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Warriors Can't Finish in Overtime, Lose to Sixers 125-117

This thread updates ongoing topics related to the Golden State Warriors regarding player movement, injuries, matchups, and, of course, juicy gossip. See more at Golden State of Mind.

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45 Total Updates since February 22, 2011
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Golden State Warriors News: OT Loss Hurts Warriors' Psyche

Before the All-Star break the Golden State Warriors had won seven of their last 10, were one of the hottest teams in the NBA, and only a few games out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. But after their 125-117 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, and a 1-4 record on the road trip thus far, the team's season and state of mind seem to be slipping away. 

After the game head coach Keith Smart was livid, screaming at his players about having toughness on the road, getting after the ball tenaciously, and finding a way to win close games. He apparently flew off the handle pretty bad, and deservedly so, Keith couldn't hold in his inner Bobby Knight any longer. Whether or not he's outburst had any affect is not the concern, it's the fact that the players have put themselves into a position to be publicly reprimanded at all. The team had chances to win the game on multiple occasions in the forth quarter, but couldn't shut the door on the Sixers (or the Celtics, or Pacers, or T'Wolves). Losses like this (these) toward the end of the season can destroy a team's morale, and a coach's for that matter. Couple that with a team's playoff hopes turning into distant pipe dreams in a matter of weeks, you have a nasty mix of frustration and despair roaming around your locker room.

Stephen Curry had this to say after the game:

"We're trying to get a positive vibe back in the locker room, and this loss doesn't help."

Talk about an understatement. 

Being 1-4 on your longest road trip of the season isn't exactly going to spark confidence in your squad. And after the fight that the Warriors put up in the forth quarter (or should I say Monta put up), it was even more disheartening to put up such a dud in overtime. Getting a win in overtime over a playoff-bound team would have been big, but an overtime win over a playoff-bound team before the last games of your road trip are against two of the worst in the NBA (Cavs & Nets), it would have been huge. Now the W's have to muster the strength not to get completely embarrassed in their next road game against the Cavaliers, a game the Warriors should win, or maybe not. 

In probably one of the best quotes I've heard all year, Coach Smart summed it all up very simply: 

"There's no games in the NBA that you should win. There's games you've got to take."

If the Warriors want to salvage the rest of their season, they need to stop giving games away with their complacency, and start taking games away with some tenacity. 

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Warriors v. 76ers, NBA Scores: Warriors Can't Finish in OT, Lose To 76ers 125-117

The Golden State Warriors scrapped it out with the Philadelphia 76ers for four quarters but couldn’t keep up in overtime, taking a heartbreaking 125-117 loss at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia tonight.

Monta Ellis’ big 18 point forth quarter was all for nought as he went scoreless in overtime, finishing the game with 27 points on 11-27 shooting. Steph Curry had 22 and seven assists, Dorell Wright had 16 and four steals, while David Lee had a 14 point, 14 board double-double. Louis Amundson added 10 from off the bench.

The Sixers Jru Holiday had 16 points 8 boards and 7 assists but it was Andre Iguodala who messed around and had a triple double for the second straight game with 15 points, 11 boards, and 10 assists. Philly’s bench out scored the Warriors bench 67-34 with Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young each dropping 20 apiece, while Lou Williams added 19.

The Warriors were owned in about every statistical category; -15 in fast break points (32-17), -12 in points in the paint (72-60), and -14 in rebounds (39-53). They finished the game shooting 49% from the field (48-98) but were only 21% from three point range (4-19).

With the loss it moves the Warriors to 27-35, eight games under .500 and 6.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for 8th spot in the Western Conference. The next stop on the Warriors road trip is Tuesday against the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.

Full box score can be found here.

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Warriors v. 76ers, NBA Score Update: Monta Ellis Takes Over, Forces Overtime in Philadelphia 106-106

Monta Ellis dropped 18 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter including two clutch 3’s at the end of the period to force overtime against the Philadelphia 76ers with a score of 106-106. It was another late offensive rebound that almost killed the W's, but Monta made sure the game wouldn't end like that.

Stephen Curry has 17 points for the Warriors, Dorell Wright has 14, while David Lee added 12. The W’s shot 50% (45-90) from the field while turning the ball over 17 times, only to be eclipsed by the Sixers 22 turnovers. The Sixers scored 64 points in the first half of the game, but were held to 42 in the second half. Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand have 12 poitns a piece, Lou Williams and Evan Turner have 19 and 12 respectively off of the bench. Philadelphia shot 47.8% (43-90) from the field.

The Warriors will look to keep their shooters on the floor and try to outscore the 76ers for an exciting, hard fought win on the road.

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Warriors v. 76ers, NBA Score Update: Warriors Erase Sixers Lead, Tied 80-80 After Three

The Golden State Warriors clawed their way back against the Philadelphia 76ers in the third quarter, eventually taking the lead on a Steph Curry and 1 with about five minutes left, while finishing the quarter tied at 80 a piece heading into the forth quarter at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Warriors came out focused, forcing three Sixer turnovers on their first three possessions and effectively cut the lead from 12 to one in the first few minutes of the third quarter. Steph Curry leads the Warriors with 17 points and six assists, Dorell Wright has 14 points, while David Lee had a nice third quarter, extending his numbers to 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Both teams continue to turn the ball over, With the W’s and Sixers committing a total of 37 of them. The Sixers have a 25-15 advantage in fast break points, a large part of why the Warriors aren’t leading this game. The W’s are also a meager 1-11 from 3 point range.

