Monta Ellis shines as Golden State Warriors hold off late Los Angeles Clippers charge – NBA Recap
The Golden State Warriors recorded an impressive win over the high flying Los Angeles Clippers here at the Staples Center. The Warriors played consistently throughout and held their nerves despite a late barrage by the Clippers, netting the 97 – 93 win.
Star man for Warriors was once again Monta Ellis. The live wire guard displayed all his skills in a 21 point, 11 assist, double-double effort. Dorell Wright was hot in the first half and ended up with 20 points in the game. David Lee also notched up a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Stephen Curry struggled once more, failing to get on the score card.
Sensational power forward Blake Griffin led the charge for the Clippers. Blake had game high 27 points and 12 rebounds in a towering effort. Super star point guard Chris Paul was impressive as usual, scoring 23 points and hanging out 5 assists. Randy Foye also made an impact with 16 points while Reggie Evans came off the bench for a double-double; 11 points and 12 rebounds.
After an even start to proceedings, the Golden State Warriors raced away thank to a 17 – 2 run, going up 25 – 12 near the end of the 1st quarter. The Clippers could only reduce their deficit to 28 – 16 before the period ended.
Los Angeles came out firing in the second segment, a 10 – 2 run at the start getting them as close as 30 – 26. That was pretty much as close as they got though as the Warriors then started chirping away again, scoring in little bursts that really hurt Los Angeles, and at halftime Golden State were in complete control; 55 – 42.
Things didn’t change much after the interval. Golden State looked comfortable and the Clippers failed to produce a concerted effort that would have shaken the visitors up. The 3rd frame thus ended with Warriors maintaining a healthy advantage 78 – 64.
The final 12 minutes then saw plenty of drama, as the Clippers got their act together and punished the Warriors. A 15 – 2 rally by Los Angeles levelled the scores at 83 apiece. The Warriors then responded with a 7 – 1 spurt to pull away again. Clippers weren’t able to chase them down after that and the game ended 97 – 93.
Tags: