http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/21/SPF9VODF1.DTL Warriors run out of fuel at finish Steve Kroner, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, March 22, 2008 (03-21) 22:52 PDT -- Trailing Houston 95-87 with just more than four minutes remaining, the Warriors seemed primed for another stirring finish at Oracle Arena on Friday night. Sure enough, they put together a 10-2 run, tying the score on Baron Davis' three-pointer over Shane Battier. The stirring finish didn't come to pass, though. Houston's Bobby Jackson, who'd hit a ridiculous, double-pump three-pointer with the shot clock about to expire three minutes earlier, drained one from beyond the arc at the 2:05 mark and Houston was in front the rest of the way. The Rockets pulled out a 109-106 decision. "Sometimes you get beat when you play well," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "I guess we have to give them credit - they definitely beat us." Houston was up 106-103 with less than 10 seconds to go when Davis couldn't connect from beyond the arc. After Monta Ellis missed a tip-in try, Carl Landry was fouled while getting the rebound. Landry went 1-for-2 at the line to make it 107-103. Davis answered with a long trey, cutting it to 107-106 with 3.8 seconds to go. After the Rockets needed two timeouts to inbound the ball, the Warriors fouled Luther Head with 1.2 seconds remaining. He hit both free-throw attempts for the final margin. Davis thought the Warriors could have - and should have - played better. "We didn't take care of the ball well," Davis said, "and I thought defensively, we didn't play with a sense of urgency. We gave them a lot of easy buckets and a lot of open shots." Houston was 40-for-84 (47.6 percent) from the field. "We've got to be a lot smarter; that's what it comes down to," Stephen Jackson said. "We've just got to be a lot smarter on the court. This game definitely hurts. We've got a lot of games left, but this is a game we should have won." With the loss, the Warriors' lead over Denver for the final Western Conference playoff spot dwindled to a game-and-a-half. The Nuggets won 125-114 at New Jersey on Friday night. Davis led all scorers with 27 points and Ellis had 24 as the Warriors snapped Houston's string of holding opponents to fewer than 100 points at 14 games. More important, the Rockets ended their losing streak at two and the Warriors' home winning streak at five. "It was a huge win for us," Houston head coach Rick Adelman said. Tracy McGrady led the Rockets with 26 points. The Rockets' recent 22-game winning streak, the second-longest in NBA history, began with a 111-107 victory over Golden State in Houston on Jan. 29. All five Golden State starters - Davis (27), Ellis (24), Al Harrington (18) Mickael Pietrus (16) and Stephen Jackson (15) - scored in double figures Friday night, but the team had only six points (all from Andris Biedrins) off the bench. The Rockets, meanwhile, got 33 points from their reserves, 17 from Landry and 16 from Bobby Jackson. "It was a tough game to lose," Davis said. "It was ours to win. It was just minor things that we're going to have to clean up in order to get better, because the next two weeks (are) really cutthroat, so we've got to get it together." Friday night's matchup began an eight-game stretch for the Warriors in which they're facing Western Conference teams with winning records. And though Golden State committed only 12 turnovers against Houston, Stephen Jackson thought sloppy play prevented the Warriors from pulling off the fourth-quarter comeback. "We expect to find a way to win," he said, "but once you make too many mistakes, it's hard to overcome that - and we made too many mistakes tonight." Briefly: Neither team started its usual center. The Rockets started Head, another guard, and moved Luis Scola from forward to center as Dikembe Mutombo began the game on the bench. Mutombo did not play. Harrington, who pulled down 14 rebounds, got the start in place of Biedrins. ... Pietrus also had a double-double: He collected 13 boards. ... Warriors forward Austin Croshere missed his fourth straight game because of a groin injury. ... John Legend sang the national anthem and performed at halftime. E-mail Steve Kroner at skroner@sfchronicle.com.
Why do all the Warrios players make comments like it was their game to win, but they let it slip away? They had to make a 10-2 run to get back into the game at the end! The Rockets just flat out beat them. I don't really care for the Warriors - all of their players really seem very immature.
I agree but I think they mean that because they were playing at home against a team that has lost two straight and they were well into it with about 3 minutes left to go or maybe even 2 i forgot. They let it slip in the end, but that doesn't change the fact they were soundly outplayed those closing moments.
they think they should have won this game because we lost 2 in arrow, but we got carl back and played team ball i knew we would come out w/the win.
Reminds me of the Detroit Pistons who, according to many of their players, have never been beaten but have ended up on the wrong side of a final score a few times due to them beating themselves.
they could have easily won it if they set up a play remember that play where they took 3 three's in less 15 seconds? that was stupid and pointless
It's good to see Landry back. We sorely missed his inside post presence the last two games. His strong play inside opens up so many shots in the perimeter, and improves the teams FG%. Against the Celtics and Hornets our 3PM-A was a low 26.3% and 10.5%, and FG% was 41.4% and 34.1%. When Landry returned the offensive flowed like a well-oiled machine and improved the 3PM-A to 36.4%, and FG % to 47.6%. He brings in so much energy and power to the offense I love it! The last 2 games against the Celtics and Hornets T-Mac looked sluggish going for 8pts, 7reb, 8ast and 15pts, 5reb, and 3ast. The day off really revitalized him. He was more aggressive offensively attacking the basket, and was shy of a triple-double going for 26pts, 8reb, 8ast. To make a strong run in the playoffs, 2 key factors is Landry keeping that knee healthy and T-Mac to continue to be the superstar that he is. Houston, where Landry the Mandry happens.
