GAME THREAD: NBA: PHOENIX (11-2) at GOLDEN STATE (5-7)

NBA: PHOENIX at GOLDEN STATE

<div class="pre">NBA PHOENIX 112
GOLDEN STATE 125 2:50 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: PHOENIX at GOLDEN STATE

<div class="pre">NBA PHOENIX 112
GOLDEN STATE 127 1:01 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: PHOENIX at GOLDEN STATE

<div class="pre">NBA PHOENIX 114
GOLDEN STATE 129 FINAL</div>

 

NBA: PHOENIX at GOLDEN STATE

<div class="pre">NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
PHOENIX 37 26 29 22 114
GOLDEN STATE 45 27 31 26 129 FINAL

HIGH SCORERS: PHO - STEVE NASH 23, GRANT HILL 17, AMARE
STOUDEMIRE 17
GSW - STEPHEN JACKSON 32, MONTA ELLIS 31,
BARON DAVIS 28</div>

 

NBA: PHOENIX at GOLDEN STATE

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NBA
PHOENIX 114
GOLDEN STATE 129 FINAL</div>

 

By Ryan Leong
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- For one night, it appeared theNBA went back in time to an era when scoring 120 plus-points wasthe norm as the league's two top offenses, the Golden StateWarriors and the Phoenix Suns squared off in a shootout.

Steven Jackson scored 30 of his season-high 32 points throughthree quarters and Monta Ellis netted 15 straight points for histeam in the fourth as Golden State cooled down Phoenix with a129-114 victory on Monday.


Ellis finished with a career high-tying 31 points and BaronDavis added 28 points and 10 assists for the Warriors, who havewon six of their last seven games.


That streak comes on the heels of a 0-6 start, a turnaround thathad much to do with the return of Jackson from aseason-starting suspension. The 6-8 swingman is averaging 22.2points over his first six games of the season.


The Suns had been red hot, winning their last eight games butlost for the first time since November 7. Steve Nash led theteam with 23 points and 13 assists.


The two teams combined for 46 points with six minutes remainingin a high-scoring first quarter that included a 13-2 run byGolden State.


The crowd was roaring on its feet after a 3-pointer by Davisprompted Phoenix to take a time out with 2:44 to go in thequarter, trailing 39-28.


Although Grant Hill responded with a 3-pointer, Matt Barnes cameback with one of his own, and the Warriors led 45-37 after theopening 12 minutes.


Early in the second quarter, Ellis had a show-stopping layup,giving Golden State a 10-point lead.


After a 3-pointer by Barnes and a three-point play by KelennaAzubuike, the Warriors led 72-58 with 45 seconds before thehalf.


However, the Suns scored the final five points leading into thebreak, slicing the Warriors' lead 72-63 at the intermission.

Golden State pushed its advantage to a 17 points at 99-82 aftera 3-pointer by Mickael Pietrus with 3:22 remaining in the thirdquarter, and went over the century mark less than a minutelater.


Yet, Phoenix appeared ready to make a run in the fourth beforethe 22-year-old Ellis took over, capping his impressive run witha layup to make it 125-110 with 3:36 left.


Amare Stoudemire and Hill scored 17 points apiece for the Suns,who committed an eye-popping 20 turnovers that the Warriorsturned into 37 points.

 

NBA: PHOENIX at GOLDEN STATE

<div class="pre">PHOENIX (114) AT GOLDEN STATE (129)

PHOENIX

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

S MARION F 35:34 5-14 0-0 7 7 14 0 4 1 2 10
G HILL F 38:50 7-16 2-2 1 4 5 5 0 1 5 17
A STOUDEMIRE C 28:54 5-9 7-8 2 6 8 2 4 1 2 17
R BELL G 34:15 6-11 0-0 0 4 4 1 5 2 0 14
S NASH G 35:34 8-14 4-4 0 2 2 13 2 0 8 23
L BARBOSA 25:28 6-12 2-2 0 0 0 3 2 0 2 16
B DIAW 26:00 3-7 2-3 3 5 8 7 1 1 1 8
B SKINNER 15:25 3-5 3-5 2 5 7 0 2 0 0 9
E PIATKOWSKI DNP - COACH'S DECISION
A TUCKER DNP - COACH'S DECISION
D STRAWBERRY DNP - COACH'S DECISION
S MARKS DNP - COACH'S DECISION

