Already in mid-season form, the Warriors blew a double digit lead midway through the third quarter, losing in overtime. The preseason ended with the Warriors winless on the road. The Lakers late second round pick Derrick Caracter, a summer-league sensation, was a spark off the bench in limited minutes during the third quarter, providing hustle plays of second chance points to cut the Warriors lead down from 11.
After the Lakers took the lead late in the fourth quarter, the Warriors managed to reclaim the lead, seemingly sitting on a comfortable lead of 8 with less than 2 minutes to play after a pick and roll play which ended in a 3-point play by David Lee.
Without Stephen Curry tonight, held out for precautionary reasons after tweaking his ankle, Monta Ellis played the entire game, leading the Warriors with 41 points on 16-30 shooting. He also had 7 turnovers.
Reggie Williams scored 27 points, going a perfect 9-9 from the line. Williams also had 9 assists. The Warriors struggled to initiate the offense without Curry as Ellis shouldered the scoring load.
During the second quarter, Kobe Bryant and Ellis dueled back and forth on the offensive end. Bryant rattled off three straight baskets against a helpless Brandan Wright. Ellis proved to be too much for Derek Fisher, closing out the first half with 27 points on 11 of 14 shooting.