76ers-Warriors Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Dec 28 2012 10:17AM

Dorell Wright enjoyed the two best seasons of his career with the Golden State Warriors before being shipped to the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason.

With Jason Richardson ailing, he may get another start to show his former team what it's missing.

Philadelphia seeks a fourth straight victory over Golden State on Friday night as it continues an eight-game road trip.

Wright started all 143 games he played for the Warriors over the last two seasons and averaged 13.8 points, including a career-best 16.4 in 2010-11. In order to add depth to its backcourt, though, Golden State traded Wright to the 76ers in a three-team deal that helped them land Jarrett Jack from New Orleans.

Wright has averaged 8.7 points while mainly coming off the bench for Philadelphia, but Richardson's lower back strain opened the door for Wright on Wednesday. The nine-year veteran came through with a season-high 28 points in a 99-89 win over Memphis.

"It's a lot different," Wright said after making his first start since Nov. 10. "That's what I did the last two years (in Golden State). Coming here, that was one of the things I had to sacrifice, coming off the bench. I've been happy with my role.

"Being able to step up in front for (Richardson) was great. I had the opportunity to make some shots and help the team win. It's always cool whatever job coach (Doug Collins) wants me to do."

Wright is averaging 17.6 points and hitting 48.6 percent of his 3-pointers over his last five games for the 76ers (14-15), who ended a six-game road losing streak. They will play three sets of games on back-to-back nights to end this trip.

Wright may be remain in a starting role Friday if Richardson, who spent the first six seasons of his career with the Warriors (19-10), is unable to go. Philadelphia is 4-1 with Wright in the starting lineup, with each victory coming on the road.

"Dorell was tremendous," Collins said Wednesday. "We really have made a conscience effort of looking for him in transition."

Wright wasn't much of a factor as Golden State lost both meetings last season by a combined 50 points. Stephen Curry was injured for the final one March 2, though, as the Warriors fell 105-83 despite 24 points and 15 rebounds from David Lee.

Curry has been on a tear, averaging 25.5 points and hitting 22 of 42 from 3-point range over his last four games. He had a game-high 23 points in Wednesday's 94-83 win over Utah, also contributing eight rebounds and seven assists for a second straight game.

"The guy is an All-Star," coach Mark Jackson said. "There's no question about it. Playing at an elite level. Defending. Being a maestro for us on the offensive end. Attacking. It's great to see him healthy and being a catalyst for this basketball team in all the success we've had."

Lee also has been playing well as Wednesday's 19-point performance ended his streak of 12 straight games scoring at least 20. He's averaging 23.3 points and 11.6 rebounds over his last 13, and his 18 double-doubles rank behind only the 21 of Memphis' Zach Randolph.

Jack, meanwhile, has been one of the league's most effective backup guards. He's averaged 17.8 points on 55.1 percent shooting while also dishing out 6.4 assists per game in his last eight.

Golden State, which has won seven of nine at home, allowed its lowest point total of the season Wednesday after surrendering an average of 116.3 over the previous three games.

Lee's double-double lifts Warriors past 76ers

By MICHAEL WAGAMAN
Posted Dec 29 2012 2:26AM

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) David Lee knows Golden State is doing things few expected. Still, even he was a bit surprised by the Warriors' latest milestone.

Lee had 25 points and 12 rebounds and the Warriors held off a late charge in the fourth quarter to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 96-89 on Friday, securing Golden State's 20th victory of the season.

It's the first time in more than 30 years that the Warriors have reached 20 wins before New Year's Day, another big achievement for a team that won only 23 games during the lockout-shortened 2011 season.

"Before the (2006-07) `We Believe team? Wow," Lee said. "We're getting back into the Run-TMC stuff, huh? Was this back in Cazzie Russell in `72? We're just trying to make our own history here. I don't think our best ball's even been played yet."

Golden State clearly wasn't its sharpest against Philadelphia but did just enough to beat the Sixers for the first time in more than two years.

The Warriors committed 18 turnovers and nearly blew a 20-point lead in the second half when Philadelphia made its best run of the night.

Philadelphia pulled to 84-80 on Royal Ivey's 3-pointer with 6:23 left to play before Lee scored six straight as part of his 19th double-double this season to help Golden State pull away.

"He's our voice in the middle," said Jarrett Jack, who had 16 points and six assists. "No one's really shown that they can contain him."

Carl Landry added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who hadn't defeated the Sixers since Dec. 27, 2010.

Jrue Holiday had 21 points and 10 assists for Philadelphia. The Sixers have lost eight of 10 on the road.

"We just waited too long to come back and those guys are playing real good right now," said former Warrior Dorrell Wright, who had eight points in his second straight start in place of the injured Jason Richardson. "They've gotten a lot better on defense. They (used to) let you back in the game."

Golden State (20-10) kept its best start in more than two decades going by getting balanced scoring and outhustling a pesky Philadelphia team.

It wasn't always pretty.

The Warriors committed six turnovers in the first quarter then needed a strong fourth quarter from Lee to hold off the Sixers. Golden State had dropped its previous three against Philadelphia, including a pair of blowout losses in 2011.

Then again, Warriors coach Mark Jackson's team has been defying expectations much of the season.

"We've been consistent whether we are home or on the road," Jackson said. "We play with an edge, we play with a belief, and now our job is just to chalk them up in the win column. Mission accomplished tonight."

Philadelphia (14-16), making its third stop on an eight-game road trip, made it difficult but came up short two days after beating Memphis 99-89.

Thaddeus Young had 19 points and 10 assists for the Sixers while reserve Nick Young had 13 points.

The Warriors led after one following Jack's off-balance 12-footer off the glass with 2.6 seconds left.

Jack later had some fun after Wright lost his left shoe in the second quarter. Jack picked up the shoe and tossed it into the crowd behind the backboard, then raced down the court and made a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 41-34 lead. Sixers coach Doug Collins had to call timeout to allow Wright to retrieve his shoe.

"I know the rule is that's not a penalty but I think as a league we need to revisit that," Collins said. "There shouldn't be anything thrown in the stands. If you throw a ball in the stands, you're thrown out of the game. It was a shoe and (then) a 3, sort of a double-whammy."

Jack and Landry, who have provided a boost off the bench for Golden State, combined for 25 points in the first half and the Warriors closed on a 16-4 run to lead 57-42.

Philadelphia pulled to 59-47 early in the third but Lee scored four straight then fed Harrison Barnes with a no-look pass from atop the key for an easy layup to put Golden State up by 18.

Young provided one of the few highlights for the Sixers when he jumped from just inside the free throw line and made a soaring one-handed dunk.

Klay Thompson scored 14 points for the Warriors while Stephen Curry had 11 points, six assists and five rebounds.

NOTES: Golden State improved to 12-2 against the Eastern Conference. ... Richardson was sidelined because of a sore back. ... Philadelphia's Spencer Hawes, coming off a season-high 20 points in the win over Memphis, had two points and was charged with a technical foul early in the second quarter. ... Oakland Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey was among those in attendance.

Notebook: Warriors 96, 76ers 89

Geoff Lepper, for NBA.com
Posted Sat Dec 29, 2012 2:02 AM - Updated Sat Dec 29, 2012 2:02 AM

THE FACTS: David Lee had 25 points and 12 rebounds as the Golden State Warriors withstood a frenzied second-half comeback to beat the Philadephia 76ers 96-89 Friday. The game was Lee's league-leading 13th this season with at least 20 points and 10 boards.

Warriors forward Carl Landry had 15 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double since Nov. 3, highlighting Golden State's 36-20 advantage in bench scoring.

Jrue Holiday had a team-high 21 points and 10 assists for Philadelphia, but shot just 7-for-19 for the evening, representative of the 76ers' 40.2 percent night from the floor. Thaddeus Young added 19 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and four assists.

THE STAT: The Warriors improved to 20-10 on the season, making this the first time since 1980-81 that Golden State has reached the 20-win plateau before New Year's Day. That club was at 20-18 on Dec. 27, then went 19-25 the rest of the way.

QUOTABLE: "Before the 'We Believe' team→ Wow. We're getting back into the Run-TMC stuff, huh→ Was this back in the Cazzie Russell (era), in '72→ We're really proud. We're just trying to make our own history here. The biggest thing is that our team is doing this together and we're continuing to get better and better. I don't think our best ball's even been played yet."
-- David Lee on reaching 20 wins this early

TURNING POINT: Lee showed his versatility in consecutive possessions midway through the fourth quarter, scoring each time with a spinning move from the left block -- once using his left hand over Young, the next going righty over Kwame Brown -- to blunt Philadelphia's fourth-quarter momentum. The buckets doubled what had been a precarious four-point lead and made it 88-80 Warriors with 5:04 remaining. After back-to-back turnovers by the 76ers, Lee popped a 17-foot step-back jumper in Brown's face to cap his burst.

QUOTABLE II: "All year long, he's been making plays in the fourth quarter and tonight, eight big points . . . Tonight, David was the best player on the floor." -- Warriors coach Mark Jackson

HOT: The Warriors stood the game on its head during the second quarter, featuring their 1-2 bench spark of Landry and Jarrett Jack. Golden State, which had been held to just five points during the first 4 minutes of the second period, put up 27 points the rest of the way. All told, the Jack-Landry combo had 19 of the Warriors' 32 points in the period -- or one more than Philadelphia could scrape up as a team.

QUOTABLE III: "I think we've got to stop worrying about the offensive end so much. . . . We play small already, as it is, so if we're not going to outquick people and use our strength on defense, we've got to try something. Because you can't worry about scoring all the time. You've got to go out and play some defense. It works. You've got to get the ball in order to score."
-- Kwame Brown

NOT: Nick Young played a key part in Philadelphia's comeback by scoring all 13 of his points in the second half. Of course, he also played a big role in digging the 76ers' hole, going 0-for-5 before intermission.

INSIDE THE ARENA: The 76ers were steamed midway through the second quarter when Dorell Wright's shoe came off his foot during live play -- and Jack picked it up and chucked it five rows deep into the stands beyond the baseline. Jack drained a 3-pointer while Wright played in one sock, and the Warriors added another four points to their lead while Wright waited for a replacement shoe from the locker room, since the laces on the initial shoe had snapped.

NOTABLE: Although officially listed as being available, 76ers guard Jason Richardson did not play for a second consecutive game due to a low back strain. Wright again started in Richardson's place. . . . Philadelphia center Spencer Hawes, who starred at Oracle Arena last year, was a bust Friday, with five fouls and two turnovers outweighing two points.

UP NEXT: For the 76ers, Saturday @ Portland, Tuesday @ L.A. Lakers, Wednesday @ Phoenix. For the Warriors, Saturday vs. Boston, Wednesday vs. L.A. Clippers, Saturday @ L.A. Clippers.

• 76ers: Bynum, Moultrie
• Warriors: Bogut, Rush

• 76ers: Hawes
• Warriors: --

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: ORACLE Arena, Oakland, CA
• Officials: #7 Kevin Fehr, #36 David Jones, #65 Sean Wright
• Attendance: 19596
• Duration: 2:08