For those that didn't catch Ekpe Udoh's crowd cheering, drink spilling, scream at the top of your lungs play from last night, here it is. I'm reserving my excitement of Udoh for a long time because, hey, Ike Diogu had a couple monster game where he looked like the smoothest big man you had ever seen. Udoh didn't look that smooth at all. But he looked like he had heart. Via Golden State of Mind Linkage, see for yourself:
Ekpe Udoh (via gumbyorpokey)
In the span of about 10 seconds in the fourth quarter, Udoh not only slams in a miss by Monta Ellis, but then races down in the opposite direction to block Courtney Lee who had sprinted out in transition. In what most likely would have been a huge buzz kill to Ellis' shot prior, Udoh managed a stop and more importantly allowed us fans to go NUTS.
Both rookies Jeremy Lin and Udoh checked into the game with the Warriors lead starting to slip and they both played their part by hustling for boards and loose balls. Jeremy Lin still looked a apprehensive, but was the Warriors best rebounder during that fourth quarter stretch (even if his stats don't say so). Udoh, too, ran the floor and got back on defense like he actually wanted to. In that 10 second span, he almost looked like Lebron James as he electrified the crowd with athleticism and determination on both ends of the floor.