March 14th, 2009 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
A healthy Golden State Warriors team is a happy and productive team. In Friday’s night game against the Dallas Mavericks, they had what can be considered their Opening Night roster. While both teams didn’t shoot especially well, the Warriors made more trips to the free throw line (31 times vs. the Mavericks’ 16), which made all the difference. Also factor in that Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis combined for 60 points, and the end result was Golden State defeating Dallas 119-110 at Oracle Arena.
Anthony Randolph sparked a Golden State 15-4 run in the final 4:20 of the first half, scoring 8 points while Ellis added 5 in the rally that gave the Warriors a 60-54 halftime lead. A Ronny Turiaf block of a shot by Dallas’ Antoine Wright followed by a Jackson 3-pointer put Golden State up 74-62 halfway through the third period; that momentum was the impetus which would give them an 89-78 lead going into the fourth quarter. They would lead by as many as 15 as they held off the Mavericks for the final 15 minutes for the victory.
Golden State was led by Jackson with 31 points (including three 3-pointers), 7 rebounds, 10 assists and a steal while Ellis added 29 with 11 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal; Turiaf, despite scoring only 4 points, grabbed 12 boards and blocked 5 shots.
Dallas was led by Dirk Nowitzki with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal while Jason Kidd notched a triple-double as he added 21 (including 5 treys) with 10 rebounds, 11 assists and 2 steals; Jason Terry poured in 20 with a rebound and 3 assists. Golden State (23-42) plays again on Sunday when they host the Phoenix Suns while Dallas (40-26) makes the short trip south to face the Los Angeles Lakers – also on Sunday.
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