Monta Ellis gave one of the gutsiest
performances of his career, totaling 38 points and seven assists in
44 minutes Wednesday. But with his backcourt mate Stephen Curry
knocked out of the game with another sprained ankle, and the
Warriors defense succumbing down the stretch, Ellis wasn’t
enough.
Golden State lost 101-95, its 27th straight
defeat at San Antonio, where the Warriors haven’t won since Feb.
14, 1997. It’s the third-straight defeat for the Warriors
(2-4).
SAN ANTONIO
Monta Ellis gave one of the gutsiest
performances of his career, totaling 38 points and seven assists in
44 minutes Wednesday. But with his backcourt mate Stephen Curry
knocked out of the game with another sprained ankle, and the
Warriors defense succumbing down the stretch, Ellis wasn’t
enough.
Golden State lost 101-95, its 27th straight
defeat at San Antonio, where the Warriors haven’t won since Feb.
14, 1997. It’s the third-straight defeat for the Warriors
(2-4).
“He was incredible and inspiring,” Warriors
coach Mark Jackson said of Ellis. “Not only was I asking him to
make the plays on the offensive end, but I was asking him to defend
Tony Parker on the other end. He gave me everything he had.”
Ellis scored 11 of the Warriors’ 20
fourth-quarter points, in addition to two steals and two assists.
He did it against a San Antonio defense bent on stopping him. The
Spurs brought in 6-foot-6, 210-pound swingman Danny Green just to
guard Ellis in the fourth quarter.
The Spurs could pay so much attention to Ellis
because Curry was in the locker room.
With just over three minutes left in the third
quarter, he picked up a loose ball and was getting set to lead a
fast break. Suddenly, he came up hobbling.
Curry said the toe of his shoe stuck to the
floor as he pushed off his right foot, and his right ankle rolled
over. He immediately tried to get rid of the ball, turning it over,
and limped off to the side.
After trying to walk it off, he was helped to
the bench. Eventually he went to the locker room for treatment and
did not return.
It’s the third time this season Curry has
sprained his right ankle, which underwent surgery in May to repair
two torn ligaments. Curry said this was the most painful of the
three.
“Just another reaggravation of the same thing
that’s been happening,” Curry said, a towel over his head, his
right foot in a tub of ice. “Just another frustrating incident I’ve
got to deal with.”
The first sprain happened in the preseason
finale at Sacramento on Dec. 20, making Curry questionable for the
start of the season. He wound up playing in the Christmas Day
opener, but the next night, in the fourth quarter against Chicago,
he sprained his right ankle again. That forced him to miss the Dec.
28 game against New York.
Curry did not rule out playing Friday’s game
against the Los Angeles Lakers. He said he would see how his ankle
responds and test it out Thursday.
Before Curry went down, he and Ellis were
dominating the Spurs. They had 43 points on 16-for-27 shooting with
13 assists.
Golden State entered the fourth quarter up 75-70
after Ellis closed the third quarter with back-to-back baskets. The
Warriors were in position to beat the host Spurs for the first time
since the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” knocked Toni Braxton’s “Unbreak My
Heart” off the top of the charts.
But Golden State’s defense allowed the Spurs to
make 12 of their final 17 shots, including 3 of 4 from 3-point
range. San Antonio scored 31 fourth-quarter points, the Warriors’
second straight game giving up at least 30 in the fourth
quarter.
“They made shots, and we had some breakdowns,”
Jackson said. “We didn’t finish possessions with rebounding the
basketball. It’s disappointing.”
Meanwhile, everyone not named Ellis combined for
nine points on 3-of-9 shooting in the fourth quarter. After
shooting 50 percent the first three quarters, Golden State missed
13 of 20 in the final 12 minutes.
“We were still in the game,” Ellis said. “We
didn’t quite make enough plays down the stretch. … We did a lot
of great things. We’re still growing as a team. Besides the loss, I
was pretty satisfied how we played.”
The Warriors announced the signing of guard Nate
Robinson before Wednesday’s tipoff. He is expected to join the team
in time for Thursday’s practice in Los Angeles.
Robinson, 27, gets a one-year deal worth about
$1 million. With Curry going down, Robinson could see some action
Friday against the Lakers.
“We brought him in because of his ability to
score, because of his energy and effort,” Jackson said. “Great
athlete. Proven guy. We know what we’re going to get. He’s going to
have an opportunity, and that’s even if Steph is healthy. There’s
minutes to be had.”
Rookie swingman Klay Thompson had his best
offensive game as a pro, scoring 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting.
… Small forward Dorell Wright went scoreless for the second
consecutive game. He’s now 0-for-6 in 53 total minutes on the
trip.
