Article/Hu: "The Wright Way"

HiRez · Nov 6, 2008

At long last, Brandan Wright got his chance to play, really play.

And guess what?

The Warriors won a game.

Golden State held off the Nuggets 111-101 at Oracle Arena, and it was the Warriors' young, skinny - and rarely-used - power forward who helped their bench turn around Wednesday's game.

Wright, in his second season, made his first six shots and finished with career-highs across the board - 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks - in 32 energizing minutes that all but doubled as the end of the Al Harrington era in Oakland.

Warriors coach Don Nelson was forced to juggle his lineup with Corey Maggette injured, and Golden State's makeshift frontcourt of Harrington, Ronny Turiaf and Andris Biedrins struggling early on. Wright got the call.

He checked in for the trade-seeking Harrington, to much applause, with the Warriors down by 12 and 3:49 left in the first quarter.

A minute later, Wright was dunking off a pass from Stephen Jackson. Thirty seconds after that, Wright turned a missed C.J. Watson jumper into a three-point play, corralling an offensive rebound and putting in a layup while getting fouled.

Another minute, another Jackson-to-Wright dunk. Then a Wright block on Carmelo Anthony and a pretty 8-foot jumper.

"I just wanted to be a spark and do positive things," said Wright, who played in 24 minutes through the first four games. "I definitely want to be out there on the court and help this team win and make a run toward the playoffs."

Wright's put-back dunk with 6:49 left in the first half gave the Warriors a 43-42 lead, their first of the night after trailing by 18 points. And by the time Wright got his first breather and Harrington re-entered to a smattering of boos in the third quarter, Wright had been everywhere with his length and agility.

It was exactly the showing Warriors fans had been hoping for since Nelson said he would play his youngsters more this season - then preceded to do the opposite through the first four games.

Jackson, Maggette and Harrington had played nearly every minute while Wright, second-year guard Marco Belinelli and highly-touted rookie Anthony Randolph garnered just a few cameo appearances.

That changed Wednesday, with Wright leading a bench resurrection that included Kelenna Azubuike's 22 points and eight rebounds and C.J. Watson's 14 points.

Not surprisingly, the Warriors didn't flounder down the stretch. Instead, for the first time in five games, they seemed to get stronger, with Biedrins brutally dunking over Nene and the Warriors scoring on nearly every possession in the final three minutes.

Jackson led Golden State with 29 points while Biedrins extended his double-double streak to 12 with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 28 points.

"We had a lot of energy, B. Wright, C.J., Kelenna - they brought a totally different energy onto the floor and that's why we started to run," Biedrins said. "That's a big part of why we won."

NUMBERS GAME

4

Minutes for Marco Belinelli this season prior to Wednesday, when he played four more.

1

Minutes for rookie Anthony Randolph this season.

18

Minutes for Brandan Wright this season before he had career highs of 18 points and 13 rebounds in 32 minutes Wednesday night.
Click to expand...

Source: SFGate

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Article/Hu: "The Wright Way"

HiRez Overlord

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Article/Hu: "The Wright Way"

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