Golden State 121, New Jersey 119
By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer
January 25, 2008
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Monta Ellis scored a career-high 39 points, hitting four
free throws in the final minute, and the Golden State Warriors both scored 22
consecutive points and blew a 13-point lead in the nutty fourth quarter of their
121-119 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Thursday night.
Baron Davis posted his eighth career triple-double with 25 points, 12
rebounds and 10 assists, yet the Warriors weren't safe until Ellis hit two
go-ahead free throws with a minute left and two more with 15.7 seconds to play.
Al Harrington scored 19 points as Golden State finally finished off New Jersey,
which lost its seventh straight despite Richard Jefferson's 34 points and an
impressive fourth-quarter rally.
Harrington hit three of his four 3-pointers while Golden State scored 22
straight points in less than four minutes early in the period. New Jersey
replied with an improbable 18-4 rally in its fourth stop on a tough six-game
road trip, taking a 112-111 lead with 2:03 left on Antoine Wright's 3-pointer.
But Golden State reclaimed the lead on Ellis' free throws with 60 seconds
left, and both Wright and Jason Kidd missed 3-pointers before Davis'
cherry-picking layup with 25 seconds to play. New Jersey cut the final margin on
Bostjan Nachbar's 3-pointer in the final second.
Vince Carter scored 29 points for the Nets, who are on their longest skid in
more than three years. Josh Boone had 21 points and 17 rebounds, and the
notoriously poor free throw shooter made 6 of 12 during Golden State coach Don
Nelson's scheme to foul Boone intentionally on every possession.
Boone airballed his first try, but eventually helped to put the Nets up by
eight points entering the fourth. The Warriors 22-point run culminated in
Harrington's 3-pointer with 7:09 to play.
New Jersey, which has lost three straight and six of eight in Oakland, went
nearly 5 1/2 minutes between field goals before starting its own lengthy rally,
taking a three-point lead with 1:23 left on Boone's basket.
In a game full of mercurial performances on both sides, Ellis saved Golden
State with his steadiness. The guard went 13-of-18 from the field and 13-of-14
at the free throw line, playing nearly 41 minutes with just one turnover.
The Warriors' defense only got worse after a humiliating loss to the
Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. Golden State, which won four times on an
impressive five-game Midwest road trip last week, barely avoided another
discouraging defeat.
Davis, who missed a free throw and a layup in the final moments of the
Warriors' one-point loss to the NBA's worst team three days earlier, already had
his second triple-double of the season with 6 minutes left to play.
Golden State led for most of the first 2 1/2 quarters until New Jersey made an
18-7 run during Boone's repeated trips to the line. The Nets entered the fourth
quarter with an eight-point lead, but Davis' 3-pointer with 11:03 to play
jump-started the Warriors' run.
Notes
Kidd was born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland before attending
high school in Alameda and college in Berkeley. ... The Cleveland Cavaliers
employed the same foul strategy against Boone last month. Boone, hitting just 20
percent of his free throws at the time, went 3-for-8, but hit two big ones down
the stretch in New Jersey's win. ... The Warriors set another attendance record
with 19,596 fans in Oracle Arena, which has an ever-expanding capacity. The
crowd was Golden State's largest since renovating the arena in 1997.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/gsw/photos
Azubuike earning sophomore bump
Contra Costa Times
Article Launched: 01/25/2008 06:02:40 AM PST
OAKLAND -- Regardless of what happens with Baron Davis' drive for the All-Star Game, the Warriors expect at least one teammate to be in New Orleans on Valentine's Day weekend.
That would be guard Kelenna Azubuike, who is widely regarded -- not just by his teammates -- as a strong contender for one of nine spots on the Sophomores roster at the NBA's Rookie Challenge on Feb. 15.
As of Thursday morning, Azubuike was seventh in scoring among qualifying sophomores at 9.8 points per game, sixth in rebounding (4.2) and second in 3-point shooting, at 39.5 percent. Plus, he has been the poster child for the NBA Development League, from which the Warriors plucked him last season.
"He's having a great season right now, and I think he deserves to get it, especially coming from where he's coming from," said guard Monta Ellis, who scored 28 for the Sophomores in last year's game. "He's worked so hard to get here, and doing the things he's doing, I think he deserves to go."
Azubuike will have one more chance to impress the league's assistant coaches. Their votes for the Rookies and Sophomores teams are due Monday, a day after the Warriors face the New York Knicks.
"He's showing that he's a guy we can trust whenever we need a spark," forward Al Harrington said. "When he gets in there and plays for a while, usually good things happen: rebounding the basketball, defending, blocks; he does a little bit of everything."
