March 28th, 2008 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
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Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson is like E.F. Hutton – when Nellie talks, people listen.? Golden State was down by 9 early, and boy did he let his team have it; the Warriors?recovered nicely in the second quarter and won going away over the Portland Trail Blazers Thursday night 111-95 at a sold-out Oracle Arena.
A flat first quarter and a slightly better second period found the Warriors down 52-51 at halftime; the third quarter was night and day different in every way.? Golden State broke the game wide open in the third quarter as their aggressive offense led them to the free? throw line 20 times, making 18 of them; they also shot 9-of-13, turned the ball over just once and outscored the Blazers 40-20 in the period to take a 91-72 lead going into the fourth quarter.? The 3rd was pivotal in that it essentially sealed the win for Golden State.
Golden?State had 6 players in double-digits, led by Stephen Jackson with 24 points, including 4 treys, 5 rebounds and 2 assists while Monta Ellis scored 18 with 10 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal; reserve Kelenna Azubuike added 14 with 5 rebounds, an assist and a block.? Portland was led by Steve Blake with 22 points, including four3-pointers, a rebound and 6 assists while Jarrett Jack scored 19 with an assist; LaMarcus Aldridge added 17 with 5 rebounds and 6 assists.? Golden State (44-27) now will travel to Denver to face the Nuggets in a key Western Conference game on Saturday while Portland (38-35) flies to Charlotte to take on the Bobcats – also on Saturday.
