A depleted roster. The second game of a back-to-back. An
improbable comeback victory. That was the story line Tuesday night
at Arco Arena, where the Warriors somehow overcame a sloppy
performance and a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the
Sacramento Kings 117-109 in overtime.
SACRAMENTO
A depleted roster. The second game of a back-to-back. An improbable comeback victory.
That was the story line Tuesday night at Arco Arena, where the Warriors somehow overcame a sloppy performance and a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Sacramento Kings 117-109 in overtime.
Warriors forward Vladimir Radmanovic drained a 3-pointer as time expired in regulation to tie the game at 102. After the Kings scored the first four points of overtime, it was all Warriors, especially guard Monta Ellis. He overcame a generally poor shooting night to score nine points in the extra session.
Ellis finished with 36 points on 12-for-29 shooting and added seven assists in 49 minutes. Reggie Williams added 24 points and seven rebounds as the Warriors had five players score in double figures.
The Warriors pulled it out despite missing key free throws down the stretch. With the Warriors trailing 98-94, Williams was fouled on a 3-point attempt by Sacramento’s Beno Udrih with 19.3 seconds left. Williams made only one free throw, but the Warriors got the offensive rebound after his third shot and Dorell Wright was also fouled on a 3-pointer. He made two of three to make it 98-96 with 15.1 seconds remaining.
After Ellis drained a long-3-pointer to give the Warriors a 61-60 advantage with 6:45 remaining in the third quarter, the Kings scored the next eight points. Golden State rookie Ekpe Udoh had trouble containing Sacramento big man DeMarcus Cousins, who beat him to a rebound off a missed free throw and got fouled himself. On the Kings’ next possession, Cousins abused Udoh with a post move and an easy basket.
Meanwhile, the Warriors, who shot 52.6 percent in the first half, went cold. Ellis, perhaps feeling fatigued after playing 42 minutes Monday night in a hard-fought loss to the Houston Rockets, missed a handful of shots. But he wasn’t alone. The Warriors couldn’t buy a basket and also had some untimely turnovers.
A flurry at the end of the third quarter really made it an uphill climb for the Warriors. They still were within 79-70 after Williams converted a three-point play with 52.2 seconds left in the period. But Francisco Garcia drained a 3-pointer off a nice feed from Tyreke Evans and Garcia then scored a layup with 2.8 seconds left in transition after a miss by Acie Law.
It was a sloppy first half, with the teams combining for 17 turnovers that resulted in a combined 23 points off those miscues. The Warriors led for most of the first half because they shot a much better percentage from the floor, outshooting the Kings 52.6 percent to 36.2. Golden State scored 14 fast-break points before halftime, mostly off Sacramento turnovers.
The Warriors’ advantage hovered between six and 10 points for most of the second quarter then extended to 47-36 with 2:14 left after Williams followed a Law putback with a three-point play when he corralled his own miss and scored while being fouled by Darnell Jackson.
But the Kings then proceeded to do the thing that kept them in the game the most in the first half—crash the offensive boards. Sacramento’s Carl Landry had back-to-back putbacks, the second of which ended up being a three-point play. Donte Greene followed with a 3-pointer and another score off David Lee’s turnover to cap a 10-0 run to cut Golden State’s advantage to 47-46 with 21.5 seconds left.
Ellis was fouled on a drive with 1.3 seconds left and made both free throws. But the Kings brought the house down when Cousins threw a long inbounds pass to Evans, who immediately fed Pooh Jeter for a layup as time expired to make it 49-48 at the intermission.
Warriors coach Keith Smart sat stunned for a few seconds before getting up and heading off to the locker room.
The Kings had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half, resulting in 18 second-chance points.
— Story by Jonathan Okanes, Contra Costa Times
