What we learned as Steph-less Warriors struggle in bad loss to Hawks

What we learned as Steph-less Warriors struggle in bad loss to Hawks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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The last time the Warriors beat the Hawks in Atlanta, Steph Curry (30 points), Kevin Durant (28 points) and Klay Thompson (27 points) combined to score 85 points in a 128-111 win at State Farm Arena. 

It was Dec. 3, 2018, six seasons ago. The Warriors now have lost their last six games in Atlanta after falling to the Hawks 124-115 on Saturday without Steph Curry to start a six-game road trip.

In the final three quarters, the Warriors outscored the Hawks by eight points. But they fell behind by as many as 20 points in the first quarter, and swimming upstream the rest of the way was too hard to overcome. 

Jimmy Butler led the Warriors with 25 points on 7-of-15 shooting and was 10 of 14 on free throws. Butler, plus-11, was the only Warriors starter with a positive plus/minus. Gary Payton II (plus-6) joined Butler as the only two Warriors to have a positive plus/minus. 

Trae Young had a 25-point, 10-assist double-double, but he wasn’t the only Hawk to star offensively. They had three players score at least 20 points, including 23 off the bench from Georges Niang.

The Hawks ended up shooting 57 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from deep. They dished 37 assists and outscored the Warriors 60-44 in the paint.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors losing once again in Atlanta.

DPOY Battle

As the Cleveland Cavaliers have lost four consecutive games, Draymond Green has risen to a neck-and-neck race with Evan Mobley as the favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year. Hawks defensive ace Dyson Daniels is right there, too.

Daniels came into the day leading the NBA in total steals (194) and steals per game (3.0). Halfway through the first quarter, Daniels snuck from behind to steal the ball away from Green, drove down the court and finished with a tough layup over him. 

Green roamed as he always does in Golden State’s defense. Daniels began the game guarding Butler, and also spent time on Brandin Podziemski and others. Both were effective in their own ways.

Each player had three steals, and Green added one blocked shot. Awards season is creeping closer, and both stated their case to hoist the DPOY trophy.

Hawks Slice Dubs’ Defense 

Offense isn’t an issue for Atlanta. The Hawks since the start of February are top five in points per game, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. There was no slowing them down Saturday on their home court. 

The Warriors in the first quarter fell into a 17-point deficit they couldn’t fully climb back out of. Simply put, the Hawks got whatever they wanted. Atlanta tallied 40 points on 64-percent shooting, going 16 of 25 overall and 4 of 9 on 3-pointers. Everybody put up points. 

Quin Snyder used nine players in the first quarter, and all nine scored. At halftime, the Hawks held a 12-point lead from shooting 60 percent (30 of 50) while handing out 23 assists and turning the ball over only three times. Onyeka Okongwu scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half.

Through three quarters, six Hawks had scored in double figures, giving them a 17-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

This was supposed to be all about containing Young. It wound up being about so much more. 

Podz’s Up-And-Down Performance

Without Curry, the ball was going to be in Podziemski’s hands, and his 3-point shot was going to be needed. Well, Podziemski did bring the long ball to Atlanta. 

He made two 3-pointers in the first quarter and another two in the third quarter. Podziemski made a fifth three in the fourth quarter, giving him a season high. He struggled scoring elsewhere.

Podziemski missed numerous chances right around the rim. Whether it was a layup, tip shot, floater or getting stuck in the paint, Podziemski found himself in more trouble the closer he was to the hoop. Podziemski was 5 of 8 on threes, but 1 of 6 on 2-pointers. 

Ending with 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists is a strong stat line. Podziemski also was a minus-8 in 36 minus, and every opportunity for points becomes amplified when the Warriors don’t have Curry.

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Former Predators Forward Sets New NHL Record

Kiefer Sherwood (© Bob Frid-Imagn Images)

During this past season, Nashville Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon made NHL history. The 6-foot-3 defenseman set an NHL record by finishing the campaign with  383 hits in 79 games.

However, Lauzon's hit record has now been beaten by one of his former Nashville teammates - Kiefer Sherwood.

During the Vancouver Canucks' March 22 contest against the New York Rangers, Sherwood threw his 384th hit of the campaign. It took the Columbus, Ohio native 66 games to set this new NHL record. 