As far as the All-Star Game goes, Davis finished eighth among Western Conference guards, with 499,186 votes. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant led all Western Conference players with 2,004,940 votes. Denver's Allen Iverson (1,203,152) rode a late surge to a 10,410-vote edge over Houston's Tracy McGrady for the other starting spot in the West's backcourt.
Reserves will be named Thursday. If Davis gets in, he'll be the Warriors' first All-Star since Latrell Sprewell in 1997.
Hope Azubuike gets a spot.
West Reserves: Who Should Be Going to New Orleans
by John Schuhmann
Posted Jan 24 2008 8:44PM
SECAUCUS, NJ, January 24, 2008 -- With tonight's announcement of
the starters for the 2008 All-Star Game in New Orleans, it's obviously
time to think about who the seven reserves should be for each
conference. That's exactly what the coaches will be doing over the next
couple of days, and the results of their voting will be announced next
Thursday night on TNT.
Dave McMenamin gives you his selections for the Eastern Conference
Before we start, let's address the starters. I think that Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan and Yao Ming
all deserve to be going to New Orleans. So, by in large, we did a good
job this year. I think I'd rather have Steve Nash (or Chris Paul) and
Dirk Nowitzki starting instead of AI and Melo, but as long as all five
guys deserve to be in the game, I'm not going to complain.
Now, we move on to the reserves. We need to choose two guards, two forwards, a center, and two wildcards (any position).
Guards
Pretty easy...
Steve Nash, Phoenix (30-13)
17.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 12.1 APG
With
the emergence of teams like the Warriors and Hornets, the buzz around
Nash and the Suns has died down a bit this year, but Nash is still at
the top of his game. He's averaging a career high in assists, his
assist-turnover ratio is higher than his first MVP season, and his
efficiency is higher than his second. And with Nash and Kidd healthy
(let us pray), the All-Star can't help but be much more entertaining
than last year's. Lock.
Chris Paul, New Orleans (29-12)
21.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 10.4 APG
The
Hornets have the best record in the Western Conference and the second
best record in the NBA. Read that sentence again. Paul, obviously, is
the engine that makes the Hornets run. He leads all guards and is fifth overall in efficiency. He should be an All-Star for the next ten years. Lock.
Forwards
Again. Easy stuff...
Carlos Boozer, Utah (24-1
22.5 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 2.8 APG
Booz
ranks sixth in the league and third in the Western Conference in
efficiency. He's got 29 double-doubles in 41 games and he's about as
skilled a low-post man you will find in this league, able to score with
either hand. The Jazz have been a bit of a disappointment so far this
season, but they're sure to make a run in the second half. Lock.
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas (28-13)
22.0 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 3.9 APG
The
reigning MVP has had a relatively quiet first half, but the Mavs are
still one of the best teams in the league and Dirk is still a top-five
talent. Dirk has deferred to his teammates a bit, averaging a career
high in assists, but he' still the leader of a team that is one game
out of the top spot in the West. Lock.
Center
Once again. Easy...
Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix (30-13)
22.7 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 1.2 APG
The
West center position is a deeper group than it has been in quite a
while, but with Yao as the starter, Amare Stoudemire is Standing Tall
and Talented above the rest of the group. STAT ranks fourth in the
league and first in the West in efficiency and is putting up career
highs in field goal percentage (.590) and blocks (2.20).
Wildcards
This is where it gets difficult. Really
difficult. As I went through the West, I pulled out an initial list of
14 preliminary candidates for the last two spots on the squad. I
immediately eliminated Chris Kaman, Pau Gasol and Al Jefferson because their teams stink. Kaman is the most deserving of the three, but the Clippers are 13-25. If he was in the East, where Rasheed Wallace
seems to be the backup center by default, he probably would have a spot
on the team. But in the West, you just can't take a player from a below
.500 squad.
I'm also able to eliminate Tracy McGrady pretty quickly. The Rockets are 23-19, but T-Mac has missed 14 games. That leaves the following 10 guys for two spots: Marcus Camby, Tyson Chandler, Baron Davis, Manu Ginobili, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion, Tony Parker, Brandon Roy, David West and Deron Williams.
All of those guys deserve to be All-Stars and it sucks that
eight of them will be staying home, but since I can only choose two...
Baron Davis, Golden State (25-1
22.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 8.1 APG
B-Diddy
is the unquestioned leader of the most fun team to watch in the league.
He's the only player in the league averaging 20 or more points, eight
or more rebounds, and four or more assists per game (Chris Paul is
close). And he has been continuously clutch since last season.
Brandon Roy, Portland (25-17)
19.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.7 APG
Roy
has led an incredible turnaround for the Blazers. Since starting out
5-12, they've gone 20-5 and are challenging for the top spot in the
Northwest Division. And Roy has been the key to the run.
