A Golden Day

Utah 105 @ Golden State 125

Wow.

Did you guys see the Golden State - Utah game? Sure you did. Who wouldn't? That game was a statement of why the Warriors are the most exciting team on this universe as of this moment. It was reminiscent of the Game 6 clincher over Dallas last series. With all the three-pointers dropping from all corners of the globe, paired with that awesome Bay Area crowd: that was almost like a slaughter. The Warriors were actually up by 30 at a point, with the Warrior lead going back and forth from 27 to 29, until Al Harrington's free throw completed the eventual 30-mark. I tip my hat to Utah though, for still hanging on and fighting hard: cutting the lead to 14 at a point, and refusing to concede despite the lop-sided game.

The Jazz were playing like a broken record:

Both starting guards of Jazz were hampered by foul trouble. This was most notably shown during that brutal second quarter, where Baron Davis drew an offensive foul from Deron Williams, his 3rd, delivering him to the bench for the rest of the first half. The Jazz were left with Andrei Kirilenko bringing the ball down for the whole quarter. The Warriors outscored the Jazz 40 - 22 in the second quarter.

Despite playing limited minutes, Deron Williams, along with the whole Jazz team, turned the ball over A LOT. Something the Jazz have been doing consistently for the past three games, where consistency in this statement serves as a deficiency. Deron Williams had 7 turnovers, followed by Point-Forward Andrei Kirilenko with 5.

This was also a game where the Warriors actually recorded more blocks than Andrei Kirilenko! The shift of Andrei to the guard position actually left someone less efficient in blocking as the sheriff in the middle for the Jazz.

The Jazz weren't also as dominant on the boards as they were the past two games. In Energy Solutions, they grabbed A TON of offensive boards, a phenomenon so blatant that even a 3-year-old kid can notice the difference in play. The Jazz still out-rebounded the Warriors in this game, 44-32, but the margin was only half of what they needed in the past games in order to sneak out victorious.

The Warriors were doing almost everything right:

Eleven first half three-pointers? It's raining three-pointers ladies and gentlemen. They weren't lucky heaves however, the Jazz failed to capitalize on defense, leaving almost all of the made three-pointers wide open. Most notably, that run that the Warriors made ending the first half: Matt Barnes, Jason Richardson, Al Harrington, Baron Davis, all draining their long range bombs. That was fun to watch.

Monta Ellis is back! I hope. Don Nelson told Monta Ellis before the game that they "needed him in order to win". I guess that explains the additional minutes soaked in for Monta. I'm glad to see he produced a bit: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals; it's a start. I also think Don Nelson pressured him too much, keeping a "short leash" on him. I understand minimal mistakes create a huge impact by game's end, but it's nice to see Monta finally getting a chance; also the support his mother gave him after seeing that painful scene that I am sure is fresh off every single Warrior fan's mind: Monta Ellis being pulled out of the game and sitting on the bench wearing a towel on his head and beating his own head repeatedly (It didn't look like it hurt though).

Special mention to the Bay Area fans. The place was rocking tonight. I could hardly hear Hubie and Tirico commentating on normal volume, I had to increase the volume a few notches just to hear what they were saying. That sound-reader was a nice touch too. Exactly how loud is a large orchestra anyway? Since the arena was dwelling between the decibels of a large orchestra and the front-row of a rock concert, but leaned closer to the large orchestra. Is it that loud? I really don't know.

Baron Davis: 32 points, 9 assists, 6 steals, had created a highlight reel all by himself in one single game. From the 360 spinning-lay-in, the up-and-under, and that sick posterizing dunk. I suddenly remembered Dwayne Wade all of a sudden, the single-game-one-man-highlight-reel from last season's NBA Finals. By the way, did I mention that the Davis dunk was sick? I just want to mention it again, that dunk by Baron Davis on Andrei Kirilienko was SICK! That was it right there, the exclamation point on the series. I know the Warriors are still down 2-1, and only 6% of all teams who were down 2-0 have ever come back to win the 7-game series, but that dunk right there was the statement. It was a statement concluded by three exclamation points "!!!". I am predicting the Warriors in 6 from now on, just for that dunk.


I would like to thank ESPN's Ric Bucher and the Daily Dime for these quotes:

Jason Richardson, a two-time league dunk champion: "It was the greatest dunk I have ever seen with my eyes in person."

Al Harrington: "That was old B-Diddy, when he was in Charlotte."

Baron: "I shocked myself."

Well, that was pretty funny. Davis also received a technical foul for raising his shirt after that monstrous dunk. It reminded me of an incident in a game in the national collegiate league over here, where the player was dancing with the ball and the refs hit him with the technical foul. What's wrong with dancing? Those technicals were pretty funny though.

Here's the clip of the dunk, be amazed:

I think Stephen Jackson was trying to put out the fire.

I borrowed that video by the way from this guy. Thank you to you.

After getting a view of Baron's insides (Thanks to the shirt raising): should Baron Davis lose weight?

No way! No where else in the league would you be able to find someone else with the similar size and strength while still maintaining explosive speed that Baron possesses. If he can still maintain the same speed and quickness despite gaining a few more pounds, maybe he should. Or maybe not. I tip my hat to Baron Davis. What a monster playoff performance.

See you all tomorrow.