03-25-2008, 04:00 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Tampa, Florida
Age: 25
Posts: 14,763
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Warriors Team Report
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Getting Inside
Having alternated losses and wins in the first three contests of an incredibly difficult 10-game stretch, the Warriors will be happy to continue the trend for the remaining seven outings. That probably would be good enough to put them in a position to clinch its second consecutive playoff berth in a soft five-game finish to the regular season.
But coming off a home loss Monday to the Lakers, continuing the sequence will mean winning Thursday against Portland.
That won’t be easy, but considering that the Trail Blazers are one of just two non-contending teams among the 10 opponents, it’s a foe the Warriors will be glad to see.
The Warriors were a victim of the schedule—visiting Portland immediately following emotional home wins over the Spurs—when they lost twice to the Trail Blazers early in the season. The one time Golden State got the Trail Blazers at home, it wasn’t easy; Golden State prevailed 110-104 at a point when Portland was still competing for a playoff spot.
Winning the nationally televised game is critical for the Warriors because they then play five of six on the road, starting Saturday with arguably their most important game of the season, at Denver.
Notes, Quotes
• The Warriors couldn’t duplicate Sunday’s 115-111 win in Los Angeles against the Lakers, splitting the home-and-home when the rivals from the south prevailed 123-119 in overtime Monday.
• The Warriors and the Lakers tied the season series 2-2.
• The Warriors split games in both their home-and-home series this season. They also won on the road and lost at home when they dueled Denver on Dec. 28 and 30.
• The loss dropped the Warriors (43-27) a full game behind Dallas (44-26) in the battle for the seventh playoff position and allowed Denver (43-28) to creep within a half-game of the all-important eighth spot.
• As has been the norm in recent Warriors-Lakers matchups, an attendance record was set at ORACLE Arena when 20,713 were on hand. The previous record in a building with a listed capacity of 19,500 was 20,711, set last month against the Celtics.
• The Warriors are averaging 19,577—more than the listed capacity—for their 35 home games.
• The loss was the Warriors’ first at home against a Pacific Division opponent this season (5-1).
• Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson both played the entire 53 minutes and Monta Ellis went 50 of the 53 for the Warriors. Lamar Odom went the distance and Kobe Bryant sat out a total of just 65 seconds for the Lakers.
• Warriors coach Don Nelson called upon the same eight guys who had played in Sunday’s win.
Quote To Note: “We can sit here and talk about it all day, but it still isn’t going to matter. It isn’t going to bring the game back. It’s over with.”—Warriors shooting guard Monta Ellis, on the controversial offensive foul that prevented the Warriors from getting a chance to tie the Lakers in the final seconds of overtime.
Player Notes:
• Point guard Baron Davis played all 53 minutes in the Warriors’ overtime loss to the Lakers on Monday. After having missed 36, 28 and 19 games the past three seasons, Davis is the only Warrior to have played all 70 games this year. His team-high 30-point output was his 11th game this season with 30 or more points.
• Power forward Al Harrington recorded his third consecutive double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. He has averaged 16.7 points and 12.0 rebounds over that stretch. The last time Harrington recorded back-to-back-to-back double-doubles was Jan. 22-26, 2005 as a member of the Pacers.
• Small forward Stephen Jackson hit five 3-pointers on a 29-point night. It was the fourth consecutive game in which he scored a majority of his points from behind the 3-point arc. That’s happened seven times this month after occurring just seven times in the first four months.
• Backup shooting guard Kelenna Azubuike chipped in 18 points filling in for injured Mickael Pietrus. It was his biggest output since having 33- and 27-point nights within the first five games of the season.
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Warriors Team Report
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