Like Paul, Roy should be a perennial All-Star down the line. Could he
be making his first trip as a second-year player? We shall see.
With Davis and Roy, that gives us at least one player from the
10 Western Conference teams that are above .500. That wasn't really my
intent, but it works out nicely.
If there is an injury to any of the above, Manu Ginobili would
be my first choice for an injury replacement, followed by David West.
[h2]More insanity: Warriors and Webber getting closer and closer to reality[/h2]
By Tim Kawakami
Friday, January 25th, 2008 at 10:55 pm in NBA, Warriors.
Why not cap off another insane Friday-this was supposed to be a SLOW DAY-with the CCT twins reporting tonight that the Warriors are seriously interested in Chris Webber and that this might get done?
Really, it might actually get done-that's the strong implication for Sirs Thompson II and Lepper.
Hey, if it's crazy and probably is just about the stupidest thing the Warriors could do, why the hell not?
I've also heard separately about Webber's increasing chances with the Warriors over the past two days, but I spent today trying to shake it out of my head because IT'S INSANITY.
Plus, today was a day for Al Davis and Lane Kiffin, for a few other weird things that I was working on for the near future…
And now Webber. The Warriors. Possibly coming together to an asylum near you.
I'm tired. I've done way too much typing already today. I was working a lot today because I was trying to do some advance planing and get ahead on my work schedule.
Oops. Warriors + Webber = INSANITY.
Here's just a quick look at the massive questions a sane person might have if the Warriors finalize a Webber deal:
* Webber has proven he can't run any more and doesn't want to play on the low post…
So what exactly is he going to do for the Warriors that Al Harrington and Andris Biedrins aren't already doing-and doing better than Webber has done in oh, about three years?
Webber can pass, sure. Possibly rebound for the four minutes a game Webber has energy.
Beyond that: He's a shell of a fake of a famous power forward.
* The Warriors play warp-speed fast. Two trips up the floor, great for Webber. After Trip No. 3… he turns into Troy Murphy, without the long-range jumper. Just terrific!
C-Webb as the Warriors new three-point shooter? Of course.
* Whose minutes is Webber going to get? He's not strictly a power forward because the Nellie PF needs to run-so Harrington still has to get major minutes there.
No, I think Webber, if he signs, will mostly take minutes away from Biedrins. So he'll have to guard Big Centers-yeah, Chris will just love that. Thrive vs. Amare Stoudamire! Yes! Born to do that!
* What happens the first time Webber rolls his eyes and glances over to Baron when Nellie is screaming during a timeout? Only great things, of course. Webber and Nellie would never blow up a team, right?
* Is Don going crazy? I think this is his move. He's antsy for a move, either because he sincerely believes his team needs somebody like Webber or because Don needs an excuse for possible failure or a cause to show his utmost cleverness.
Nellie bashed Murphy and Dunleavy last year and did it purposely to make sure he forced Mullin to trade two of his favorites-but that was totally wise on Nelson's part. It was smart. It changed the team forever.
But there are no Murphys and Dunleavys on this team, unless you count Mickael Pietrus and no, not really.
* Why is Chris Mullin letting this happen? I don't know. I just don't know. Possible that Mullin stops this right at the precipice. We'll see.
Maybe he thinks Webber might have some gas left in the tank, maybe he wants to appease Nelson, maybe he wants to see if Nelson is willing to blow himself up.
Nelson won't play Brandan Wright. Gets angry with Harrington all the time, which means he goes ultra-small to finish every other game, even when ultra-small isn't the wisest course.
So he wants another chance with his Prodigal Power Forward of years ago? MaybeMullin's just saying: Fine.
Crazy. It might work for two glorious games. ESPN will go nuts. CNN will cut from election coverage to greet Webber's first 10-rebound game.
Then it will collapse. It will implode. This is lunacy. This is how you wreck things.
Remember, Joe Dumars had Webber for a decent run with Detroit last season-the situation could not have been better for Webber. Perfect situation. Slow-down team. Great veterans who could play defense when Webber did not.
And by the end, Dumars did not necessarily want Webber around any longer and Webber was sending out signals that he felt ignored in the Pistons offense.
That will go great with Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis and Baron. Just great.
This is insanity. Have I made my opinion clear enough? Just insanity. Maybe it won't happen.
But because it's sports insanity and this is the Bay Area, it almost surely will.
I'd rather hope Mullin won't pull the trigger. Webber brings little at this point and he won't be a long term solutionto this team for a big man. He is on a decline and hasn't play a regular season game since last season. There's just too much risk and very littlereward to make this move. Please pass on this guy, Mullin.