TOTALS 240:00 43-88 20-24 15 33 48 31 20 6 20 114
(.489) (.833) TEAM REBS: 5 TOTAL TO: 20 (37 PTS)

GOLDEN STATE

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

S JACKSON F 42:21 13-21 3-3 4 4 8 1 3 1 2 32
M BARNES F 35:21 3-5 0-0 1 6 7 7 2 2 3 8
A HARRINGTON C 27:20 5-9 2-2 1 4 5 5 2 2 0 14
M ELLIS G 35:24 14-23 3-5 0 3 3 4 4 2 1 31
B DAVIS G 42:24 11-24 1-4 2 4 6 10 3 2 3 28
A BIEDRINS 13:20 1-2 0-0 2 1 3 1 2 1 0 2
K AZUBUIKE 24:01 4-13 3-3 2 3 5 2 3 0 0 11
M PIETRUS 17:02 1-3 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 2 0 3
B WRIGHT 1:46 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
M BELINELLI 1:01 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
A CROSHERE DNP - COACH'S DECISION
D MBENGA DNP - COACH'S DECISION

TOTALS 240:00 52-101 12-17 12 27 39 31 21 12 10 129
(.515) (.706) TEAM REBS: 11 TOTAL TO: 11 (7 PTS)

PHOENIX 37 26 29 22 - 114
GOLDEN STATE 45 27 31 26 - 129

BLOCKED SHOTS: PHOENIX - B SKINNER 2, A STOUDEMIRE. GOLDEN STATE -
M BARNES 2, A BIEDRINS.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: PHOENIX 8-19 (.421), S MARION 0-1, G HILL 1-2, R BELL 2-
4, S NASH 3-7, L BARBOSA 2-5. GOLDEN STATE 13-28 (.464), S JACKSON 3-
7, M BARNES 2-2, A HARRINGTON 2-2, M ELLIS 0-1, B DAVIS 5-10, K AZUBUIKE 0-
3, M PIETRUS 1-3.
TECHNICAL FOULS: PHOENIX - DEFENSIVE THREE.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: DERRICK STAFFORD, KEN MAUER, ZACH ZARBA.
A - 19,596. T - 2:08.</div>

 

NBA: PHOENIX at GOLDEN STATE

<div class="pre">PHOENIX (114)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
S Marion 35:34 5-14 0-0 7-14 0 4 10
G Hill 38:50 7-16 2-2 1-5 5 0 17
A Stoudemire 28:54 5-9 7-8 2-8 2 4 17
R Bell 34:15 6-11 0-0 0-4 1 5 14
S Nash 35:34 8-14 4-4 0-2 13 2 23
L Barbosa 25:28 6-12 2-2 0-0 3 2 16
B Diaw 26:00 3-7 2-3 3-8 7 1 8
B Skinner 15:25 3-5 3-5 2-7 0 2 9
E Piatkowski DNP - COACH'S DECISION
A Tucker DNP - COACH'S DECISION
D Strawberry DNP - COACH'S DECISION
S Marks DNP - COACH'S DECISION

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 43-88 20-24 15-48 31 20 114
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.489, FT-.833. 3-Point Goals:
8-19, .421 (S Marion 0-1, G Hill 1-2, R Bell
2-4, S Nash 3-7, L Barbosa 2-5). Team
Rebounds: 5. Blocked Shots:3 (B Skinner 2, A
Stoudemire). Turnovers:20 (S Nash 8, G Hill
5, S Marion 2, L Barbosa 2, A Stoudemire 2, B
Diaw). Steals: 6 (R Bell 2, G Hill, B Diaw, A
Stoudemire, S Marion).


GOLDEN STATE (129)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
S Jackson 42:21 13-21 3-3 4-8 1 3 32
M Barnes 35:21 3-5 0-0 1-7 7 2 8
A Harrington 27:20 5-9 2-2 1-5 5 2 14
M Ellis 35:24 14-23 3-5 0-3 4 4 31
B Davis 42:24 11-24 1-4 2-6 10 3 28
A Biedrins 13:20 1-2 0-0 2-3 1 2 2
K Azubuike 24:01 4-13 3-3 2-5 2 3 11
M Pietrus 17:02 1-3 0-0 0-2 1 2 3
B Wright 1:46 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
M Belinelli 1:01 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
A Croshere DNP - COACH'S DECISION
D Mbenga DNP - COACH'S DECISION

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 52-10 12-17 12-39 31 21 129
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.515, FT-.706. 3-Point Goals:
13-28, .464 (S Jackson 3-7, M Barnes 2-2, A
Harrington 2-2, M Ellis 0-1, B Davis 5-10, K
Azubuike 0-3, M Pietrus 1-3). Team Rebounds:
11. Blocked Shots:3 (M Barnes 2, A Biedrins).
Turnovers:10 (B Davis 3, M Barnes 3, S
Jackson 2, M Ellis, B Wright). Steals: 12 (A
Harrington 2, B Davis 2, M Barnes 2, M
Pietrus 2, M Ellis 2, S Jackson, A Biedrins).

--------------------------------------------
PHOENIX 37 26 29 22 - 114
GOLDEN STATE 45 27 31 26 - 129
--------------------------------------------

Technical fouls: Phoenix - 1 (Defensive
Three, 3:58 2nd).
Flagrant fouls: None. A: 19,596. T: 2:08.
Officials: Derrick Stafford, Ken Mauer, Zach
Zarba.</div>

 

By Ryan Leong
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- For one night, it appeared theNBA went back in time to an era when scoring 120 plus-points wasthe norm as the league's two top offenses, the Golden StateWarriors and the Phoenix Suns squared off in a shootout.

Stephen Jackson scored 30 of his season-high 32 points throughthree quarters and Monta Ellis netted 15 straight points for histeam in the fourth as Golden State cooled down Phoenix with a129-114 victory on Monday.


Ellis finished with a career high-tying 31 points and BaronDavis added 28 points and 10 assists for the Warriors, who havewon six of their last seven games.


That streak comes on the heels of a 0-6 start, a turnaround thathad much to do with the return of Jackson from aseason-starting suspension. The 6-8 swingman is averaging 22.2points over his first six games of the season.


The Suns had been red hot, winning their last eight games butlost for the first time since November 7. Steve Nash led theteam with 23 points and 13 assists.


The two teams combined for 46 points with six minutes remainingin a high-scoring first quarter that included a 13-2 run byGolden State.


The crowd was roaring on its feet after a 3-pointer by Davisprompted Phoenix to take a time out with 2:44 to go in thequarter, trailing 39-28.


Although Grant Hill responded with a 3-pointer, Matt Barnes cameback with one of his own, and the Warriors led 45-37 after theopening 12 minutes.


Early in the second quarter, Ellis had a show-stopping layup,giving Golden State a 10-point lead.


After a 3-pointer by Barnes and a three-point play by KelennaAzubuike, the Warriors led 72-58 with 45 seconds before thehalf.


However, the Suns scored the final five points leading into thebreak, slicing the Warriors' lead 72-63 at the intermission.

Golden State pushed its advantage to a 17 points at 99-82 aftera 3-pointer by Mickael Pietrus with 3:22 remaining in the thirdquarter, and went over the century mark less than a minutelater.


Yet, Phoenix appeared ready to make a run in the fourth beforethe 22-year-old Ellis took over, capping his impressive run witha layup to make it 125-110 with 3:36 left.


Amare Stoudemire and Hill scored 17 points apiece for the Suns,who committed an eye-popping 20 turnovers that the Warriorsturned into 37 points.

 

By Ryan Leong
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- For one night, it appeared theNBA went back in time to an era when scoring 120 plus-points wasthe norm as the league's two top offenses, the Golden StateWarriors and the Phoenix Suns squared off in a shootout.

Stephen Jackson scored 30 of his season-high 32 points throughthree quarters and Monta Ellis netted 15 straight points for histeam in the fourth as Golden State cooled down Phoenix with a129-114 victory on Monday.


Ellis finished with a career high-tying 31 points and BaronDavis added 28 points and 10 assists for the Warriors, who havewon six of their last seven games.


"I won't say this is a statement game but this was a great winfor us to get back to ourselves," Ellis said. "If we startdoing the things we were doing at the end of the season lastyear, we'll win a lot of games no matter who it is. Phoenix isa great team and we came at them. We just started off the gamewell and then we finished it."


"That was a quality win," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "Weplayed our best game of the year and if not, it was close. Ithought it was a good game and a fun game to coach but it alsohelps if you score 129 points. About the only team that couldbeat us if we score 129 would be the Suns but they didn't."

That streak comes on the heels of a 0-6 start, a turnaround thathad much to do with the return of Jackson from aseason-starting suspension. The 6-8 swingman is averaging 22.2points over his first six games of the season.


"We're trying to be the Warriors," Jackson said. "We're nottrying to be like anybody else, we're trying to play our styleof game. We want to have our own identity which is theWarriors' style of basketball and I think just as much as peopletry to adjust to Phoenix, they're going to try to adjust to us.

"We're just playing our game, trying to keep it whereeverybody's playing free, everybody has the green light and tryto be a more scrappy team on defense and that's our style."

The Suns had been red hot, winning their last eight games butlost for the first time since November 7. Steve Nash led theteam with 23 points and 13 assists.


The two teams combined for 46 points with six minutes remainingin a high-scoring first quarter that included a 13-2 run byGolden State.


"There's no excuses, they beat us and they were the better teamtonight," Suns forward Grant Hill said. "They just came off along East Coast trip and at this point of the season everybody'sa little fatigued and they just came out with more energy,played harder, and got off to a great start."


The crowd was roaring on its feet after a 3-pointer by Davisprompted Phoenix to take a time out with 2:44 to go in thequarter, trailing 39-28.


Although Hill responded with a 3-pointer, Matt Barnes came backwith one of his own, and the Warriors led 45-37 after theopening 12 minutes.


Early in the second quarter, Ellis had a show-stopping layup,giving Golden State a 10-point lead.


After a 3-pointer by Barnes and a three-point play by KelennaAzubuike, the Warriors led 72-58 with 45 seconds before thehalf.


However, the Suns scored the final five points leading into thebreak, slicing the Warriors' lead 72-63 at the intermission.

Golden State pushed its advantage to a 17 points at 99-82 aftera 3-pointer by Mickael Pietrus with 3:22 remaining in the thirdquarter, and went over the century mark less than a minutelater.


Yet, Phoenix appeared ready to make a run in the fourth beforethe 22-year-old Ellis took over, capping his impressive run witha layup to make it 125-110 with 3:36 left.


"It was fun," said Ellis, who made 7-of-8 shots during the spanthat last just over five minutes. "Me and Baron just keep torunning that screen. Coach said, 'Stay with it' and my shot asgoing so I just kept shooting it."


Al Harrington had 14 points and Azubuike added 11 off the benchfor the Warriors, who shot 51.5 percent (52-of-101), including13-of-28 on 3-pointers.


Amare Stoudemire and Hill scored 17 points apiece for the Suns,who committed an eye-popping 20 turnovers that the Warriorsturned into 37 points.


"It's too hard to sit here and say, what went wrong but we had20 turnovers and they scored off that," Suns forward ShawnMarion said. "When you look at that, if you take away eight ornine of our turnovers, that's less points for them and we lostby 15 points, that could be the difference in the game rightthere.


"But at the same time, Coach said, 'We've got to take this lossand learn from it.' If we don't learn from it, it won't helpus."