Monta Ellis scores 46 as Warriors edge Houston Rockets out
The Houston Rockets suffered a second defeat in as many nights as a Monta Ellis inspired Golden State Warriors powered them out in a high scoring game with a four point victory.
The victory came as the Golden State head coach Keith Smart made his debut at NBA. He took over from Don Nelson, who left the NBA with a career record 1300 wins in 31 seasons. Smart, who had been assisting Nelson before taking over kept up his mentor’s offensive
style of play.
The story of the night though was Ellis, who played out of his skin to bag 46 points’ equalling his best and third-most by a Warriors player in an opening game of the season. Ellis, who had been Warrior’s leading scorer last season, was in the zone right
from the beginning as he netted 18 of 24 from the floor.
With a lot of speculation about whether Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis can play together or not, the Warriors combined well to score an impressive 132 points with 51 off 91. Stephen Curry chipped in with 25 points and 11 assists.
All star David Lee, one of the Warriors best power forwards had 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Dorell Wright scored 15 to help the Warriors pick their first season opening win since 2005. It also halted a nine match losing streak for the Houston Rockets
dating back to Dec 31, 2007.
In the first half of the game both the teams stayed neck and neck. With the Warriors holding a three point lead at the end of the first quarter, this advantage was neutralized in the second quarter as the Rockets zeroed in on a 1 point lead with the players
headed for the locker room. Louis Scola, who could only score 18 against the Lakers, last night surpassed that score in the first half netting 19 points.
The Warriors let it rip with the start of the third period and outscored the Rockets by nine points to make it an 8 point game at 96-104. They continued the momentum deep into the fourth quarter till the star of the game, Monta Ellis, sent some jitters by
missing three consecutive free throws. But with ten seconds remaining he made two to seal the game.
For the Rockets, Louis Scola slipped in 36 points and 16 rebounds while Kevin Martin scored 28 points. The Rockets were without the services of Yao Ming, the 7 foot six Chinese and they missed him badly. His replacement Chuck
Hayes had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists but the Rockets couldn’t cross the line.
The Rockets had a 52-26 advantage in free throw attempts, but the advantage could not be capitalized due to lapses in defense. For a team to lose a game after scoring 128 points aptly demonstrates that they need to shore up the
holes in their defense. Houston coach, Rick Adelman, and guard, Aaron Brooks, echoed the same feelings in their post match comments.
As for the Golden State Warriors things could not have started better with the franchise having gone through some serious changes this season including the ownership, head coach, roster and uniforms.
To start the season on a positive note will be extremely welcoming for the new head coach Smart, as he became only the 13th coach in the Golden City’s history to win his very first game in charge. This is also the most points
scored by the Warriors since scoring 162 against Denver on Nov 2 1990.
Tags: