The Golden State Warriors kicked off their 2011-12 NBA season as the are hosting the Los Angeles Clippers at Oracle Arena on Christmas Day. The Warriors got the game off to a fast start as they took a 14-8 lead and were getting the pace going in a manner they enjoyed. However, the Clippers closed the first quarter strong in taking a 24-20 lead into the second quarter.
The Warriors got a strong first quarter effort from Andris Biedrins who scored six points and pulled down four rebounds. He did most of his work early in the quarter as he was fairly quiet the final few minutes. David Lee matched him with six points as two-thirds of the Warriors front line was doing some solid work. Dorell Wright was a different matter. He grabbed a couple rebounds but it should surprise nobody that Ekpe Udoh split minutes with him in the first quarter.
The Warriors had their entire lineup available in spite of question marks about Stephen Curry's ankle. They started Curry, Monta Ellis, Dorell Wright, David Lee and Andris Biedrins. Udoh, Klay Thompson and Brandon Rush all got some solid minutes in the first quarter of Mark Jackson's coaching debut.
Chauncey Billups led the Clippers in scoring with 7 points. Blake Griffin added six points inside. We had our first lob for "Lob City" as DeAndre Jordan threw one down from above.
For more on the Warriors season opener, head over to Golden State of Mind.