Monta Ellis drills a clutch jumper as Golden State Warriors finally beat the Suns in Phoenix: NBA
Monta Ellis and the Golden State Warriors finally overcame the demons of the US Airways Center on Wednesday night.
Up against the Phoenix Suns, a team that has played the most games in February (14), the Warriors pulled off a 106-104 win in the building, where they hadn’t been able to win since seven years.
Leading by as many as 21 points deep into the first half, the Warriors made a hash of the situation and with 3:03 left in the game, they actually trailed by two points, 98-96. However, Nate Robinson and Ellis, who had been a part
of 11 straight defeats in the desert city before tonight, rose to the occasion. Nate knocked down a missile from distance to give the lead back to the Warriors and nearly a minute later slipped in two free throws to give Golden State a 104-100 lead.
The Suns however had made too big an effort to get that close and they were not willing to fade away. Channing Frye responded with a jam and then stole the ball from Dorrell Wright to give his team a good chance with 19 seconds
remaining. Grant Hill drove inside for a layup after the timeout, putting the game in a 104 deadlock. With 11.6 left on the clock, Ellis had the ball in his hand. Approaching the key, he ran down the clock and with just a second left, drilled a jumper right
down the Suns spine.
One second was all Phoenix were left with and that was not enough for Fyre to make a three as the Warriors finally triumphed.
Ellis finished with a game high 26 points to go with 6 assists. Wright netted 23 with 7 boards; David Lee had 22 while Robinson finished with 14 off the relief, for the Warriors who rose to a 13-17 record.
Lee scored 13 points in the first 12 minutes to put the Warriors in the driving seat early. After a 7-0 start, they finished the first quarter with a 39-22 lead. A 12-2 run midway through the second took their lead to 21, but the
Suns bounced back with a 9 point unanswered run bridging the second and the third quarter.
Warriors responded quickly to make it 67-51, but in the ensuing passage, they just could control the Suns offense, which outscored them 28-16 to make it a four point game, 79-83, entering the ultimate quarter.
Steve Nash had 7 points and 9 assists for the Suns. Except him, all the starters scored in double figures with Gortat leading the way. The Polish centre scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds while Fyre finished with 22 points
and 9 boards. Jared Dudley netted 17 and Hill ended up with 16 points and 6 dimes.
Tags: