OAKLAND
Stephen Jackson scored 30 points, Marco Belinelli added 23 and the Golden State Warriors held off the road-weary Toronto Raptors for a 117-111 victory on Monday night.
Kelenna Azubuike scored 18 points while Belinelli hit five 3-pointers for the Warriors, who won for just the third time in 11 games. Golden State had just enough fourth-quarter offense to stop the Raptors, who finished a tough six-game holiday road trip with four losses.
Chris Bosh had 30 points and 14 rebounds for Toronto, hitting a 3-pointer with 3:29 left to pull the Raptors within two points. Jose Calderon added 21 points and 16 assists, but the Raptors missed several open 3-pointers in the final minutes, perhaps finally running out of energy after 12 days on the road.
C.J. Watson made a tough jumper in traffic with 52 seconds left to seal Golden State’s fifth straight home win over Toronto. Watson scored 15 points for the Warriors, who followed up their stunning victory over the Boston Celtics last Friday night with a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Belinelli had yet another strong game as a starter with a career high-tying six assists and solid defense, inciting the sellout Oakland crowd to chant “Rocky! Rocky!” in homage to the Italian second-year pro’s resemblance to Sylvester Stallone.
Jackson contributed his fourth 30-point game of the season – just his first since Nov. 26 at Boston. The veteran has missed four recent games with a sprained left hand.
Toronto’s Jermaine O’Neal played just nine minutes in the first half and made at least one mid-game trip to the locker room before skipping the second half with flu-like symptoms. The Raptors have lost 12 of 16 overall and made some poor passes in the final minutes.
Jackson scored 11 points in the second quarter to push Golden State to a 60-52 halftime lead, with Belinelli hitting three of the Warriors’ six 3-pointers. Golden State nursed a narrow lead throughout the second half, but Bosh hit a 3-pointer with 3:29 left to cut it to 106-104.
After Andris Biedrins scored on a rebound for Golden State 83 seconds later, Jason Kapono missed at least three open 3-pointers before hitting a short jumper. Watson replied with his jumper and a steal on the other end.
Biedrins finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Jamal Crawford struggled again at home for his new team, scoring 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting in 36 minutes. The Warriors’ free-flowing offense often plays to Crawford’s worst instincts, with the guard jacking up poor shots early in the shot clock.
While the Raptors finally are headed back to Ontario for a homestand against three division leaders, the Warriors haven’t played two straight games in the same city since Dec. 10-12. Their frenetic travel schedule extends into the new year with a road game Wednesday night in Oklahoma City to start another three-game trip.
Golden State won’t play two straight home games again until Jan. 11 and 14. The schedule is just one more complication for a team already missing stars Monta Ellis and Corey Maggette.
The Warriors are hopeful Maggette might return from his strained hamstring during the trip, but the new forward missed his 13th straight game against the Raptors.
Notes:
Toronto beat the Warriors 112-108 in overtime on Oct. 31, getting 31 points from Bosh. … The Warriors had just their third sellout crowd of the season. … Jackson and Ronny Turiaf both got technical fouls in the second half. Turiaf got hit with a quick whistle for nothing more than clapping his hands and screaming in excitement after a dunk.
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Story by Greg Beacham, AP Sports Writer
