Warriors-Raptors: After Disappointing Loss to Lakers, Golden State Bounces Back
The Golden State Warriors, after a disastrous game against the Los Angeles Lakers last night, took care of business against the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors did make the final few minutes of the game interesting, but the Warriors were able to hold on for their 10th win of the year.
In the first half, it was the Stephen Jackson show.
At the end of the second quarter Jackson had 19 points.
He finished the game with 30 points, going 9-20 from the field but only 2-6 from downtown. He hit all 10 of his free throws.
Jackson also finished the game with seven assists and seven rebounds.
Andris Biedrins continued where he left off in Los Angeles, scoring 13 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. He did get in a little bit of foul trouble in the first half while guarding Chris Bosh.
Biedrins was a force on the defensive side, not only by grabbing 14 defensive rebounds, but by picking up two steals and five blocked shots.
Marco Belinelli continued his strong play. Specifically, in the third quarter Belinelli was able to hit three-pointers on back to back possessions, helping the Warriors push the biggest lead of the night of 14 points.
Belinelli finished the game with 23 points on 6-12 shooting, going 5-8 from the three-point line, and 6-6 from the line. Most importantly, Belinelli was able to find open teammates and get them in the flow of the game. He ended up with the second-most assists for a Warrior with six.
Kelenna Azubuike got screwed on his first drive. One can only say it should have been a three-point opportunity because Jermaine O'Neal's foot was inside the restricted area, but Azubuike was able to shrugh that foul off.
More importantly, Azubuike stayed within his game and took very good shots. He ended up going 8-10 from the floor, went 2-2 from downtown, and did not attempt a free throw because he was robbed by the ref on a great drive. He also contributed four rebounds.
Lastly comes C.J. Watson into the mix. Watson who hit the two huge jumpers against the Boston Celtics did it again against the Raptors hitting clutch jumpers in the waning minutes of the game. Watson also had a huge steal on an inbounds play.
Watson finished the game with 15 points, hitting on 5-9 shots, made two three-point attempts, had two assists, two rebounds, and three steals.
In the end the most important thing that the Warriors were able to do was squeeze out a victory in a close ballgame. Chris Bosh made a huge three-pointer with a couple minutes left to play.
Normally, this would have the Warriors panicking and taking questionable shots. Usually the Warriors would eventually take the loss or go into overtime—but that didn't happen tonight. They played smart and hit their free throws.