Philadelphia’s Lou Williams leads all scores with 19, while Jru Holiday has 15 and Elton Brand has 10.

It’s going to come down to the wire in Philly, hopefully the W’s can hit some threes to ice this game.

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Warriors v. 76ers, NBA Score Update: Warriors Struggle in Second Quarter, Sixers Lead 64-56 at Halftime

The Philadelphia 76ers dominated the second quarter of play, extending their lead to 18 at one point, eventually taking a 64-56 lead into the locker room at halftime. The second quarter began about as bad as it possibly could with the Sixers Lou Williams stealing the inbound pass to start the period for an easy bucket. And it didn’t get much better from there.

Head Coach Keith Smart was trying any lineup he could to get a spark going for the W’s, who at one point had Acie Law, Al Thornton, Vlad Radmanovic, Lou Amundson and Reggie WIlliams on the court, but nothing was really going the Warriors way. Golden State had 12 first half turnovers leading to 19 Philadelphia points, as well as going 1-7 from downtown. Stephen Curry leads the Warriors with 10 points, five assists, and two blocks, Monta Ellis had six points and four turnovers, Louis Amundson added eight from off the bench, and David Lee and Dorell Wright both had six points.

The 76ers were doing what the Warriors love to do, running the floor and getting buckets in transition, while getting in the paint and scoring with ease. Their point guards were lighting up Golden State in the first half as Jru Holiday had 13 points, four assists, and three steals, while Lou Williams had 17 points and two assists in only 14 minutes on the floor. Andre Iguodala added four points and seven boards, while Elton Brand had eight points.

Once again the Warriors are going to have to fight their way back into the game, and are going to need a great third quarter to do so.

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Warriors v. 76ers, NBA Score Update: Warriors Battling 76ers, Trail 31-25 After One

It was a well-contested, back-and-forth first quarter as the Golden State Warriors trail the Philadelphia 76ers 31-25. There were 8 ties in the first quarter between these teams, and is shaping up to be a dogfight early on in the game.

After dropping 40 points for the forth time of the season against the Celtics on Friday, Monta Ellis was looking to continue his aggressiveness early, he finished the quarter with 4 points on 2-6 shooting. Steph Curry added 5 along with two blocks, Dorell Wirght had 6 points, David Lee had 4.

The Warriors were doing the little things well in the first quarter, forcing seven Sixer turnovers, taking charges, showed some good ball movement, and spread the floor well. The highlight of the quarter was a Steph Curry alley-oop to Dorell Wright with about 3 minutes left in the period. Rookie Ekpe Udoh was struggling with his post-up defense in the first quarter, leading to some easy buckets and a couple of and 1’s for the Sixers. He left the quarter early with three quick fouls, four points, five rebounds, an assist, and a block. The W’s were 0-5 from 3 point range in that quarter.

Philadelphia shot over 50% from the period with Jru Holiday leading the Sixers offensively with 11 points on 5-8 shooting.

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Warriors v. 76ers, NBA Schedule Preview: Warriors in Philly to Face Red Hot Sixers

Coming off of a disappointing 107-103 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday the Golden State Warriors are looking to rebound in the city of brotherly love as they take on the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center.

Today’s matchup marks the fifth game of seven on the Warriors road trip, who are 1-3 thus far. They head to Philly to face a 76er team that started the season 3-13, but have come storming back to now hold the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference. They have won five of their last six games and 13 of their last 18, and have a 20-10 record on their home floor. The last time the Warriors faced the Sixers was December 27th with the W’s getting the win 110-95 at home in Oakland.

Monta Ellis and David Lee, who combined for 67 points against Boston on Friday, are going to have to keep it going against the Sixers as Andre Iguodala has had two triple-doubles over the last six games, as well as their scoring leader Elton Brand who managed to drop 21 points against Minnesota in their last game despite a dislocated finger.

After the Boston game David Lee had this to say about the rest of the Warriors season:

No moral victories, we’re upset we lost," But if we play this way all the time we’re going to win a lot of the games we have left. We just talked about continuing to plug away."

The plugging away continues today Mr. Lee. Tipoff is at 3:00 PT and can be seen on CSN Bay Area and heard on KNBR 1050.

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Golden State Warriors News: Lessons In Intensity Learned From Celtics Game

Last night’s 107-103 Loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden is one of those games where you’d be ecstatic to win, but aren’t all too disappointed when you lose. The defending Eastern Conference champions are so for a reason, and games like this show the Warriors that they can keep up with elite teams if they can turn up the intensity and play with some heart.

Head Coach Keith Smart had this to say after last nights loss:

Our intensity level went up, this was probably David Lee’s best game both offensively, and he did a great job defensively, and that’s what I’m saying to our guys who haven’t been pushed to play defense, he did a great job with that. But I just thought our intensity level went up, we became the aggressors. I

I’d have to agree with coach about David Lee, who’s 26 points and 12 boards came predominantly against Kevin Garnett, was as dominant and forceful that I’d seen him in a while, I guess he just needed a little push. Obviously if Monta is dropping 41 that he was playing with some intensity, even Biedrins looks like he was more confident and intense, but instead of getting up only to play teams like Boston the Warriors need to learn how to play for 48 minutes fully engaged on both ends of the floor, regardless of who they’re playing.

