December 27th, 2007 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in ???????????????????????????????????? 
Golden State Warrior guard Monta Ellis, despite getting fouled hard late in the fourth quarter, proved he was tough as nails; his late free throws proved vital, as the Warriors managed to hold back the Minnesota Timberwolves 105-101 at Oracle Arena Wednesday night.
The Warriors, as you’d expect, played uptempo basketball from the start in order to keep the T-Wolves on their heels.? Golden State held a 50-28 lead on Ellis’ layup with 6:03 left in the first half, yet they managed to not score a basket over the next 4:11 of the second quarter before the Warriors’ Baron Davis drained a 3-pointer with 1:52 left before halftime.? Golden State would lead at the break, inducing Minnesota to commit 13 turnovers.
Fast forward to the fourth quarter; Antoine Walker’s basket for the Timberwolves with 10:45 remaining in the game cut Golden State’s lead to single-digits at 88-79, and Minnesota’s Rashard McCants’ 3-pointer at the 9:16 mark made it 90-82.? The T-Wolves’ Ryan Gomes made key baskets at the 2:17 and 1:04 marks to cut the Warrior lead to 98-96.? Trailing 100-96, Minnesota committed a shot clock violation with 23 ticks left, which iced the game for Golden State.
Ellis led all Warriors’ scorers with a career-high 35 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists; Davis added 27 with 6 rebounds and 7 assists.? Stephen Jackson would chip in with 19 with 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.? Minnesota had 6 players in double-digits, led by Al Jefferson with 20 points and 19 rebounds; McCants and Marko Jaric added 15 apiece, with Jaric also contributing 8 rebounds and 5 assists.? Golden State (17-12) remains at home to host the Denver Nuggets Friday night, while Minnesota (4-23) travels north to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers – also on Friday.
