Golden State Warriors outshine Toronto Raptors 109-102 to earn their first road win; Monta Ellis injury scare
Stephen Curry scored 34 points and Monta Ellis added 28 as the Golden State Warriors outsmarted the Raptors 109-102 in Toronto to clinch their first away win of the season. The victory, though, was slightly overshadowed by the
injury to Monta Ellis late in the fourth quarter.
Ellis, the NBA’s leading scorer, fell heavily after a collision under Toronto’s basket late in the fourth quarter as he went for a layup. He remained down for several minutes before being helped up and walked slowly to the locker
room. After the match, Keith Smart, the Warriors coach, said:
“He was ready to pop up sooner, I think it was more concern with the doctors that were there, our trainer that was there, to make sure when you have something like that happen, don't do something too soon.”
X-rays and CT scan later revealed that he suffered a strained lower back.
The star of the show though was Stephen Curry. He tossed aside a restrictive ankle brace coming into the match and then ran riot, running through the defences of the Raptors. Stephen Curry had an injury scare himself as he bumped
into a cameraman minutes after taking the brace off. He walked gingerly towards the locker room and had his leg re-taped.
He returned for the second half and made all the difference in the game, scoring 16 of his 34 points in the final twelve minutes as the Warriors held off a late surge by the Raptors.
The match started with the Raptors off to a flying start scoring 8 consecutive points within one and a half minutes of play. The Warriors responded with a 10-0 run of their own as the match swung from one end to the other. The
Warriors got a lead with 7:18 to go into the first quarter, one which they did not relinquish the whole match.
Ahead by seven after one quarter, the Golden State Warriors continued their momentum into the second. With the score at 29-23, second minute into the quarter, the Warriors sprinted to a 16-3 run in six minutes to bust open their
lead to 19 points.
The Warriors, leading by 55-41 at the end of the first half, led by as many as 20 points midway through the third quarter as they continued their domination in the match.
The Raptors, who lost all four games in their first trip of the season, entered the final period trailing by 12 but they fought back and went on a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter. They came back to within eight points of the Warriors
on a layup by Sonny Weems off a fast break with 8:35 left to play and an Amir Johnson dunk shot brought the Raptors within striking distance at 86-90 with 7:15 to go.
Stephen Curry made a jump shot and then netted in a 3-pointer as the Warriors scored seven consecutive points to regain control but the Raptors had still some fight left in them.
Sony Weems made a driving lay-up shot with 1:18 left to cut the Warriors’ lead to 107-102, but that was the closest the Raptors would get to the Warriors as they failed to score a point in the game after that. The Warriors took
the game 109-102 sending the Raptors 1-6 in the season.
Golden State shot over 50% for the third time this season and out-rebounded their opponents for the fourth time. Stephen Curry led all players with 34 points. He also had five rebounds, four assists and three steals. David Lee
recorded another double-double, scoring 14 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
Jarrett Jack led the Raptors with 24 points and eight assists and Linas Kleiza added 20 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
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