Golden State Warriors edge past Los Angeles Clippers 104 – 97 – NBA Recap
On Monday night, Golden State Warriors ended their three games losing streak by squeaking past Los Angeles Clippers 104-97 in an exciting encounter, improving to 12-17 in the 2011 – 2012 NBA season.
And the stars of the night were Monta Ellis, David Lee and a surprise package- Ekpe Udoh
In his first ever start of the shortened NBA season, Udoh made a solid statement by finishing with his career high 19 points on 9 for 14 from the floor and 8 boards.
"I thought it was a big opportunity. It's a big game," Udoh said. "I had to seize the opportunity, seize the moment."
Monta was phenomenal and pounded a game high 32 points on a perfect 4 for 4 from the long range and 6 for 6 from the charity stripe while Lee had a double-double with 24 points and 13 boards. Stephen Curry added 11 points.
Warriors coach Mark Jackson was all praise for his team for pulling out an outstanding win, but more than that, he was thrilled with the performance of his young forward Udoh.
"The way he played tonight, he gives us something totally different," Jackson said of Udoh. "I will take my time and assess our basketball team and we'll move forward. But he certainly is a guy, when the opportunity presented itself,
to command more minutes."
Chris Paul marshalled the Clippers with 24 points on 7 for 8 from the charity stripe, 5 rebounds and 6 assists while Blake Griffin tallied 21 points. Reserve Maurice Williams was superb and preferred long range shooting (6 for
8) to produce a tally of 22 points.
After a well fought first half, which ended with both teams neck to neck at 56 all, Warriors pushed the accelerator in the third frame and rattled a 7-2 spurt, after the scores were 67-65, to gain some dominance in the game. The
run allowed them to finish the frame with a significant 3 point lead 77-74.
Last quarter was the most exciting of all.
Warriors lost their 3 point lead in the first minute and after that, it was a seesaw game as the lead kept on shifting from one side to the other. With 3 minutes remaining in the game, Clippers were slightly ahead at 97-95, however
in the ensuing passage they failed to score, whereas on the other hand Warriors reeled a 9-0 spurt to seal the victory.
Tags: