Slam Dunk Central

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The Golden State Warriors are on a roll; they have won nine out of their past 10 games. Golden State led from tip-off to the final buzzer in soundly defeating the Seattle SuperSonics 109-96 at Seattle. About the only thing that stalled the Warriors was a 15-minute delay in the game; a fire by one of the spotlights attached to the bottom of the scoreboard above the court and smoke shooting from the top. Firefighters put out the small fire and detached the defective spotlight.

The delay didn’t cool off the Warriors at all; Golden State led at the time of the delay and went to take a commanding 31-12 first quarter lead. The Warriors led by 26 at halftime and by as many as 28 during the 4th quarter, so the final 13-point win differential by Golden State is deceiving. The Warriors win came at a cost however; Golden State reserve guard Mickael Pietrus. Pietrus received an elbow in the face by Sonics reserve guard Earl Watson taking a charge in the 2nd quarter. He was taken to a local hospital with a towel covering his face, which was covered in blood. Warriors coach Don Nelson said that Pietrus may have suffered a broken nose, but results from the hospital were not available.

Golden State had 6 players in double-figures, led by forwards Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson, who scored 20 points each. Andres Biedrins and Monta Ellis added 18 each; Biedrins also grabbed 16 rebounds and had 3 blocked shots. Point guard Baron Davis scored 14 points, 9 assist and 8 rebounds, Kelenna Azubuike scored 14 points coming off the bench. Golden State hit 11 treys, 7 in the first half.

Chris Wilcox and Earl Watson each?had 16 points, for Seattle, rookie Jeff Green had 13. Kevin Durant who had lit it up in the Sonics?last game, was highly ineffective scoring only 6 points. Seattle shot 25% in the first quarter, and just 32% for the first half. You will not win too many games that way in the NBA. With the win Golden State improves their record to 9-7, while Seattle falls to just 3-15.