Steph Curry had this to say after the game last night:

“Yeah we know what we’re capable of, it’s just frustrating where they go on those 8-0, 10-0 runs especially on the road where they get the crowd into it and get a comfort level. You take a lot of energy to get back in the game, if we eliminate those little stretches, we’re in it the whole way, not having to claw our way back and make it interesting”

The W’s certainly showed some fight when Boston extended their lead to 16 in the third quarter, but battled back to be only down 1 with three minutes left. But Steph is right, it does take a lot of energy to create those kinds of comebacks, which in turn helps to kill your chances of winning the game. The most telling stat was that Golden State out rebounded the Celtics 39-28 last night, which is a victory within itself in my book.

Now the W’s just need to figure out how to put the pieces together and bring some intensity every night to string along some wins. They get their next shot Sunday at the Philadelphia 76ers. Hopefully the Warriors can roll over their mind set from the Boston game to the much weaker 76ers.

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Warriors v. Celtics, NBA Scores: Ellis Drops 41, Celtics Edge Warriors 107-104

The Golden State Warriors made a late push against the Boston Celtics behind 41 points by Monta Ellis, but couldn’t complete the comeback, eventually losing 107-104 at TD Garden in Boston. The Warriors took advantage of the Celtics lack of continuity with their new players and cut the lead down to one with three minutes to play, but couldn’t take over the lead at the end.

Monta went 13-24 from the field as well as holding Boston’s Ray Allen to only 7 second half points (20 in the first), causing Ray to commit two key offensive fouls towards the end of the game. David Lee had himself a game as well, scoring 26 points and 12 boards mainly against Kevin Garnett. Together Monta and David made up 67 of the teams 104 points, while Dorell Wright added 11 and Steph Curry added 9. Both teams shot around 50% for the game, but the Warriors surprisingly out rebounded Boston 39-28, proof of the hard work the Warriors put in tonight.

For the Celtics Paul Pierce matched Ray Allen’s 27 points but added 7 boards while Kevin Garnett only had 8; but it was Jeff Green doing the damage off the bench, scoring 21 on 8-11 shooting in 28 minutes. Nenad Krstic had 11. Rajon Rondo had 16 assists.

With the loss it moves the Warriors to 27-34. Their next game is on Sunday as they head to the city of brotherly love to face the Philadelphia 76ers.

Full Box Score can be found here.

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Warriors v. Celtics, NBA Score Update: Warriors Show Some Fight, Down 88-81 Through Three

The Boston Celtics were in complete command through most of the third quarter at TD Garden, but the Warriors won’t go away as they trail 88-81 heading into the fourth quarter. The C’s are dismantling the Golden State Warriors’ defense for the most part, but Monta Ellis and David Lee are keeping Golden State within striking distance.

Monta Ellis has 29 points and 6 rebounds while David Lee has 22 and 7 rebounds, the two of them combined account for more than half the teams points so far. Paul Pierce had a solid third quarter, now with 20 points and 5 boards.

Warriors beat writer Marcus Thompson had a telling tweet about Ray Allen’s shooting tonight:

Smart yanks Curry and brings in Acie Law, presumably because Curry is the one who keeps leaving Ray Allen open

Curry can’t keep up with him off of screens playing a large part of Ray Allen’s 23 points on 9 shots so far. The Warriors are struggling from downtown going 3 for 13 (23%) while the Celtics are dominating going 7 for 15 (46%).

Boston is doing a good job at keeping Golden State uncomfortable and out of transition, forcing them into half court sets instead of letting them run up and down. Can the Warriors get some stops and steal a win on the road?

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Warriors v. Celtics, NBA Score Update: Celtics Extend Lead on Warriors 64-53 at Haltime

The Boston Celtics made 65.8% of their shots in the first half, leading to a 64-53 lead on the Golden State Warriors at halftime. Newly acquired forward Jeff Green saw some good minutes and got the most out of it, finishing the half with 13 points in 11 minutes. David Lee lead all Warriors with 16.

Monta made some difficult shots going 5-8 from the floor for 13 points although Steph Curry didn’t make a basket in the second quarter, staying stuck on 5 points. Andre Biedrins looked more confident than usual, going 2-3 for 4 points and 2 steals in 8 minutes off the bench, while Dorell Wright had a sweet coast-to-coast dunk, adding 9 points in 15 minutes. As a team the Warriors went 22-42 for 52.4%.

The Warriors (like most of the NBA) were having a hard time keeping up with Ray Allen constantly running off of screens, leading to easy opportunities and 20 points for the NBA’s all time 3 point leader. Rondo was dishing out the assists (as usual) racking up 9 in the first half (the W’s had 9 as a team) along with 4 points. Both teams had 6 turnovers in the half.

The Warriors are going to have to try and shoot themselves back into the game if they don’t want this to turn into a blowout quickly.

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Warriors v. Celtics, NBA Score Update: Warriors Hanging Tough, Down to Celtics 32-27 After One

The Golden State Warriors got off to a good start at TD Garden, trailing the Boston Celtics 32-27 after the first quarter. With the loss of Kendrick Perkins and the injury to Glen Davis the W’s were looking to get into the paint early and often against the Celtics. David Lee had a great start and was taking it to Kevin Garnett early in the first quarter, finishing with 14 points on 6-8 shooting. Steph Curry added 5.

Ekpe Udoh made his second start in a row, his second of the season, and was active on the glass and affected some shots around the rim. He finished the quarter with 3 rebounds (2 offensive) in 7 minutes. Monta Ellis had a circus shot and 1 for his only 3 points of the period.

