Portland Trail Blazers 93 Final
Recap | Box Score
91 Golden State Warriors
David Lee, PF 41 MIN | 13-20 FG | 3-4 FT | 11 REB | 3 AST | 29 PTS | -2

David Lee was terrific again as he scored and rebounded well for most of the night. In the second half he was able to get to the block and get convert his shot attempts but his teammates completely forgot about him down the stretch of the game, settling instead for long range shots.

Dorell Wright, SF 27 MIN | 5-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 3 AST | 12 PTS | +3

Dorell was active on defense and that energy translated to his offense where he made open shots and got a few opportunities at the rim that he capitalized on.

Andris Biedrins, C 17 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 9 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | +5

Biedrins was active on the boards in the first quarter and did a decent job of rotating on defense. The Warriors lost the battle on the boards in the second quarter, which coincided with the bulk of the time that Andris was on the bench.

Monta Ellis, SG 27 MIN | 3-9 FG | 3-4 FT | 3 REB | 5 AST | 10 PTS | +5

Ellis did a good job of sharing the ball throughout the contest but his second half shot selection left much to be desired and thus mark Jackson went to Nate Robinson in the fourth quarter and left his star guard on the bench.

Stephen Curry, PG 38 MIN | 3-10 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 8 AST | 8 PTS | +7

Steph was masterful running the team early in the game but when he tried to assert himself offensively in the second half he struggled to connect on shots and even rushed some of his attempts.

Three Things We Saw

  1. Midway through the first quarter, some of the Warriors players seemed to be playing man-to-man defense while the other players looked as though they were playing zone. Needless to say, it led to multiple uncontested jumpers and lay ins for the Blazers.
  2. The Dubs’ backcourt 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting and collected 9 assists in the first half. They let the game come to them and looked to get their frontcourt teammates get in on the action and then asserted themselves in the second half. Mind you, Curry and Monta could not hit anything from the field on this night and barely tried to attack the paint.
  3. Nate Robinson had a terrific performance and it warranted keeping him in the game, but the story of this game will invariably be that Monta Ellis spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench in a gut-wrenching loss.

One Response

  1. Brian

    How can you possibly say Nate Robinson was ‘terrific’?

    Erratic ball handling, multiple turnovers, NO assists, wildly flailing down the lane hoping and praying the ball goes in? At least 2 of his baskets were miracles, and his sloppy play on the last drive of the game cost the Warriors a decent shot as time expired.

    Continuing to sit Ellis in crunch time is why this team continues to lose close games late. Robinson should not be playing as much in the fourth, as he’s far too much of a me-first guy and cannot for the life of him distribute the ball properly.