Sherwood spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons as a member of the Predators. In 100 games with the Central Division squad, he had 17 goals, 40 points, 337 hits, and a plus-21 rating. 

Sherwood's time with the Predators ended this past off-season when he signed a two-year, $3 million contract with the Canucks. In 65 games this season with Vancouver, he has set new career highs with 15 goals and 29 points. 

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Flyers suffer 9th loss in last 10 games after good effort is spoiled by quick OT

Flyers suffer 9th loss in last 10 games after good effort is spoiled by quick OT originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers have taken their fair share of gut punches as this 2024-25 season stumbles to the finish line.

They took another one Saturday afternoon with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Stars at American Airlines Center.

Dallas scored the winner just nine seconds into the bonus session.

The Flyers fell behind 2-0 for the fourth straight game, but second-period goals from Travis Konecny and Ryan Poehling erased the deficit. John Tortorella’s club went to OT for the 20th time this season and dropped to 11-9 after regulation.

The Flyers (28-34-9) have lost four straight. They’ve had five losing streaks of four or more games this season.

They’re 1-8-1 over their last 10 games, a stretch in which they’ve scored just 1.50 goals per game and given up 3.80. They’ve also lost 17 of their last 23 games (6-14-3).

The Flyers were swept by the Stars (44-21-4) in their two-game regular-season series. They lost to Dallas, 4-1, in January at the Wells Fargo Center, a “sh–ty” game that elicited boos.

• Ivan Fedotov’s start Saturday lasted only one period.

The Stars scored two goals on their first two shots. They had just three shots in the first period but went into intermission with a 2-0 lead.

Samuel Ersson took over for Fedotov at the start of the second period. He made 15 saves on 16 shots. His lone blemish came in overtime when he was a bit lackadaisical playing the puck outside of his crease and Thomas Harley made him pay.

The Flyers entered Saturday with an NHL-worst .875 save percentage. Last season, they lost Carter Hart in January because of the Hockey Canada sexual assault case. They finished tied with the Senators for the league’s worst save percentage at .884.

“When Carter left, that threw this into turmoil,” Tortorella said two and a half months ago. “It is what it is, we’ve lived with it, we continue to live with it and we do the best we can.”

Dallas netminder Jake Oettinger stopped 22 of the Flyers’ 24 shots.

Konecny scored a huge goal for the Flyers and himself. It was his second marker in the last 24 games and it gave the Flyers some offensive life. Poehling then tallied his third goal in the last five games off an assist by Matvei Michkov, who ended a six-game slump of no points.

Overall, the Flyers have put together back-to-back competitive performances. They outshot the NHL-leading Capitals 28-16 two days ago, but lost, 3-2.

• The Flyers are five points up on the Sabres, who occupy last place in the Eastern Conference.

Buffalo, however, has played three fewer games. The clubs also have two head-to-head matchups left.

In the NHL standings, three Western Conference teams are below the Flyers: the Predators, Blackhawks and Sharks.

• The Flyers’ power play went 0 for 3, dropping to 0 for 28 in March. In the last 27 games, it’s 5 for 62.

The Flyers are at 13.9 percent on the season.

Garnet Hathaway (undisclosed) and Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body) remained out.

• The Flyers are right back at it Sunday when they visit the Blackhawks (3 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

Tortorella’s club is 1-9-1 in the second game of back-to-back sets and has been outscored 45-25.

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Huff scores 26, Chattanooga knocks off Dayton 87-72 in NIT

Honor Huff had 26 points in Chattanooga's 87-72 win against Dayton on Saturday in the second round of the NIT. Huff shot 7 for 12 (5 for 10 from 3-point range) and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line for the Mocs (26-9). Trey Bonham scored 25 points while shooting 8 for 13 (3 for 5 from 3-point range) and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line and added eight rebounds.

Amazing Maisie ready for next step up Welsh pathway ladder

Two years ago, Maisie Davies and Alaw Pyrs were lining up for Wales U18 against their Scottish counterparts in the Six Nations U18 Festival. Today the talented teenagers will make their first starts for the senior Wales Women’s team in the Guinness Six Nations. Their dramatic rise through the ranks is testimony to their form […]

The post Amazing Maisie ready for next step up Welsh pathway ladder appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

Can the Kings Overcome Oilers & Knights to Secure a Top Playoff Spot?

Credit © Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Who doesn't like a good playoff race?

With 15 games left in the regular season, it's coming down to the wire for these Los Angeles Kings, their potential home ice, and an exciting prospect of winning their first-ever Pacific Division title. While the ladder is maybe a little far-reaching, winning second in the division for the first time since their return to the playoffs (2021-22) and, realistically, a finish for the first time not named third place will be a refreshing recourse that the team has finally shown some progress towards an organizational and overarching goal for this franchise to succeed past the regular season.

Success in the postseason will go through two teams. 

The Vegas Golden Knights sit in first place and have been excellent all year, but they have shown signs of being beatable, enhanced by a 1-3-0 record against these very Kings. A playoff matchup would be a rare sight. Their inaugural season is the only time the Knights have played the Kings in the postseason, which would conclude in one of the closest sweeps in postseason history (still a sweep at the end of the day). It changed the future landscape for the Kings dramatically, while the Knights continued to be a perennial heavyweight in the Western Conference year after year.

Their inception into the league is a massive success story for potential new teams to break into the league, amplified by the Sin City-based teaming being a recent championship squad brimmed with talent after what feels like 'all these years.' There's a well-coached and very good team there, even if they didn't make their typical splash at the deadline as usual. Instead, they made a feel-good move, acquiring and then pairing Reily Smith with the fresh-off IR William Karlsson, reuniting the two original 'misfits,' as they call them in Vegas.

On the other hand, the Oilers stand as the Kings' kryptonite, the death knell, the superfluous hangman for the Kings regarding their recent three seasons of postseason disarray. It's as if the Kings caught the Oilers in the upswing towards their window of contention while the Kings muddled with the remaining years of a facade, a 'ready-now' roster. After their semi-final game seven loss to the Ducks in 2016-17, these Oilers have rebuilt around the four of: 20-year-old Connor McDavid, 21-year-old Leon Draisaitl, 23-year-old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and 21-year-old Darnell Nurse. The Kings, on the flip side, tried to make one last dance with their championship holders as previously mentioned against Vegas in 2018.

With the departure from grace, they spent a chunk of the remaining years of Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar's prime doing a quick rebuild. With the two former stars outside their primes, management hurled the team back towards contention pursuit despite some massive pitfalls in their schematic. Even with the blatant flaws of the King's roster construction and implementation, the two teams have, for the first time in Rob Blake's tenure, been neck and neck this season, with the Kings holding a more favorable winning percentage with games in hand. How that changes the postseason fate, despite organizational claims that the two teams were close last season: "we were right there," will unfold next month, as the two teams will likely clash for a fourth straight postseason.


It's never a 'hurrah' moment when two of the game's best ambassadors succumb to injury. How the Oilers will do in a critical time without their two most significant drivers of their team's offense (both players having 191 touches on the team's 224 total goals scored this season or 85.2%) will either be their downfall or having to play the Kings in LA for potential games 1,2,5, and 7. This is also a team that chipped away many of its pieces that took the team to the Finals, which includes Kings' very own Warren Foegele. They lost two excellent players to offer sheets, who, in Dylan Holloway, has become one of the best five-on-five-point producers in hockey.

Now, that being said, I'm not saying the Kings have the complete edge over the Oilers. Home ice may not mean anything when the Oilers can still deploy 97-29 at will, despite their forward group being as thin as it's possibly ever been in the McDavid-Draisaitl contention era. The Kings have no match for that, even with a tantalizing prospect of having a third go-to center emerging in Quinton Byfield.

I am however, conveying that this is as close as the two teams have been since their first collision in 2021-22. Home ice could tilt things even more toward the Kings, and there's a legit chance they can make it happen. This is the closest the Kings have come to becoming a coin flip when facing either the Knights or the dreaded Oilers.

It's a cautious time in LA sure, but maybe, just maybe, some optimism for once.

From one crisis to another: rugby league in dire need of real leadership

Clubs ousting the RFL chair to demand a third review in eight years is a retrograde step that takes yet more focus off the actual rugby

Remember Super League’s historic trip to Las Vegas? The hype, the excitement and the feeling that after years of trying, perhaps British rugby league had finally broken a glass ceiling and could be set for a bright future? That all unfolded only three weeks ago, but given what has happened since, it feels like a lot longer.

Few sports do off-field issues quite like rugby league, but even by its own ridiculous standards, these are unique times. It is perhaps pertinent to start with Salford Red Devils, given their very existence has appeared under threat of late. They have twice been placed in special measures by the Rugby Football League over the winter, the latest coming when their new owners failed to pay their players on time in February, days after a takeover of the club that had fuelled optimism.

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Young gets away with blatantly obvious travel in Warriors-Hawks

Young gets away with blatantly obvious travel in Warriors-Hawks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Hawks star Trae Young, looking like Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. evading the pass rush, got away with a blatant travel at the end of the first quarter against the Warriors on Saturday night at State Farm Arena.

With the Hawks holding a commanding 38-23 lead, Young was double-teamed by forward Jimmy Butler and center Kevon Looney.

Young picked up his dribble at the edge of the Hawks’ center-court logo and shuffled both feet until he was at the mid-court line.

By the time Young passed the ball to teammate Georges Niang, he was holding the ball at least a foot over the mid-court line.

The missed call came back to bite the Warriors as Niang found guard Caris LeVert, who hit a jumper at the first-quarter buzzer to give the Hawks a 40-23 lead.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr has been demanding the NBA train referees to call traveling more, and he might need to make another plea to the league after Young’s shuffle across the court.

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Dutch double at Milan-Sanremo as Van der Poel and Wiebes sprint to victories

  • Van der Poel holds of Pogacar and Ganna in classic battle
  • Wiebes wins first women’s race since 2005

Mathieu van der Poel outsprinted Filippo Ganna and Tadej Pogacar to win his second Milan-Sanremo Classic on Saturday, claiming the first Monument race of the season, while the European champion Lorena Wiebes won the first staging of a women’s event since 2005.

Dutchman Van der Poel, winner in 2023, came out on top in a sprint finish after the leading trio were involved in a game of cat-and-mouse close to the line, with Ganna finishing second and Pogacar having to settle for third.

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Virginia hires VCU coach Ryan Odom, whose father was a Cavaliers assistant

Virginia athletic director Carla Williams is hoping the obvious choice was the right one. Williams named VCU coach Ryan Odom — whose father was a Cavaliers assistant and who handed the program its most historic and crushing defeat in the 2018 NCAA Tournament — as the full-time replacement to Tony Bennett on Saturday. Odom’s season ended Thursday with a first-round NCAA Tournament loss to BYU.

George Foreman: a charmer who left his mark in the dirt and dust of the fight game

Former heavyweight champion was always more complex and interesting than his contrasting personae suggested

Boxing seems a smaller and darker world now. George Foreman has gone and, with his death, he takes a little more of the ­fading light and lost glory of the ring with him. My own life in ­boxing, which stretches across 55 years, can be divided into stages and all of them carry markers Foreman left in the dirt and dust of the fight game.

From the malevolent force he ­personified when he became ­heavyweight champion of the world to the lovable old grandad ­making hundreds of millions as the face of a food grill business, Foreman could be easily ­caricatured. But he was always more complex and interesting than his contrasting personae suggested.

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Kings convert Isaac Jones to reported standard two-year contract

Kings convert Isaac Jones to reported standard two-year contract originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Isaac Jones has continued to grind and stay patient, and on Saturday, he was rewarded.

The Kings converted the young center’s two-way contract to a standard NBA deal, the team announced two hours before tip-off against the Milwaukee Bucks.

ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported, citing sources, that Jones’ new contract is a two-year pact.

On Wednesday, Jones reached the NBA’s maximum 50-game active limit during Sacramento’s 123-119 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jones has appeared in 31 games this season for Sacramento, averaging 8.3 minutes and 3.7 points in such contests.

In 11 games with the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate, Jones averaged 20.9 points on 55.5 percent shooting, with 9.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 blocks in 32.2 minutes.

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