop that, so we got to come out ready to play.”

The Warriors began the road trip without Steph Curry, who is back in the Bay Area receiving treatment for a pelvic contusion sustained in their win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday at Chase Center.

Curry will be re-evaluated Monday, but it’s unclear when he will play. Coach Steve Kerr stated pregame that he believes the two-time NBA MVP will rejoin the team during the road trip.

The Warriors’ next game looks easy on paper, but emotions will be running high for both sides.

Jimmy Butler makes his highly anticipated return to Miami, while Heat forward Andrew Wiggins faces the team he helped guide to the 2022 NBA championship.

Green is aware of those storylines, and he knows what the Warriors must do against a Heat team that has lost 10 consecutive games.

“Got to come to play,” Green said. “Come out and play defensively, come out and play hard. We got Jimmy over here. I know this is a big game for him. They got Wiggs over there. I know it’s a huge game for him. Just like we want to win for Jimmy, they’re going to want to win for Wiggs. We got to come out ready to play.

“They’ve lost, what, 10 games in a row? Six or seven of those games come down to four- or five-point games, last couple of possessions. So, it’s a little fool’s gold that they’ve lost 10 in a row. We know who the Miami Heat are. They play hard and are disciplined. So we’ve got to come out and play our brand of basketball.”

The good news for the Warriors is that the Clippers play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday and the Timberwolves face the Indiana Pacers on Monday.

But Green and Golden State can’t afford “terrible” performances over their final 11 regular-season games.

Each loss could be the difference between being the No. 6 seed and earning a week off before the playoffs begin, and having to participate in the NBA play-in tournament.

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Rangers rally in third period, score four times to win 5-3 against Canucks

NEW YORK (AP) — Jonny Brodzinski scored his second goal of the game late in the third period and Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves as the New York Rangers downed the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 on Saturday to snap a three-game losing streak.

Brodzinski rifled his ninth goal of the season past Canucks netminder Kevin Lankinen at 15:47 to give the Rangers the lead 37 seconds after Vancouver’s Brock Boeser tied the contest.

Former Canuck J.T. Miller added an empty-net goal. New York lost to Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto at home this week.

K’Andre Miller and Adam Fox also scored for the Rangers. Alexis Lafreniere had two assists.

Dakota Joshua and Drew O’Connor also scored for the Canucks.

Joshua opened the scoring at 11:51 of the first when he jammed a loose puck past Shesterkin.

The Rangers were outshot 11-1 in the first, exiting to a chorus of boos from the home crowd.

The Canucks had a 13-5 shots advantage in the second but Fox was able to tie the contest at 11:03. Rangers forward Brennan Othmann assisted on Fox’s goal, his first NHL point.

After Brodzinski’s first goal at 1:39 of the third, O’Connor tied the game at 11:22 before Miller put New York ahead 3-2 at 12:40.

Lankinen made eight saves in defeat.

Takeaways

Rangers: New York is 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. The Rangers are battling for a wild-card playoff spot.

Canucks: Fell to 17-13-5 on the road.

Key moment

The Rangers honored Hall of Fame play-by-play announcer Sam Rosen, who is retiring following this season after more than four decades as the television voices of the franchise. Rosen was joined by his wife Jill, former broadcast partners Phil Esposito and John Davidson and current booth partner Joe Micheletti on Madison Square Garden ice for a pregame ceremony.

Key stat

Shesterkin, making his seventh straight start, won at home for the first time since March 3.

Up next

Rangers: Visiting Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

Canucks: Visiting New Jersey Devils on Monday.

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Anthony Davis reportedly to return to Mavericks during upcoming East Coast road trip

Anthony Davis is "very eager" to get back on the court for the Dallas Mavericks, which could happen next week.

Davis has been sidelined since straining his adductor on Feb. 8 — his one game as a Maverick since the shocking trade that sent him to Dallas for Luka Doncic — and has been working to get back on the court. However, with Davis out and Kyrie Irving since tearing his ACL, the Mavericks have slid down the Western Conference standings. Davis is still pushing to return, he has had two 5-on-5 practices with the Texas Legends of the G-League, the most recent one with fellow injured centers Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford.

Davis hopes to return to the Mavericks' lineup during Dallas' upcoming Eastern road trip starting Monday, reports NBA insider Marc Stein. No timetable for Davis to play has been set, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said (the same is true of the other centers). This road trip starts Monday in Brooklyn and then heads to New York (Tuesday), Orlando (Thursday), and Chicago (Saturday).

There is disagreement within the Mavericks organization about whether Davis should return, Stein has reported. The Mavericks are tied with the suddenly surging Phoenix Suns for the No. 10 seed and final play-in spot in the West. The question the Mavericks should be asking: "Is the risk of another injury Davis worth the reward of maybe making the No. 10 seed, then having to win two play-in games on the road to make the playoffs, where No. 1 seed Oklahoma City will be waiting? Many people would look at that scenario and suggest Dallas is better off focusing on improving this year's draft position and bringing everyone back healthy next season.

Davis, however, wants to return, and all the noise about how Dallas blew the Doncic trade likely plays into that. (To be fair, those complaints were less about Davis and more about trading a fan favorite about to enter his prime for a player six years older, and for not a large enough return. The anger wasn't aimed at Davis but at management.) It appears Davis will get his way this week, but whether that is enough to get Dallas into the postseason remains to be seen.

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Blackhawks Forward Patrick Maroon Plans To Retire After This Season

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Ahead of their road game against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Maroon revealed his plans to retire after this season on live TV. 

Maroon announced the news to Darren Pang during a pre-game interview on CHSN. His career will have spanned over 800 games and includes three Stanley Cup championships. 

Maroon was a 6th-round pick (161st overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2007 NHL Draft. Before ever playing a game for the Flyers, Maroon was traded to the Anaheim Ducks where he played for parts of five seasons. 

He has since played for the Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins, and Chicago Blackhawks. 

He's been a journeyman since being traded away by the Ducks but he certainly provided value to every team he played for. 

Maroon's three Stanley Cups came in consecutive years. He signed with his hometown Blues and won which as succeded by two straight with the Lightning. 

This announcement came at the right place for Maroon as he is a St. Louis native. Being the place he's from in addition to the spot where he won his first Cup, St. Louis will always be the most special for him so it's fitting to make that news public there. 

Maroon was successful in the NHL because he played a heavy game and had some offensive jam. He was able to provide multiple skills no matter where he was playing in the lineup. 

It wasn't always easy for Maroon either. Early in his career, his odds of making it in the league weren't great but he continued to grind until he made his dream come true. 

Now that he has this plan to retire, the Blackhawks can send him off the right way. Maroon should be celebrated from now until the very end as he's been nothing short of a wonderful human being. The NHL was better for having him. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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Blackhawks' Patrick Maroon Announces 2024-25 Will Be His Final NHL Season

Pat Maroon (Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images)

Patrick Maroon made an announcement that he will retire at the end of the 2024-25 season. The Chicago Blackhawks left winger said this ahead of their game against the St. Louis Blues.

He got emotional in a pre-game interview with Darren Pang when he made this statement. This is also his last game in his hometown of St. Louis.

“I just know it’s time for me, it’s time for my family to go start a new chapter in our lives,” Maroon said.

Maroon was drafted in 2007 by the Philadelphia Flyers 161st overall in the sixth round, but after a few seasons in the OHL and AHL, he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks.  Since then, he’s played in nearly 14 seasons.

Chicago’s clash against St. Louis is Maroon's 840th game of his NHL career. In that time, he’s scored 125 goals and 320 points. The left winger played for eight different teams in his career, including the Blues.

This season, he’s made 59 appearances for the Blackhawks and has four goals and 16 points. The grinder also has seven fights this season, his last one came in Tuesday's game against the Seattle Kraken in a tilt with John Hayden. According to HockeyFights, Maroon has 138 fights in his career.

Maroon is seventh among active skaters in penalty minutes, and over the course of his 14-year career, he’s racked up 1,071 total.

The 36-year-old veteran won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in the single season that he played with them in 2018-19. Following that season, Maroon secured another two championships with the Tampa Bay Lightning, completing a three-peat.

In his career, Maroon has featured in 163 playoff games, scoring 23 goals and 53 points, while also having a plus-six rating. He’s played playoff games for the Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Blues, Lightning and Boston Bruins. 

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Aaron Judge's first spring training HR overshadowed by ninth-inning implosion in Yankees' 8-7 loss to Phillies

The Yankees blew a seven-run lead going into the top of the ninth inning and lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-7, on Saturday afternoon.

Here are the takeaways...

-Still fighting for a roster spot and having made it this far, RHP Cam Schlittler took the ball for New York in his fifth and final appearance of the spring and left on a high note after going four scoreless innings while giving up just three hits, a walk and striking out two on 57 pitches (36 strikes). He relied on a lot of ground balls and induced two double plays to help him get through his outing.

Aside from one rough start, the 24-year-old pitched great for the Yanks during camp as a non-roster invitee following a solid minor league season in 2024 in which he pitched for all three levels, tallying a 3.36 ERA over 120.2 innings.

While Schlittler will likely begin the season in the minors to continue to improve upon his breakout year that included a 2.60 ERA in 17 Single-A starts, New York has got to be pleased with how its right-hander performed in his first taste of big league camp. And with so many injuries to the pitching staff already, Schlittler could just be a phone call away from making his MLB debut at some point this season.

-Without a ton of hits, the Yankees' offense was able to push across seven runs, spearheaded by a four-run fourth inning. Before that, though, Aaron Judge smashed a two-run home run in the third inning for his first spring training homer this season. The three-time MVP hasn't had his best camp, hitting .138 (4-for-29), so it was good to see him connect with one and leave the yard before the start of the regular season. Judge finished 1-for-3 with three RBI and a strikeout as the DH.

-New York's crooked number in the fourth was mostly due to poor pitching by Philadelphia who walked three in the inning and hit another. However, Jasson Dominguez had an RBI single in the frame to keep up his solid spring at the plate and J.C. Escarra, who after the game was informed that he officially made the Opening Day roster, also had a run-scoring hit.

Escarra really impressed in camp, hitting .333 with three home runs, eight RBI, seven runs scored to go along with a .936 OPS. All of this after the 29-year-old slashed .302/.403/.527 in 52 games in Triple-A in 2024 -- his first season back in the minors since 2021. He'll now make his MLB debut this season.

-The Yankees bullpen, including Mark Leiter Jr. (1 IP, 3 Ks), Geoff Hartlieb (1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks), Colten Brewer (1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K) and Rob Zastryzny (1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K), was lights out. That's before Eric Reyzelman came in for the ninth inning looking to slam the door of a 7-0 lead. Instead, the right-hander allowed five earned runs on four hits and a walk before getting pulled for Leonardo Pestana.

With New York's lead shaved to two runs, Pestana couldn't seal the deal either, giving up a three-run bomb that pulled the Phillies all the way back and in front for the first time all day.

-The Yanks had the tying and winning runners on base in the bottom half of the inning, but came up empty.

Highlights

What's next

The Yankees play a Sunday matinee against the Tampa Bay Rays at 1:05 p.m. at George M. Steinbrenner Field. It will be their final home game of the spring before handing the keys to the Rays for the regular season.

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Kirsty Coventry’s in-tray: six big issues facing IOC’s new president

From protecting women’s sport to the return of Russia and keeping the Olympics relevant, the former gold medallist has tough challenges ahead

As a seven-time Olympic swimming medallist, Kirsty Coventry knows a thing or two about navigating choppy waters. But the new International Olympic Committee president now faces the biggest set of challenges to global sport since the 1980s, when boycotts rocked the Moscow and Los Angeles Games. As the 41-year-old prepares to take over from Thomas Bach in June, what issues will she face?

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Tylor Megill strikes out five, Hayden Senger blasts HR in Mets' tie with Nationals

The Mets scored three runs early and added two more in the seventh inning to tie the Washington Nationals, 5-5, in their third-to-last spring training game on Saturday afternoon.

Here are the takeaways...

- Tylor Megill took the mound for the fourth and final time this spring, continuing to fight for a spot in the starting rotation. The right-hander made quick work of the Nationals, opening the game with back-to-back 1-2-3 innings. Megill let up a leadoff single in the top of the third inning, but got some help from Luisangel Acuña and Francisco Lindor on a double play, and closed the frame with a strikeout.

- Megill got into a little trouble in the fourth inning with runners on second and third base, but escaped the jam by striking out Alex Call for the third out. Megill found himself in a similar situation in the fifth inning after a walk, fielding error by Mark Vientos, and sac bunt gave the Nats runners on second and third. James Wood took advantage of the opportunity and drove in a run on a single, cutting the Mets' lead to 3-1. Megill struck out Amed Rosario for the second out and then chaos ensued, as the Mets executed a 2-6-3-2 putout to end the inning.

He allowed another leadoff single in the top of the sixth inning, and after his fifth strikeout, let up an RBI single to Keibert Ruiz, making it a 3-2 game. That would be the last batter Megill faced, as he finished the day after 5.1 IP, allowing three earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts, and two walks over 88 pitches.

- The Mets got to LHP MacKenzie Gore early, as Juan Soto walked, Pete Alonso singled, and Brandon Nimmo drove in a run on a ground-rule double. Vientos tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly and Jesse Winker made it a 3-0 game with an RBI single.

- RHP TJ Shook replaced Megill in the top of the sixth and got the second out quickly before more trouble ensued. A wild pitch, single, walk, and double from Jacob Young gave Washington a 5-3 lead. Shook got Wood to ground out to stop the bleeding after 22 pitches.

- A.J. Minter entered the game in the seventh and tossed a quick 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout, needing only 10 pitches.

- Hayden Senger, who looks to secure the backup catching job behind Luis Torrens, hit his first home run of spring training in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Mets trailed, 5-4. Lindor stayed in the game after some of the starters were pulled and delivered an RBI single to tie the game up at 5-5.

Who was the game MVP?

Nimmo, who finished the day 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. He's hitting .250 over 20 ABs this spring.

Highlights

What's next

The Mets play their penultimate spring training game on Sunday against the Miami Marlins at 1:10 p.m.

Griffin Canning is expected to take the mound at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie.