Monta Ellis's 10 Best Games of 2009-2010

Monta Ellis played in 64 games last year for the Golden State Warriors, and though there weren't very many highlights in an injury-plagued season for the team, one bright spot was the reemergence of Ellis as a scorer. 

In his 64 games, he averaged 25.5 points, 5.3 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2.2 steals, and shot 44.9 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from three, and 75.3 percent from the free throw line. 

Last year, he averaged the most points, most assists, and most free throw attempts, while having his worst year from the field. With Stephen Curry as his back-court mate, there's plenty of hope for the Warriors to have a much better season than last year. 

Here's a look at Ellis's 10 best performances of 2009-2010. Note the 10 games are from wins, not losses. 

10. Oklahoma City Thunder: April 11, 2010

Against the Thunder, the Warriors erased a big lead and Ellis was primarily a scorer rather than a distributor in this game. Ellis went 10-21 from the field, 3-6 from beyond the arc, and 4-6 from the-free throw line.

He scored 27 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists, and had two blocks and three turnovers. One of the blocks that Ellis had was on Kevin Durant. 

Another impressive feat during the game: The Warriors came back from 21 points and were able to take the win. 

9. Memphis Grizzlies: March 24, 2010

Ellis didn't shoot as much in this game, but he still took 16 shots and made seven. More importantly though, Ellis filled the role of playmaker in the game and consistently found open teammates. 

He went 7-16 from the field, 0-3 from three, and 7-8 from the free-throw line. On the night, he went for 21 points, eight assists, six rebounds, three steals, and three turnovers. 

Here are the clips from the game: 

8. Portland Trail Blazers: April 14, 2010

This game was one of those meaningless games for the Warriors, as this was their last game of the season. Ellis ended the year with a bang along with Curry. 

Ellis, on the night, went 14-24 from the floor, 4-8 from three, and 2-6 from the line, which was good for 34 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

7. Indiana Pacers: November 30, 2009

This was Ellis's highest-scoring game (in a win) and one of his best shooting nights of the season.

On the night, Ellis went 15-27 from the field, 1-2 from three, and 14-16 from the free-throw line. That was good for 45 points, five rebounds, one assist, five steals, and seven turnovers. 

6. Chicago Bulls: January 18, 2010

Not one of the better shooting nights for Ellis: He nearly doubled his season average of of 22 shots per game. Ellis went just 14-39 from the field, 3-9 from three, and 5-9 from the free throw line. He still managed 36 points, eight assists, five rebounds, four steals, two blocks, and two turnovers. 

5. Boston Celtics: December 28, 2009

The Warriors did something that hadn't been done in 88 games against the Boston Celtics. That is, to comeback from a deficit of 18 points and win, which was exactly what the Warriors did. 

Ellis, on the night, went 15-26 from the floor, 1-3 from three, and 6-8 from the free-throw line. He totaled 37 points, four assists, three rebounds, a steal, a block, and three turnovers. 

4. Atlanta Hawks: February 21, 2010

This was one of the better games for the Warriors last year. Again, a big comeback was needed to defeat the Hawks. Stephen Curry started the rally run for the Warriors and Ellis finished the Hawks off defensively, coming up with two huge steals and forcing Joe Johnson to make Jamal Crawford or Josh Smith be the heroes. 

Ellis went 10-21 from the field, 2-5 from three, and 4-6 from the-free throw line. On the night, Ellis scored 26 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out four assists, had two steals, and four turnovers. 

3. Phoenix Suns: December 26, 2009

Monta did it all against the Suns that night. He distributed the ball very well, scored efficiently, and played well defensively. This was the start of back-to-back wins against some of the better teams for the Warriors. 

From the field, Ellis went 13-27, 0-1 from three, and 7-8 from the free throw line. On the night, Ellis went for 33 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, three steals, a block, and seven turnovers. 

2. Portland Trail Blazers: November 20, 2009

In his first meeting with the Trail Blazers, Ellis showed that he could be a lockdown defender for the Warriors. He was matched up against Brandon Roy and Ellis frustrated him all night long on the defensive end. 

Ellis had a couple of big time steals and drew a charge from Roy, who in that game got so frustrated, he was called for a technical foul. Offensively, Ellis was unstoppable. 

In the game, he went 13-28 from the field, 1-3 from three, and 7-9 from the free throw line. He scored 34 points, dished out eight assists, grabbed two rebounds, had six steals, and turned the ball over four times. 

1. Dallas Mavericks: November 24, 2009

This, by far, was the best game of the season for the Warriors. On the night, the Warriors had eight players dressed, but only six could play because of injuries to the rest of the team. 

Ellis played all 48 minutes against the Mavericks. He went 15-29 from the field, 0-2 from three, and 7-9 from the free throw line. He ended up with 37 points, eight assists, four rebounds, four steals, and 11 turnovers.