Nenad Krstic got the start for the C’s and had 8 points on 3-5 shooting, while Ray Allen added 10. Ex Warrior Troy Murphy had 2 rebounds in 3 minutes, but the Warriors outrebound the Celtics 10-9 in for the period.

The excellent ball movement of the Celtics seems to have an added effect on the Warriors, who have a hard enough time defending as is. The Warriors are having some success in the paint, let’s see if they can keep it up.

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Warriors v. Celtics, NBA Schedule Preview: Warriors Face Tough Test in Boston

Coming off their 106-102 win against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday the Golden State Warriors try to make it two wins in a row as they continue their road trip in Boston tonight to face the Celtics. It was only a few days ago that the Warriors were on a 4 game winning streak coming off of the All-Star break that was ended by the Celtics in a 115-93 drubbing at Oracle that eventually started a 4 game losing streak. Golden State hasn’t won in Boston since Kevin Garnett arrived in 2007.

There has been some serious changes in Boston since these two teams last met, mainly the loss of Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green, as well as the addition of former Warrior Troy Murphy, who was bought out by Golden State last week. Murphy might see a decent amount of playing time due to the recent injury to Glen Davis, which is probably a good thing for the W’s.

If the Warriors want to get out of Boston with a win they are going to have to play 48 minutes of solid basketball. The Celtics are the defending Eastern Conference Champions for a reason, and that reason is consistency and intensity, things the Warriors could use badly. Look for Ekpe Udoh to possibly get his second start of the season, and hopefully some serious scoring from Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis. Playing against one of the best defenses in the league, the Warriors are going to have to bring their ‘A’ game to TD Garden tonight.

Newly acquired forward Al Thornton is expected to be in uniform for the Warriors although it is uncertain if he will play or not. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 PT and can be seen on CSN Bay Area or heard on KNBR 1050.

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Golden State Warriors News: Al Thornton Officially A Warrior, Now What?

The Golden State Warriors announced the signing of free agent forward forward Al Thornton via an official press release today. The 6’8" Florida State alumni has spent three years in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers and Washington Wizards. Thornton was released by the Wizards at the trade deadline last week after Washington bought out the rest of his contract. Thronton is looking to add some depth at the forward position for the W’s as well as help shore up the bench and become more productive offensively.

I think the addition of Thornton can’t really hurt the Warriors at this point in the season, but is this the deal that will send the Warriors into the playoffs? Highly unlikely. He currently sits at # 232 out of 333 in ESPN’s John Hollinger’s Player Efficiency Ratings (PER), averaging 8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1 assist per game in the 49 games he’s played in the 2010-2011 season. But one team’s trash is another team’s third option at small forward right?

Thornton will wear jersey # 23 for Golden State, and should be suited up on Friday for the W’s game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

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Warriors v. Wizards, NBA Scores: Curry Scores 29, Warriors Fend Off Wizards 106-102

The Golden State Warriors let a 20 point 3rd quarter lead wither down to 3 but behind Stephen Curry’s 29 points kept the Washington Wizards at bay, stealing a 106-102 win at the Target Center in Washington D.C tonight. With the win it stops the W’s four game losing streak while extending the Wizards’ to seven.

Monta Ellis had his moments during the game, finishing with 21 for 9-20 shooting. Reggie Williams had 11 off the bench, while Ekpe Udoh had 6 points, 3 blocks and 2 rebounds in his first start of the season.

Nick Young had 14 points of his 31 points in the 4th quarter including some late 3’s to keep the Wiz within striking distance, but Washington never regained the lead. Andre Blatche finished with 20 points and 9 boards, while rookie sensation John Wall had 14 and 6 assists.

The Warriors out rebounded the Wizards 54-40 including 14 offensive boards, something that is very rare for this W’s team. The Warriors also made it to the free throw line 34 times, another good sign for Golden State. As a team the Warriors shot 36-85 (42.2%) from the field, forcing 10 turnovers for 11 points as well as 25 fast break points.

With the win it moves the Warriors to 27-33 on the season. It was the first meeting between these two teams of the season, with the next coming March 29 at Oracle Arena. The Warriors now head to Boston to face the defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics at TD Garden on Friday.

Full box score can be found here.

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Warriors v. Wizards, NBA Score Update: Warriors Turn Up the Heat, Take 91-74 Lead After Three

The Warriors stretched their lead to 14 early in the 3rd quarter, getting to as much as 20, and never looked back as they stepped on the gas for a 91-74 lead heading into the 4th quarter.

Stephen Curry continued to scorch the box score, racking up 24 points and 5 assists, including 3-5 shooting from downtown. Dorell Wright has 14 while Reggie Williams added 9 from off the bench. Ekpe Udoh is using the extra minutes he’s getting from starting to get some serious swats, he has 3 thus far plus 6 points through three quarters.

Golden State Warriors beat writer Marcus Thompson had a very telling tweet about Monta Ellis and his current struggles from the field:

Monta’s wrist is not right. He doesn’t look comfortable on his J, though he keeps settling for it.

Seeing that Monta is 7-16 from the field for 16 points, it’s obvious that some of his shots aren’t going in out of his hand. If he is injured he sure is fighting through it. He took a seat in the third after picking up a technical foul, his fourth foul of the game. Monta is obviously frustrated.

For the Wizards it’s Nick young leading the way with 17, Andre Blatche has 16 while John Wall has 12. The Wiz have 8 turnovers leading to 11 Warriors points.

The Warriors need to keep up their intensity over the last 12 minutes if they want to keep the Wizards at bay and get their first win in the last 5 games.

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Warriors v. Wizards, NBA Score Update: Warriors Take 62-53 Lead at Halftime

The Golden State Warriors started to drop some shots on the Washington Wizards including a 9-0 run, effectively taking a 62-53 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Stephen Curry was lighting it up, scoring 15 points on 6-9 shooting to lead all scorers in the first half. Dorell Wright had 10 points on 2-10 shooting while Vladimir Radmonovic hit a couple of threes off the bench, finishing with 8 points. As a team the W’s shot 45.1% on 23-51 shooting.

The Warriors dominated the Wizards on the glass (yes the Warriors, that isn’t a typo) by a margin of 31-18 with David Lee and Andre Biedrins grabbing a team high 6 boards a piece in the first half.

As for the Wizards, a lot of their damage was done at the foul line, going 18-23 from the stripe as a team. If the Warriors could limit their fouls they could have a much bigger lead by now. Andre Blatche lead all Wizards with 12 points, with Nick Young adding 11. Rookie sensation John Wall has 8 points and 2 assists.

If the Warriors can keep from turning the ball over (only 3 TOs in first half) and limit their fouls, the should win this game easily. Can the Warriors keep the Wizards from getting back into the game in the 3rd quarter? Stay with SB Nation Bay Area to find out.

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Warriors v. Wizards, NBA Score Update: Decent Start For Warriors, Trail the Wizards 33-32 After One

The Golden State Warriors had a pretty decent start against the Washington Wizards, going back and forth with them the whole quarter and eventually trailing by one, 33-32.

Head Coach Keith Smart made a slight change to his starting lineup putting rookie Ekpe Udoh in for the struggling Andre Biedrins, moving David Lee over to Center to begin the game. The Warriors are were hoping for a spike in defensive energy for giving up some size with BIedrins on the bench, but not much changed as Udoh played 8 minutes for no points or rebounds in the first quarter.

The Warriors were using a well balanced attack offensively; David Lee had 4 points and 4 boards, Stephen Curry had 10 and Dorell Wright added 8. Monta missed his first four shots but finished the period with 8.The W’s had only 2 turnovers while getting to the line 7 times (a lot for them) in the period which will hopefully continue throughout the game.

For the Wizards Andre Blatche started well with 10 points ,while Nick Young added 11, John Wall had 6. The Wiz got to the line 14 times in that first quarter, way too many for a team like Washington. Let’s see how the Warriors fare the rest of the game.

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Warriors v. Wizards, NBA Schedule Preview: Warriors Try to Stop the Bleeding in D.C.

The Golden State Warriors (26-33) continue their longest road trip of the year as they head to the nation’s capital this afternoon to play the Washington Wizards (15-44) at the Verizon Center. The W’s face the Wiz on the second day off a back-to-back, fresh off a loss to the Indiana Pacers 109-100. Golden State is looking to stop the bleeding of their recent four game losing streak and Washington is as good of a spot as any to do so.

With only 15 wins on the season, the Wizards are are a team that the Warriors should beat. But with a 6 game losing streak of their own and 14 of their 15 wins this season coming at home, the Wizards are going to be a dangerous bunch on their own floor this afternoon. Both teams are trying to use their personal pride to get a win, which usually means a hard fought game on both sides of the ball.

Should be quite the electric matchup at point guard today as Monta Ellis will face off with the Wizards rookie sensation John Wall. Wall is currently averaging 15.4 PPG and 9 APG but will have a fleet footed counterpart in Monta Ellis, who has been scoring much less than his 24.7 PPG as of late. Monta will looking to score and to shake the cobwebs off against Wall this afternoon.

Washington Wizards Head Coach Flip Saunders will miss today’s game to be with his ailing mother in Ohio, with Assistant Coach Randy Whitman taking the reigns for today’s game against the Warriors.

Tip-off is at 4:00 PT and will be televised on CSN Bay Area and broadcast on KNBR 1050.

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Golden State Warriors News: Lack of Toughness Leads to Warriors Losing Streak

Coming off of their forth loss in a row and the playoffs getting further out of reach, the Golden State Warriors are in desperate need for a win. And after the 109-100 loss to the Indiana Pacers head coach Keith Smart has to do something to get this team turned around and in a hurry. The W’s will go straight from Indianapolis to Washington, D.C., tonight to play a back-to-back against the Washington Wizards tomorrow; and according to Smart, he’s searching for something:

"I’ve got two teams right now, a great offensive team and a good defensive team. And I have two of them in the middle and I have to figure out how to splice that and turn them into one again."

Sounds like a daunting challenge. But what is it going to take? First off, you’re going to need a lot more out of Andre Biedrins. Zero points and five rebounds isn’t going to cut it for a center in Middle School, let alone against the Pacers. If Dre can put in some production (not a lot, just some) it would certainly help the W’s chances of winning a game, especially on the road. But with 14 more road games it’s definitely going to be an uphill battle from here on in for Biedrins.

How about Al Thornton, who the Warriors are apparently trying to sign off waivers? I doubt it. Very few players can be a team’s panacea, and Al Thornton just isn’t it.

Is it their motivation? Maybe. With every loss the playoff pinnacle seems that more out of reach, every game becomes just another day before the end of the season. This current losing streak would hopefully fire the W’s up to win instead of demoralize them. And I don’t really see a team full of quitters, so it can’t be that.

What the Warriors need is some mental strength and defensive stability to get them to grind out close games. To have the ability to chip away if they fall behind or close the door if they leap ahead. I think this is what Coach Smart is looking for. If you see any, I’m sure he’d like to know where.

The Warriors just aren’t a physical team, plain and simple. There has to be toughness from top to bottom and they just don’t have it. Their offense is good enough to buy them some wins and get them off the hook from time to time, but if you aren’t tough enough it’s going to show in the loss column, which it does.

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Warriors v. Pacers, NBA Scores: Reggie Williams Scores 25, Warriors Lose Again 109-100

It was a well matched game at Conseco Field House tonight, but unfortunately for the W’s the home team prevailed.

The Golden State Warriors came up short again tonight despite a blazing 25 points from Reggie Williams off the bench as the Indiana Pacers finished off the W’s for a 109-100 loss in Indianapolis. With the loss it makes if four straight L’s for the Warriors, who are still winless on their longest road trip of the season with four more games to go.

The Warriors turned a 10 point deficit half way through the 4th into a 3 point one in about a minute and a half due to a couple of clutch Curry jumpers, but the W’s simply couldn’t get over the hump to regain the lead. Reggie Williams’ huge game consisted of 10-14 shooting from the floor including 5-7 in 25 minutes which made up for Monta Ellis’ poor shooting night (5-17 for 13 points, no 3’s). Stephen Curry and David Lee had 20 and 19 respectively.

The Pacers used a balanced attack tonight with 6 players in double figures (Granger 27, Hansbrough 14, Collison 13, Hibbert 12, George 12, Jones 10) but it was the free throw differential that once again killed the Warriors as the Pacers were a +19 in points from the stripe. The W’s were right there with Indiana in field goal percentage (42% a piece) and rebounding (46-44) but simply couldn’t get to the line enough to bail themselves out. The Warriors playoff dreams are becoming more and more improbable every day.

The Warriors are now 26-33 for the season, 7 games under .500 and 6 games behind the Memphis Grizzles for 8th spot in the West. Golden State will have to regroup quickly as they travel to our nation’s capital tomorrow to face the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center. Tip-off is at 4:00 PT.

Full box score can be found here.

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Warriors v. Pacers, NBA Score Update: Pacers Push Back, Take 80-71 Lead into 4th Quarter

The Indiana Pacers came out of the break strong, outscoring the Golden State Warriors 37-25 in the third quarter while taking a 80-71 lead into the final period.

Stephen Curry started to light it up in the third quarter, draining three 3-pointers, finishing the quarter with 13 points. Dorell Wright made his return at the beginning of the second half but David Lee took a shot in the mouth and had to get some treatment for it in the locker room. Lee is getting a lot of shots but is missing far too many of them right in front of the basket; he should have at least 6 more points than his 13 that he has so far. Monta Ellis has 9 points and 4 assists.

Danny Granger continues to have a solid game scoring 17, while Roy Hibbert has 12 with 3 big blocks. The Pacers have taken 10 more free throws than the Warriors and are +11 in points form the line, which is basically the main factor to the Pacers lead. The Warriors also have 10 turnovers leading to 22 Indiana points.

The W’s are going to have to play more efficiently in the forth quarter if they are going to leave Indianapolis with a win.

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Warriors v. Pacers, NBA Score Update: Warriors Wake Up, Take 46-43 Lead Into Halftime

The Golden State Warriors used a 21-1 run to get back into the game in the second quarter taking an eventual 46-43 lead into the locker room at halftime. The W’s seemed to tighten the screws a bit in the quarter defensively, dropping the Pacers field goal percentage from around 50% in the first quarter to 31% in the second. Indiana didn’t make a single basket for a stretch of seven plus minutes in the second quarter but a late 6-0 Pacer run brought them to within 3 to end the first half.

It was Monta and the bench for the majority of the period, with some clutch play from Reggie Williams (12 points 5-8 FG) and Acie Law (6 points 3-4 FG) from the off the pine. Monta finished the first half with 7 points and 2 assists. David Lee had 8 and 7 boards. As for the Pacers Danny Granger finished the half with 11 points with Roy Hibbert adding 10 and 7 boards.

The Warriors actually out rebounded the Pacers in that half 27-22, which is a great sign that the team is playing hard. Keep it up and the Warriors might have a road win on their hands.

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Warriors v. Pacers NBA Score Update: Warriors Start Slowly, Trail Pacers 29-19 After One

It was a slow start for the Golden State Warriors at Conseco Field House in Indianapolis as The Indiana Pacers hold a 29-19 lead after the 1st quarter. Golden State started the game 0-4 from the floor and had to take an early timeout due to a 7-0 Indiana start, and it didn’t get much better as the W’s started 8-26 (30.6%) from the floor.

Danny Granger started out with 11 points for the Pacers while Roy Hibbert added 7. David Lee had 6 points and 5 rebounds for the Warriors with Monta Ellis adding 4. Stephen Curry is yet to make a shot.

Dorell Wright got into some early foul trouble, and went back to the locker room with about 5 minutes left in the first quarter; he seemed to be hobbling a little bit. He didn’t return to the bench the rest of the period.

The Warriors find themselves in another early hole and are going to have to shoot their way out of it. Let’s hope some buckets start to fall.

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Warriors v. Pacers, NBA Schedule Preview: Warriors Look to Right the Ship in Indiana

With the second installment of their seven game road trip this afternoon the Golden State Warriors are looking to right the ship against the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Field House, and inch closer back to the .500 mark for the season. The W’s are coming off a tough 126-123 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, their third straight loss in a row.

They head into Indianapolis to face a surging Pacers team that has an identical record to the Warriors (26-32) but hold the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference thanks to their 9-5 record since Frank Vogel took over for Jim O’Brien in late January. In their last meeting on January 19th Monta Ellis dropped 36 points including a fade away jumper with 0.6 seconds left on the clock to solidify the 110-108 victory for the W’s. It’s going to take another big performance by Monta for the Warriors to get out of Indiana with a win.

The Pacers are a team that matches up pretty well with Golden State and should prove to be a tougher test than one might think. Look for Indiana’s Roy Hibbert to have a big impact on today’s game, he’s got a couple inches on Andre Biedrins and David Lee, who are going to have their hands full.

Game time is set for a 4 pm PT tip-off and will be broadcast on CSN Bay Area as well as KNBR 1050.

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Golden State Warriors Scores, Schedule, News: Warriors Need to Take Notes From Kevin Love

If there is any one player in the NBA that exposes the weaknesses of the Golden State Warriors, it is the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kevin Love.

After a gut-wrenching 126-123 loss to Minnesota on Sunday, Love was single-handedly the main factor as to why the Warriors lost, but to him it was just another game. With 37 points and 23 rebounds Love recorded his 46th straight double-double and his forth game of the season with at least 30 points and 20 boards; and against a team like the Warriors it is all too easy for a guy like him to get those kinds of numbers. But if Golden State took a couple of notes from Love, they can learn a thing or two about winning a ball game.

After the game head coach Keith Smart had this to say:

“This is a painful loss. Credit Kevin Love, we couldn’t do anything on the glass. Second opportunities for him and getting to the free throw line.”

Second opportunities and getting to the free-throw line; two things the Warriors can almost never seem to come up with. Golden State is currently dead last in the NBA in free throw attempts per game at 20.9, which says to me that players like Monta and Steph need to take it to the hole and draw contact a lot more than just pulling up for a jumper, especially Curry since he is one of the NBA’s premier free throw shooters (90.6% for his career). The W’s need all the easy buckets you can get, and they don’t get much easier than free throws.

Second chance opportunities come from rebounding, which is another Achilles heel for this Warriors team. Keith Smart spoke about it after the game Sunday:

“Rebounding is desire…you have to be determined to get the ball. Steph (Curry) did a good job of getting the ball and catching the long ones and things like that. There are some dirty ones right close to the basket we’ve got to come up with that we didn’t come up with tonight. And Kevin Love, he’s going to play in that area.”

Desire. Determination. Terms I don’t readily associate with how the W’s grab boards. It’s not like Lee, Biedrins and Amundson are outsized or outmatched every game, they simply get out-hustled. Kevin Love is the epitome of hustle, and it shows up in the box score every night. If Love can play this hard for a team with only 14 wins, we certainly should be able to get some more production with the players on the W’s. If Stephen Curry leads your team in rebounds any given night (like last night) then that is a collective failure on the boards for the rest of the team.

Golden State should sit down with a bunch of Kevin Love footage and do some studying. There's no way it could possibly hurt.

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Golden State Warriors Scores: Curry Drops 33, Warriors Can't Finish, Lose 126-123

Stephen Curry did all that he possibly could in the 4th quarter to keep the Golden State Warriors from starting their 7 game road trip with a loss. But Curry’s 33 points were to no avail as the Timberwolves hung on in a crazy game at the Target Center for a 126-123 win.

In a game that saw both teams with double-digit leads at some point, it all came down to the last few minutes of regulation. The Warriors rode a 19-8 run in the 4th to bring Minnesota’s lead to within 1 point with about 3:30 to play. The W’s had the ball with 17.1 seconds left, holding for a game winning shot, but Monta Ellis’ drive to the lane was met by four T’Wolves defenders as the Warriors attempt to steal the game from the home team fell just short. To go along with Curry’s 33 points and 11 rebounds was Dorell Wright’s 26 and David Lee and Monta Ellis with 20 a piece. The W’s finished the game shooting 45.8% (44-96)
with 13 turnovers, as well as getting owned on the glass 40-61.

Kevin Love had another signature performance for the Timberwolves, racking up his 4th 30 point 20 rebound game of the season with 37 points and 23 boards. Michael Beasley had a big second half finishing the game with 25 points and 9 rebounds, while Wesley Johnson added 17.

This game definitely starts the road trip off on a low note as the Warriors give the Timberwolves only their 10th win of the season at the Taget Center. Golden State is going to have to regroup quickly as they set off for Indianapolis to face another struggling team in the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.

Full Box Score can be found here.

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Golden State Warriors Scores: Timberwolves Battle Back, Take 104-89 Lead Into 4th Quarter

In a game that has seen the momentum swing back and forth, it swayed the Timberwolves way in the 3rd quarter as they took a 104-89 lead into the 4th quarter.

The Minnesota Timberwolves came out of the half looking to attack the basket and used a 17-3 run to regain the lead. The Warriors tried to shoot themselves back into the game against a relatively stagnent Minnesota defense, but the shots simply weren’t falling. The W’s shooting percentage dropped to 43.2 % as they managed to score a total of 16 points in the 3rd. Stephen Curry leads all Golden State scorers with 22.

The Warriors had a 14 point lead at one point in the first half while the Timberwolves turned it around to have an 12 point lead of their own in the 3rd quarter behind another dominating performance by Kevin Love scoring 34 points and an astounding 20 rebounds through 3 quarters. It is his NBA leading 55 double-double this season, and a big one at that. The T’Wolves took over the game through their rebounding, now with a 48-31 advantage in that category.

The W’s are going to have to dig deep in the final period if they are going to leave Minneapolis victorious. They are 6-27 when trailing heading into the 4th quarter.

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Golden State Warriors Scores: Warriors Ride Hot Shooters to a 73-69 Halftime Lead

The Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves find themselves in a defenseless shoot-off in the first half with the Warriors clinging to a four point 73-69 halftime lead. The W’s were shooting the lights out in the first half, going 57.4% (27-47) from the floor with four out of their five starters in double figures (Curry 15, Wright 17, Ellis 16, Lee 13). The Timberwolves countered with the likes of Kevin Love (20 points 11 boards) Wesley Johnson and Anthony Tolliver (both with 10 points a piece.)

Head coach Keith Smart had been using a lot of bench players is the second quarter as of late, but decided to stay with mostly starters today and it seemed to pay off. The Warriors are keeping up on the boards (for the most part) with the Timberwolves and their rebounding machine Kevin Love with the W’s only grabbing 10 fewer rebounds than Minnesota (29-19) which for a team that doesn’t rebound isn’t all too bad. The Timberwolves main scoring option Michael Beasley played only 9 minutes in that first half, which was a bit odd. He was in a bit of foul trouble but must have done something that T’Wolves coach Kurt Rambis didn’t like seeing that few of minutes. The less Beasley for the W’s the better.

I guess if nobody is going to play defense, then it’s going to be a game the Warriors should have an advantage. Look for the W's to continue taking shots and keeping the tempo high in the second half. 

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Golden State Warriors Scores: Warriors Lead Timberwolves 41-32 After 1st Quarter

The Minnesota Timberwolves came firing out of the gate against the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter, but the W’s battles back to take the lead 41-32 going into the second quarter. It was a bit of a sloppy start for both teams with 11 turnovers in the quarter (4 by the W’s) but also included some high scoring.

The Wolves had a 9 point lead early that got erased with Michael Beasley and Darko Milicic on the bench in foul trouble leading to a 10-2 W’s run. Thankfully for the Warriors Dorell Wright showed up today in Minnesota, scoring the first 10 points for the W’s in the first quarter, ending with 15 for the period including three 3 pointers. Monta Ellis started out icy cold in frigid Minneapolis going 0-5 from the floor to begin the game but picked it up towards the end of the quarter and finished with 8 points. The W’s started out shooting 60.3% in the first quarter while the T’Wolves shot 50%.

The W’s half court defense was struggling as the Timberwolves got too many easy buckets, but hopefully some adjustments can be made by head coach Keith Smart throughout the game.

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Golden State Warriors Schedule: Warriors Head to Minnesota to Begin Long Road Trip

Coming off of two disappointing losses at Oracle the Golden State Warriors (26-31) embark on their longest road trip of the season starting with their first stop against the Minnesota Timberwolves (13-46) in frozen Minneapolis Sunday afternoon. The 2 p.m. PT contest will be televised on CSN Bay Area (HD) and broadcast live on KNBR 680.

The Warriors head into the Target Center hoping to get back to their winning ways as they look for their sixth-straight win over the Timberwolves who have a meager 9 wins at home this season. Golden State is undefeated against the T’Wolves this year, including a 104-94 win in their last meting in Minnesota on November 27; fans may recall Dorell Wright setting a new Warriors record with nine three-pointers that game.

Now the Warriors will look to get back on track on the road. Five of the seven games on this upcoming trip will be against teams with losing records, This road trip could define the season for the Warriors, who need to put together a winning stretch to make a playoff run.

Following Sunday’s game, the Warriors will travel to Indiana on Tuesday and continue its trip with stops in Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland and New Jersey. Boston is the only team on this road trip currently with a winning record, giving the W's ample opportunity to get some wins away from Oracle and creep closer to that .500 record.

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Golden State Warriors Schedule: Warriors Start Road Trip With Heads Hung Low

Maybe it was the All-Star break. Maybe it was their scouting report. Whatever it was, it was hard to watch.

The Golden State Warriors got taken out to the wood shed last night by the Atlanta Hawks 95-79 making it a second straight loss to a playoff caliber Eastern Conference squad, both of which were played at home. Depsite winning 7 of their last 10 games coming into last night, this game sends up some serious warning signs about the Warriors development. Wither they are not ready to compete at a high level night after night with the talent they have on the squad, or the talent they have on the squad is not playing to the highest level they possibly can.

The San Jose Mercury News’ Tim Kawakami had this to say about the team in his ’Talking Points:"

If you wanted to design a game that showed why the Warriors are much further away from contention or relevance than they think they are, this would be it…Coach Keith Smart blamed on a lack of energy–energy to get to the Hawks’ shooters, energy to make the right passes against Atlanta’s over-playing defense, energy to run back on defense… A meaner and more accurate way to say it: Once the Warriors ran into trouble, they pretty much went belly up…at home. While rested. Against a Hawks team that had lost three in a row.

When it comes to things like playing solid defense (in the half court and in transition) and rebounding (offensively and defensively), two things that the Warriors only do when they feel like it, it starts with a commitment to it before the game even starts. Coach Keith Smart needs to figure out a new way to get the most out of his players and have them buy into his system because whatever he is doing now simply isn’t working. They aren’t buying into whatever he’s selling, and I don’t know if that’s the coaches’ fault or the players. Either way some soul-searching might have to happen on the road trip if the W’s want to start playing like winners.

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