The game was a battle of stars, the Warriors’ Monta Ellis
against the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, whom many consider the
best in the league. The two averaged a combined 50.1 points coming
into the game. Wednesday, they totaled 77. But Bryant got the
better of Ellis. The Lakers star took over late, scoring 17 of his
39 points in the final 5:49 of the game to hand the Warriors’ a
115-110 loss. It was Golden State’s 12th straight loss to the
Lakers, the sixth straight at Oracle Arena.
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OAKLAND
The game was a battle of stars, the Warriors’ Monta Ellis against the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, whom many consider the best in the league. The two averaged a combined 50.1 points coming into the game.
Wednesday, they totaled 77.
But Bryant got the better of Ellis. The Lakers star took over late, scoring 17 of his 39 points in the final 5:49 of the game to hand the Warriors’ a 115-110 loss. It was Golden State’s 12th straight loss to the Lakers, the sixth straight at Oracle Arena.
Ellis finished with 38 points on 15-for-26 shooting. But he had just seven points in the fourth quarter, missing five of his eight shots. Ellis played all 48 minutes. Over the last half of the fourth quarter, if Ellis wasn’t facing a trap, he had a bigger and fresher Bryant blanketing him all over the court.
The Warriors got 27 points and seven rebounds from forward Dorell Wright. Forward David Lee had 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Point guard Stephen Curry finished with 15 points and 10 assists.
But it wasn’t enough to score a win over the defending champions. Bryant simply had more help than Ellis on Wednesday. Lakers big men Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom combined for 55 points and 34 rebounds.
Fortunately for the Warriors, their next five games are against teams with losing records. But for most of the night Wednesday, it looked as if they would pull off the upset.
The Warriors’ once 14-point lead was completely gone after an Odom putback at the 7:08 mark, giving the Lakers an 85-84 lead. When it was all said and done, the Lakers had outscored the Warriors 18-11 over the first 5:23 of the fourth quarter — all while Bryant was on the bench. Odom scored 10 straight to allow Bryant back into the game, for the final six-plus minutes, with the Lakers ahead.
Shortly thereafter, the game began to resemble a ping-pong match late in the fourth quarter as the Warriors and Lakers traded baskets.
Ellis knocked down a pull-up 3-pointer to put the Warriors up 89-87 with 6:14 to play. But Bryant answered with a 3-pointer.
Golden State trailed 97-93 after a three-point play by Bryant at the 3:10 mark. After a putback by Curry, Kobe dropped in a jumper over Ellis, who responded with a nifty reverse layup in traffic. The Warriors trailed 99-97 with 2:17 left.
Bryant then found Artest for an open 3-pointer in the corner, and he knocked it down. The Warriors came right back with a mid-range jumper from Lee.
Center Dan Gadzuric followed by blocking Bryant’s floater in the lane, leading to a 24-second shot clock violation, giving the Warriors the ball back with 1:42 left down 102-99.
But Curry missed his 3-point attempt from the corner, and Bryant followed by knocking down his 3-pointer at the other end.
Bryant finished with 17 in the quarter on 5-for-6 shooting. Ellis had seven in the fourth quarter on 3-for-8 shooting.
The Warriors led by five after the first 12 minutes thanks to a hot start. They made half of their shots, including 4 for 8 from 3-point range. But the Lakers turned the tide of the game by going inside. Gasol had 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the second quarter, and Bynum converted some touches inside.
The Lakers led 43-42 after a three-point play on a putback by Bynum. But the Warriors went on an 11-3 run over the final 2:57 of the second quarter. Curry started the run with a jumper, and Wright sent the Warriors into the locker room up 53-45 after a 3-pointer and a fast-break layup.
The Lakers came out surging in the third quarter, with Bryant coming out aggressively looking for his shot. He knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the Warriors’ advantage to 62-60 with just over five minutes left, giving him nine points in fewer than seven minutes.
But the Warriors answered with a run of their own. A putback by Gadzuric started a 9-2 run over the next two minutes, a spurt Wright capped with a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 71-62 lead. The run allowed the Warriors to keep a cushion against the defending champions.
Ellis’ fade-away jumper from 19 feet away bounced in as the buzzer sounded, sending the Warriors into the fourth quarter ahead 75-69.
— Story by Marcus Thompson II, Contra Costa Times
