Golden State Warriors prevail in 96-95 cliff-hanger against the Charlotte Bobcats
On Friday night Monta Ellis led the Golden State in points (25), assists (5), steals (3) - and came up with the crucial plays when the Warriors needed them most.
But with 8.5 seconds left in the game, he made a blunder that nearly cost his franchise a hard fought win. In
an attempt to nip a resurgent five point unanswered run in the last minute, which pulled the up-tempo Charlotte Bobcats within one, Ellis made an offensive foul as he bumped into Gerald Henderson. The foul play resulted in a turnover that gave the Bobcats
one more look at the Warriors ring. However to the relief of Ellis and his team-mates, the Bobcats’ offensive execution crumbled under pressure, as Stephen Jackson drained a last ditch
three-pointer to hand the Warriors a nerve-wrecking win.
The match witnessed a rejuvenated Bobcats outfit outplaying their opponents in offensive rebounds, fast break points and points in the paint. On the night though,
it was the offensive prowess of the Warriors that proved a little too hot for the home team, as they failed to make it three in a row under new coach Paul Silas.
The Warriors took the Time Warner Cable Arena by storm as they nailed their first seven shots to romp to a 16-5 advantage within the first three minutes of play.
The blazing start from the away team forced Silas to call an early time-out. The break seemed to work as the Bobcats shored up their defence and slowly started to chip away at the Warriors lead.
The Warriors, in the face of an aggressive Bobcats defence, lost their shooting touch as they went down 36-32 early in the second quarter. With his team quickly losing
ground, Stephen Curry stepped up to the challenge as he scored eight of his 11 second-quarter points in a four-minute span, sparking Golden State to 48-44 advantage. The All-star guard
who scored 24 points on his home-coming, injected life into the Warriors offence as they reeled off a 10-2 spurt, bridging the second quarter and the first two minutes of the third to sit pretty at 58-48. The Warriors maintained the momentum through the rest
of the period, as the teams headed for the final quarter with a 77-70 score-line.
Staring at a seven-point deficit, the Charlotte offence picked up pace. The Bobcats shot 8-of-9 from the floor as they pulled to within three at the midway mark.
The home teams’ surge did not stop there, as a D.J. Augustin driving layup shot, with less than four minutes to go, made it a single point game.
At that point Ellis took over as he slipped in a pair of layups to restore a six-point cushion for the Warriors with over a minute left on the clock. The game wasn’t
over yet, as Stephen Jackson jump-started a 5-0 run to bring the Bobcats within one point, with just 14.5 seconds remaining. This was the closest the Bobcats got though, as a resolute Golden State back-line refused them any last second heroics.
Jackson led the Bobcats with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists. Gerald Wallace added 20 points, D.J. Augustin 12, while Boris Diaw and Gerald Henderson finished
with 10 points each.
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